Abdomenal Pain
Abdomenal pain can look very similar to Back Pain in dogs and cats. Both can present with tense underbelly, arched back posture, and reluctance to move. It can even be challenging at times, for even veterinarians to conclusively determine whether it is the back of the abdomen that is causing pain and discomfort. Therefore, if you suspect that your pet's abdomen is painful, be certain to investigate Back Pain as well. The following are common causes for abdomenal pain in dogs and cats:
Constipation
Signs of constipation include straining to defecate with little or no success. Stools when occassionally passed tend to be large, dry and flaky. Primary constipation is far more common in cats, and in dogs more commonly tends to be secondary to a primary problem. Causes for constipation include:
Back/Neck Pain
Back pain is usually the result of muscular pull/cramping, spinal injury, arthritic changes, or some or all of the above. The origins of neck pain are very much the same, with the exception of a spinal condition unique to the vertebra of the neck called cervical stenosis or wobbler's syndrome. Back and neck pain are always a serious concern, but if there is accompanying weakness, unsteadiness, or Paralysis in any or all of the extremities, this is an emergency. Common causes for neck and back pain in dogs and cats are listed below:
Coughing
Coughing is one of the more common clinical presentations vets are presented with on a daily basis. Coughing could indicate a fairly substantial number of diseases, including: infection, cardiac disease, inflammatory disease, or even cancer to name a few. Conditions that present with coughing can range from mild disease to life threatening conditions. Some common causes for coughing include:
Diarrhea
Diarrhea may occur occasionally throughout a pet's lifetime, due to dogs and cats (dogs especially) tending to ingest sometimes less than ideal items. Diarrhea due to this type of dietary indescretion, may respond by feeding a bland, easily digestible diet. If you call your vet's office, they may dispense the GI friendly Hill's Prescription I/D or other prescription GI diet, to feed your pet until the diarrhea resolves. Transient diarrhea of this nature should last only one to a few days, should not be severe in nature or have blood in it, and not be accompanied by complete loss of appetite, vomiting, depression, or pain.
However, if the diarrhea is advanced to the point of any of these other circumstances, then this could indicate more serious underlying causes for the diarrhea, as well as put the patient in danger of dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities - as such, advanced diarrhea of this nature warrants a visit to the vet ASAP. Common causes of diarrhea include:
Distended Abdomen
Distended abdomen refers to a bloated, larger than normal appearance of the abdominal region. With many diseases that lead to distended abdomen, there is also an increase in the tenseness or firmness of the abdomen. Other clinical signs that can accompany diseases that lead to distended abdomen include: difficulty moving, vomiting, inappetance, and abdominal pain. May diseases that are associated with distended abdomen are quite serious, so if you suspect distended abdomen in your pet, you should seek veterinary care ASAP. Below are some common causes ofr distended abdomen in dogs and cats.
Drinking Excessively
Drinking excessively is a sign that often goes unnoticed, or dismissed by many pet owners as just peculiar behavior. What may folks are not aware of, is that drinking excessively can be a sign of serious systemic disease, including the following:
Drooling Excessively
Some breeds of dog are known for drooling due to unique anatomical characteristics, such as Mastiffs, St Bernards, and English Bull Dogs. Other dogs and cats will drool from emotion, such as contentment, stress, or fear. Still others will drool when in the presence of food during times of hunger. For all of these types of pets, drooling often is normal due to breed or other circumstances.
When drooling occurs that is not commonly characteristic of an individual pet, then there could be cause for concern. Nausea can lead to excess drooling, so any condition that can lead to nausea could be the cause of excess drooling. For these conditions, refer to Vomiting as a clinical sign. Aside from conditions that cause nausea other common reasons dogs and cats may drool excessively are:
Eye Problems
Redness, pain, excessive blinking, tearing, or cloudiness in an eye are all signs that the eye is diseased. Diseases of the eye range from mild irritative conditions that do not pose great danger, to conditions that can lead to severe pain and blindness in a very short period of time. Below are examples of common conditions that affect the canine and feline eye:
Excercise Intolerance
The term excercise intolerance does not apply to an old dog or cat who gradually through the years has declined in the ability to sustain the same activity or level of play. Excercise intolerance in our context applies to a pet who has a very tyipcal typical standard of energy/activity levels that declines suddenly or over a short period of time. While still a very vague sign that has any number of possible causes, the following are some of the more common causes for excercise intolerance as the predominant clinical sign:
Limping
A large variety of injuries can cause dogs and cats to limp, including muscle sprains, ligament and tendon strains, bruises, fractures cuts of the foot pad, bur stuck in between the digits, and joint infection. The conditions below are specific types of congenital or acquired orthopedic disease, as well as injuries that affect specific musculoskeletal regions leading to limping:
Front Limb Lameness
Rear Limb Lameness
Lumps/Masses
Lumps or growths commonly occur on the skin of dogs and cats, some benign, some cancerous. There is a virtually endless number of types of growths that can grow in dogs and cats. Below are some of the more common kinds:
Night Pacing
Any condition that causes pain or systemic discomfort has the potential to cause sleeplessness and some pacing at night. This includes any number of possible injuries or diseases. However, chronically recurring night pacing and vocalization in a senior to geriatric (age 10 or older typically) dog with no other accompanying signs of disease, often indicates:
Paralysis/Weakness
Partial paralysis (also known as paresis), paralysis, and weakness in dogs and cats can look very similar, even indistinguishable, in dogs and cats. Below are some common causes:
:
Paralysis/Partial Paralysis
Weakness
Seizures
A seizure is a temporary abnormal electro-physiologic phenomena of the brain, resulting in abnormal synchronization of electrical neuronal activity. It can manifest as an alteration in mental state, tonic or clonic movements, convulsions, and various other psychic signs. This can occur ni dogs in cats due to abnormal area of the brain, but could also be the result of metabolic or systemic disease. Below are some common causes:
Skin Problems (hair loss, flaky, itchy, red, sores)
Skin disease is perhaps the single most common reason for canine and feline visits to the veterinarian. While most skin diseases rpimarily involve the just skin, some skin conditions are the secondary product of systemic disease. Therefore, if your pet is showing signs of skin disease as well as other signs of illness, such as weakness, obesity, poor appetite, excessive thirst, systemic disease should at least be considered as a possible cause for the skin problem. Below are examples of both primary and secondary skin diseases:
Stiffness
"Stiffness" is another one of those vague clinical signs, because it can involve any number if injuries, systemic accidents, and many different parts of the body. Stiffness due to discomfort that is specifically attibutable to certain regions of the body, one should refer to causes for Abdomenal Pain, Back/Neck Pain, or Limping. For non-specific generalized overall stiffness that one cannot specifically pin point a focal area for the stiffness, below are some common causes:
Trouble Breathing
Trouble breathing is a very serious clinical sign that should never be taken lightly. With many causes for trouble breathing being potentially life threatening ailments, one who has a pet that is struggling to breath should seek veterinary care ASAP. Below are some common causes for trouble breathing:
Urinating Excessively/Inappropriate Urination
Urinating excessively is a sign that often goes unnoticed, or dismissed by many pet owners as just peculiar behavior. What may folks are not aware of, is that drinking excessively can be a sign of serious systemic disease, including the following:
Vomiting/Regurgitation
Vomiting may occur occasionally throughout a pet's lifetime, due to dogs and cats (dogs especially) tending to ingest sometimes less than ideal items. Vomiting due to this type of dietary indescretion, may respond by feeding a bland, easily digestible diet. If you call your vet's office, they may dispense the GI friendly Hill's Prescription I/D or other prescription GI diet, to feed your pet until the vomiting resolves. Transient vomiting of this nature should last only a few hours to a day, should not be severe in nature or have blood in it, and should not be accompanied by complete loss of appetite, severe diarrhea, severe depression, or pain.
However, if the vomiting is advanced to the point of any of these other circumstances, then this could indicate more serious underlying causes for the vomiting, as well as put the patient in danger of dehydration, electrolyte abnormalities, and shock - as such, advanced vomiting of this nature warrants a visit to the vet ASAP. Common causes of vomiting include:
Blood In The Urine
Blood in the urine should never be taken lightly. Its presence is usually a sign of urinary tract inflammation and pain related to:
Weight Gain/Obesity
Excessive weight on a dog or cat that is not over fed and receives ample regular exercise could be a sign of systemic disease. If one has tried good quality weight loss diets, recommended by a veterinarian (remember that pet food is not as tightly regulated as human food and lbels often lie!), then it would be wise to consider one of the following causes for the excess weight:
Weight Loss
Weight loss is perhaps one of the most vague clinical signs in veterinary medicine. Any number of diseases can stress the body to the point of leading to weight loss. Therefore, weight loss with accompanying poor appetite, depression, vomiting, or any other signs of illness, should not be taken lightly and the pet taken to the veterinarian ASAP. The weight loss that the diseases below can be responsible for also warrant a prompt visit to the vet, but unlike many debilitating diseases that lead to weight loss, these typically do not concurrently coincide with poor appetite. In fact, more often than not, the diseases below cause weight loss DESPITE the pet having a normal or even excessive appetite:
Jaundice
Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellow pallor or discoloration of the whites of the eyes, the skin, and the gums and other mucus membranes. This discoloration is the result of excessive bilirubin in teh bloodstream, which can be the result of either backed up liver circulation due to disease, or as the result of excessive accumulation of bilirubin due to the destruction of red blood cells caused by a disruption in red blood cell metabolism, a defective immune system, or both. Jaundice is a clinical sign that is often indicative of serious systemic disease. Therefore, if jaundice is is ever observed in one's dog or cat, it is important to seek veterinary care immediately. Below are some of the most common causes for jaundice in small animal veterinary medicine:
Cholangiohepatitis
Weclome to Web-DVM's Symptom Checker, a virtual online diganostic tool. The term symptom, really does not apply to veterinary medicine, but is used here merely because of the familiarity most people have with the term. Strictly, a symptom is a sensation or change in health function experienced by a person.
These senations are conveyed by the human patient to the doctor through speech or other communication so that the doctor knows what the patient is experiencing.
In veterinary medicine, with patients that cannot tell the owner or veterinarian how they are feeling, we look not for symptoms, but instead, signs of disease. Signs, as opposed to symptoms, are objective indications of some medical fact or quality that are detected by a person or veterinarian.
Clinical Signs
About Us
Web-DVM
Health, advice, and information online community for dog and cats lovers.
Symptom Checker
The Web-DVM TV & Blog: Animal news, information, and commentary with host, veterinarian, Dr. Roger Welton.
Therefore, the Web-DVM presents pet owners with sets of clinical signs, not symptoms, to choose from that they may be observing from pets, so that they may have an idea of what diseases their pets may be experiencing. Please be clear that the purpose of this tool is for educational purposes to help pet owners recognize signs of disease only, and is not meant for owners to self diagnose their pets to try to implement treatment. Anyone who feels their canine or feline companion may be sick or injured should seek veterinary attention for their pet immediately.
Top Canine & Feline Topics
