How to do a Weekly Health Check on your Kitty

Do you give your cat a weekly health check up? You should! There are lots of health problems that cats can come down with from fleas to injury. You'll want to know exactly what is going on with  your precious kitty, as soon as something is wrong...so you can decide if she needs vet care or not. 

Weekly health check on cats

In normal conditions you shouldn’t need to take your kitty to the vet more than once a year, unless of course she gets sick or injured. However, there are steps you can take in order to ensure that your cat is in good health year round and that starts with giving her a health check yourself.

Now obviously you won't be doing a vet level examination, but it's important that you check her over for any changes on a regular basis.

Related Reading: How to reduce cat fur in your house!

How to do a quick health checkup on cats


About once a week, set aside about 5-10 minutes to take a look at your kitty. Look at her in an objective light to examine various parts of the cat that can highlight the start of any health issue. 

Call your kitty to you. Does she turn towards your voice? Watch how she moves. Is her weight distributing evenly on all legs or is she trying to avoid putting weight on any of them? Now of course cat's don't always want to do what we want them to...they are cat's after all! You might need to bribe her with a treat or two.

health cast have clear eyes

Check your cats face

Pick your cat up and look her direct in the eyes. Her eyes should be clear and not clouded. There should be no discharge around the eyes. If there is, once your examination is over, clean these and check them the next day. If it’s back, then you might want to call your veterinary clinic for advice. It could be the sign of an infection. 

The same goes for kitty’s nose. The nose should be moist but with no discharge. Her ears should be clean and also discharge free.  Discharge is almost always a sign of possible infection. If you carefully clear it (no cotton buds/Q-tips!) and it returns, then it’s time for the vet to take a look. 

Gently open your cats mouth and check that she hasn’t lost any teeth since the week before and that her teeth are white without looking as if she’s got any problems there. Sniff her breath. It won't smell like roses, but it shouldn't smell like decay either. 

checking the health of your cats teeth

Feel you cats body condition


Run your hand down her tummy and back. Are there any lumps or bumps that don’t belong? You’ll get to know what’s “normal” for your cat! Lumps and bumps are another reason to call the veterinary clinic for advice.  They are not always cause for concern, but they should always be checked out and noted on her vet records.

Check out the quality of her fur. Is it sleek and healthy looking, does it look like it’s falling out in places, or is a bit greasy/dull in appearance? This could indicate a grooming or nutritional issue. Fur falling out is more likely to be something associated with an allergy or even fleas. 

An allergy would need a vets opinion, but you can check for fleas by combing your cat with a flea comb and examining the fur on the comb. If it’s a greasy/dull coat issue, then try bathing your cat and doing a nightly brush of her fur to see if you can improve the condition. 

If your try bathing and brushing and her fur doesn’t improve after a couple of weeks, it’s time to seek the advice of your vet.

The weekly check-up that you give your cat will take only a few minutes and the more you do it, the more she’ll get used to it. Which is great because if she's feeling under the weather and you need to take a closer look at her, it won't upset or scare her! 

The main thing is, because you do this same routine every week, you’ll soon know when something’s not right and can get it looked at by the professionals before it gets too bad and therefore becomes more severe and expensive! Plus your cat might even come to like these little attention sessions!

~Lisa

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