Feline Care Guides

Physical Examination and Feline Distemper Combination Vaccine

During your pet’s examination, your veterinarian will ask you many questions about your pet’s behavior, lifestyle, and health history since your last visit. The answers to these questions will help your veterinarian determine what preventive care recommendations he or she should make to help keep your pet healthy. Based on your pet’s age, lifestyle, and disease risk, your veterinarian will recommend vaccinations for your pet.

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Physical Examination and Feline Infectious Peritonitis Vaccine

A thorough physical examination is an important part of routine wellness care for all cats. Cats are very good at hiding their illnesses, so a physical examination may be the only way to determine if your cat is as healthy as he or she seems to be. Even if your cat seems fine and has no evidence of problems, routine physical examinations are important for establishing “normal” values for you cat. For example, subtle changes in weight may only be noticed by comparing your cat’s current weight with readings recorded during previous examinations.

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Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation

Physical rehabilitation for pets is the use of therapeutic exercises and range-of-motion therapy combined with additional treatments (see the list below for examples) to improve the recovery of patients with acute or chronic health conditions. Physical therapy may be recommended for patients recovering from fractures, orthopedic surgery (including cranial cruciate ligament repair, total hip replacement, or spinal surgery), and neurologic events (such as spinal injury). 

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Pica and Coprophagy

Pets with pica or coprophagy eat substances that are not considered food. Pica involves the eating of objects. Dogs may be more likely to eat objects such as rocks and toys, while cats may eat clothing, strings, and kitty litter. Oriental breeds of cats are more likely to eat fabrics and wool.

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Pneumonia in Cats

Most lung tissue is made up of tiny clusters of air “balloons” (called alveoli). Each balloon is lined by a thin layer of cells and surrounded by a network of very small blood vessels. When you breathe in, air fills the balloons. The cells in the lining and the small blood vessels exchange oxygen from the air for carbon dioxide, which you then breathe out. The main pathway from the lungs to the outside of the body consists of the trachea (the large airway that begins at the back of the throat and continues down into the lungs) and the nostrils.

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