Understanding Your Pet's Vitals
Adding a new furry member of the family is an exciting time!
Many a pet owner have rushed to the vet at the first site of kitty vomit or doggy diarrhea in fear that some awful ailment had struck the new baby. In reality, not every pet illness constitutes an emergency. Knowing how to take your pet’s vital signs can save you unnecessary trips to the vet, or give you a better idea about when your pup or kitty needs to seek immediate attention.
There are three main vital signs to assess when trying to get a basic handle on how sick a dog or cat is TPR: Temperature, Pulse and Respiratory Rate.
Temperature
An inexpensive thermometer can be used to assess your pet’s temperature. Use a petroleum gel or baby oil to lubricate the instrument and ease it into the dog or kitty’s bottom until the temperature registers.
A fever can indicate that an infection, virus or other sickness might be affecting your pet, especially if other symptoms are present like vomiting or runny stool.
Pulse (Resting Heart Rate)
The resting heart rate of a dog or cat can be found by placing your hand on your dog’s right side, just behind the front leg so that you can feel its heartbeat. Count the number of heartbeats in a 15-second time frame and multiply by four to get the number of beats per minute, or bpm.
A higher than normal heart rate can indicate that disease or some other ailment might be stressing out your pet.
Respiratory Rate
Perhaps the most vital of the three vital signs is the respiratory rate. If a dog or cat is not breathing correctly, it can be a major sign of distress. In order to calculate respiratory rate, count the number of times a dog or cat’s chest expands in 10 seconds and multiply by 6.
If your dog or cat’s respiratory rate is consistently high then it could be a sign of respiratory distress, respiratory disorders, anemia, congestive heart failure, or other condition.
If your sick pet has any abnormality in its vital signs, it might be an indicator that a trip to the vet is necessary. If for some reason all three of a pet’s vital signs are out of the ordinary, it might be a time to seek emergency medical attention or at least call the vet’s office for more specific advice or instructions about how to best get your critter care.
However, if you pet is just acting sluggish or out of the ordinary, and its vital signs are normal, it’s probably a good indicator that you don’t need to rush into the pet emergency room just yet.
Knowing basic TPR can give a pet owner added peace of mind and help keep Fido or Fluffy healthy and happy!