Care for a cat, including the parts a cat will hide from you

Cats conceal illness better than any other pet we see. Most of what shortens a cat's life is found on a routine visit rather than reported by an owner, which is the whole argument for the yearly check.

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A domestic shorthair cat sitting upright on a pale timber surface in soft daylight

What changes, and when

  1. 8 weeks to 6 months

    Kitten

    The F3 course, worming, microchipping, and desexing at five months for both males and females.

  2. 6 months to 3 years

    Young adult

    The first dental grade, an FeLV test if the cat goes outside, and the weight baseline that everything later is measured against.

  3. 3 to 8 years

    Adult

    A yearly check and boosters. This is the stage where early kidney and thyroid change is found on screening rather than by symptom.

  4. 8 years and older

    Senior

    Two checks a year with blood pressure, blood and urine. Kidney disease, hyperthyroidism and arthritis are all common and all manageable when they are caught early.

What we see most

Urinary blockage

A male cat straining in the tray and producing nothing is an emergency measured in hours. Fremantle is open through the night for exactly this.

Chronic kidney disease

Common past ten and slow enough to manage well. Urine concentration moves before the blood values do, which is why both are run.

Hyperthyroidism

A cat eating well and losing weight. A single blood test names it and treatment is straightforward once it does.

Dental resorptive lesions

Painful, common, and invisible without a radiograph. This is the reason a cat dental is done with full-mouth films.

Arthritis nobody notices

Cats do not limp, they stop jumping. A cat that has given up the kitchen bench is usually sore rather than settled.

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Six hospitals across Perth, and one of them is open right now.