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Health Issues You Might Not Realize Your Pet Has

Dog and Cat

Every pet owner receives that post card in the mail reminding them to bring in their pet for a routine checkup or vaccinations. Even though your pet may be up to date on his or her vaccinations and seem to be in perfect health, those routine checkups are very important. Pets, just as well as humans, can develop a number of health problems that you may not even know were there without testing. Here are a few health issues that can trick any pet owner or go unnoticed until the condition is well advanced.

  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Kidney Disease
  • Heart Disease
  • Pain

Hyperthyroidism is an excess of thyroid hormones in the blood. Common signs include weight loss, increased appetite and more. Hyperthyroidism can be diagnosed with a physical exam and blood test, and is treatable and manageable in most cases. This disease can be managed with a daily pill or special diet, or cured with radioactive treatment or surgical removal of the thyroid glands.

Kidney disease is a common find in cats and dogs, especially in those growing older in age. Signs to look out for are excessive drinking of water and an increase in urination, so much that your cat or dog can’t get to the litter box or outside to urinate in time. Although this cannot be cured, it can be managed to months or even years with diet and medications.

Heart disease isn’t the leading cause of death in dogs or cats, however about 10% of dogs do develop it. This is a disease that cannot be cured, but it can sometimes be managed for months or years with medication, especially when caught early. Some signs of heart disease can include a heart murmur, gray or blueish gums and more.

Although pain may not be a disease, it does accompany many different diseases at all stages. Sometimes our pets are good at hiding the fact that they are in pain due to the fact that in the wild this shows a sign of weakness, so this makes it more difficult for pet owners to realize there is a problem. If your pet is eating less, sleeping more or just not acting like themselves, remember pets can’t speak up to tell you what is wrong and there may be a problem associated with that. Both you and your pet will benefit if you catch a problem before it’s too late or finding out they are perfectly healthy.

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