Pets: Here are the symptoms to watch out for and what to do

Our four-legged friends are in all respects an integral part of the family unit and we know how important their health can be. And if the use of laboratory analyzes and other tests is a common habit when we want to obtain reassurance about our state of health (of humans) or investigate the causes of a certain malaise, very similar screening procedures can also be performed for our pets.

«Laboratory tests for our pets are desirable in different contexts.

First of all, they are obviously necessary in all those pathological situations, in which an animal is taken to the treating veterinarian, for health problems of a variety of nature. The execution of blood and urine tests allow in these cases to make a sort of “clinical photography“Of the patient and to address one problem rather than another,” says Dr. Walter Bertazzolo, scientific manager of MYLAV, a veterinary analysis laboratory that, with a team of expert consultants and veterinary doctors, takes care of the health of dogs, cats, horses and unconventional animals. He continues: «An extremely common example of a laboratory screening used in our country is the identification of patients potentially at risk for leishmaniosi: parasitic pathology very dangerous and extremely widespread now throughout the national territory, even if with particular endemic on islands and in coastal and hilly areas ».

But what are the alarm bells in animals to watch out for?
“The symptoms that can be detected by the owner are numerous, some well identifiable as pathological conditions (e.g. loss of appetite, a reluctance to move, gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea or the appearance of fits), others are more subtle because they can mimic an even optimal health condition, such as increased appetite (which can be found in courses of some endocrine diseases such as diabetes mellitus or Cushing’s disease of the dog), orincreased thirst (typical relief of some serious pathologies of internal, oncological and endocrine interest). The development of one is different chronic anemia, in fact, which turns out to be difficult to detect clinically except through the execution of a blood count, ”explains Bertazzolo.

Also, it is important to pay attention to the urine since «Whenever they show up abnormalities in urination and / or urine such asincreased frequency, the involuntary loss or even just a abnormal color, it is essential to have them examined as soon as possible, in particular to exclude inflammatory and infectious processes of the urinary tract. Furthermore, without a urinalysis, it can be difficult to confirm initial renal failure or to obtain confirmation of diabetes mellitus.

On the other hand, however, there may be coagulation pathologies: “These show signs of severe internal blood loss, such as a thoracic effusion, or external, such as oral bleeding. On the contrary, however, these diseases run subtly, and can emerge only in the event of trauma or surgery: in this case, coagulation tests can identify any defects in haemostasis and therefore in the healing of wounds and bleeding “.

To answer us with further details is Dr. Francesco Carrani – specialized in small animal medicine – which states: “In the dog, rapid breathing and refusal to normal physical activity are important signs that should not be underestimated that may indicate a primarily cardiac or respiratory problemoften associated with cough. An unusual increase in appetite in older dogs is frequently a sign of a fairly common hormonal problem such as hyperadrenocorticism. In the cat, on the other hand, the symptoms are non-specific and common (such as vomiting and diarrhea) to many different pathologies: from kidney problems to liver problems up to specific diseases, including neoplastic ones, of the gastrointestinal tract. A particular condition, specific to cats aged 9-10 years onwards, is thehyperthyroidism: affected cats appear voracious, thin, often with a change of character that makes them more nervous and aggressive; they frequently drink and urinate more than normal. In overweight or obese individuals, a very dangerous pathological condition called hepatic lipidosis (fatty deposits in the liver) in which the cat suddenly stops feeding and the mortality rate is unfortunately high due to the difficulties of treatment».

What to do if there is a lump or skin lesion?
“If while stroking our animals we should feel a neoformation, a lump or other superficial or deep lesion, it is a good idea to subject the puppy to an immediate visit to the veterinarian who, depending on his judgment, can propose a biopsy: a useful test to reach a definitive diagnosis – for example to confirm and type a tumor or to identify an infection – and then administer the most appropriate treatment »reveals Walter Bertalozzo.

What are the most important tests to perform?
«The first is certainly the blood count, better known as simple blood count, which allows you to evaluate the composition of blood cells and the concentration of hemoglobin. This test must be included in every laboratory profile: from the annual screening tests to those used to diagnose numerous pathologies “explains Bertalozzo and continues” There is also clinical biochemistry, which allows you to measure the concentration of chemicals important to assess the state of human and animal health such as glycemia, l’azotemia, the cholesterol, the liver enzymes, the electrolytes, lot of hormones e vitamins. Or again, there is the dosage of drugs and hormones to monitor the therapeutic treatments in progress ».

How to keep our pets healthy?
«Prevention is the best tool in the hands of an owner. This translates into going to your vet not when the animal is having problems, but planning to go there when the animal has no symptoms and apparently is fine.»Says Dr. Carrani and continues «For example, to monitor renal function in a subject at high risk of disease such as the cat, it is useful to check the variation in the specific weight of urine, from one year to the next. This parameter is the first alarm bell for a veterinarian of a possible beginning of kidney disease, initially not identifiable by the owner, who discovers it from a symptomatic point of view when the disease is now at a very serious stage “.

It is therefore important to contact your veterinarian to request one basic screening annually that includes minimal examinations, even in the absence of particular clinical signs. However, you may find the gallery of this article useful in which some are summarized indications to recognize the symptoms of our animals and know what to do.
BROWSE THE GALLERY TO KNOW THE SYMPTOMS TO KEEP IN EYE