Warning Signs on your Pet's Health

Unfortunately, all animals are easily susceptible to diseases and each kind of animal has its diseases that its owner has to worry about. Some common illnesses and infections in animals are as follows:

• Worms
• Distemper
• Cancer
• Lyme Disease
• Fleas
• Toxoplasmosis

Worms

Worms may seem like a minor problem and in most cases. However, worms can prove to be a big problem if they are not treated. They feed vital nutrients that cause them to lose their appetites. Their energy levels will decrease and they could get anemia and even die. So they can be serious and they are mainly found in puppies and kittens.

Distemper

Although this is mainly a dog virus, animals such as the ferret, can also pick up this illness. It causes the animals to become severely ill and in ferrets the virus is fatal. The virus is also highly contagious so any animal that contracts it needs to be isolated from other animals. Young animals are more susceptible to this virus than older ones.

Cancer

Pet cancer is also a killer in animals that live 10 years or longer. Cats and dogs are the main types of pets that contract it and the symptoms are more or less the same in them as humans. It is possible for some animals to overcome cancer as long as they receive the right treatment.

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is carried by ticks that attach themselves to animals while they are outside. Ticks are found in long grass and animals such as dogs and cats, are more likely to pick them. The disease gives the animals flu symptoms like chronic arthritis and joint damage. Heart complications and kidney problems can also occur.

Fleas

Fleas are quite common in animals and most of the time they can be treated. They mainly cause your pet to itch constantly and sometimes the animal can develop an allergic reaction to them which could lead to hair loss. Fleas can also carry tapeworm and if your animal accidentally swallowed one, it would end up with both a flea and a worm problem. If left over a long period of time, your pet can get sick from fleas and so it is always better to treat them as soon as you can.

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis can be found in warm blooded animals including humans. Cats are the main animals that are likely to pick this illness. This is because they eat birds, mice and other wild animals that could be carrying the parasites that cause the illness.

Can I prevent These Illnesses At All?

Pet illnesses like dog illnesses, cat illnesses and small animal illnesses are distressing. Therefore, it is understandable that most owners want to know whether they can prevent them or not. While you can try to prevent your pet from becoming ill, there is nothing that can be done to stop certain illnesses. You must do the following without fail:

• Keeping you animals up to date with their jabs
• Keeping them fit and healthy
• Feeding the right food

Some diseases are controlled through injections. The vet usually gives injections to protect young animals up to three times in the early weeks. Then they are followed up once a year to keep the immune system protected. These injections do stop certain diseases such as Distemper.

Keeping a dog happy and healthy by controlling their diet and exercise during their various life stages, can also help to fight diseases. Animals at different life stages need different amounts of exercise. Puppies sleep a lot and although they have vast amounts of energy, they often have little spurts and they don't need as much exercise as an adult dog. Elder animals do not need as much exercise as a younger animal would

Feeding the right diet contributes to keeping your pet healthy. The wrong kind of food can cause illnesses such as diarrhea, which in some animals and in extreme cases, it can be fatal. Too much change in the diet can also cause diarrhea.

How to Tell If Your Pet Is Ill

There are various warning signs you can look out for with your pet in order to see whether they have contracted an illness of some kind. These include:

• Weight loss
• Loss of appetite
• Diarrhea
• External Bleeding
• Inflammation
• Persistent Cough
• Discharge
• Extreme tiredness
• Loss of movement
• Incompetence

Pet weight loss can be really distressing to see and it is a sure sign that something is wrong with your pet. If the animal is still eating well, it could be that your pet has worms. However, if the animal has lost his/her appetite, it is likely that there is something really wrong.

Diarrhea can be caused by numerous things. However, it can also lead to severe illness. so it is always best to keep an eye on the problem and see how long it lasts for.

External bleeding is obviously distressing and serious problem. If you do notice that your pet is bleeding it is always worth looking for any puncture wounds and figuring out whether the animal has come into contact with another animal. Many times external bleeding is from serious than.

Inflammation can be caused by allergic reactions and cancer. Any inflammation is worth getting checked out by a vet as soon as possible. Persistent coughs always need to be checked out. Dog fever symptoms could be a sign of distemper but if the dog has had their jabs this is highly unlikely. A trip to the vet is probably the best solution to find out the cause of the problem.

If you see discharge coming from the animal's nose, mouth or eyes there is definitely something wrong and the problem needs to be seen by a vet. Extreme tiredness could be due to too much exercise but it could also be because the animal is ill. This needs watching as if the animal is too tired to move.

Loss of movement could indicate a broken bone in the animal's body or it could signal something worse. Any loss of movement should be checked by a vet. Incompetence is common in elder animals but it could signal that something is wrong and the animal cannot move to go and relieve him/herself in the appropriate place.

You know your pet better than anybody else. so you will know when something isn't right. If you have any doubts you should always take your animal to the vet.

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