Pet Health Guides
Articles on the symptoms and subjects cat and dog owners ask about most.
Cats
36The Turkish Angora
Türkiye’s native long haired cat: its history, its temperament, the link between white coats and deafness, and what its coat needs.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Is Vomiting
Why cats vomit, how to tell an occasional hairball from a real problem, and the signs that mean the vomiting needs to be seen the same day.
How Many Nipples Do Cats Have
Cats usually have six to eight nipples, and male cats have them too. What is normal, and what a change in a nipple can mean.
Cat Vaccination Schedule
Which vaccines cats need, when kittens start, how often boosters are given, and which of them are a legal requirement in Türkiye.
My Cat Is Drooling
Some cats dribble when content. Sudden or persistent drooling usually means mouth pain, nausea or something stuck, and it should be looked at.
Tabby Cats: Patterns and Characteristics
Tabby is a coat pattern rather than a breed. The four patterns, why every cat carries the tabby gene, and what the markings do not tell you.
Why Do Cats Hiccup
Cats do hiccup, most often after eating too fast. What it looks like, why it happens, and how to tell hiccups from something more serious.
- Is this an emergency?
How to Tell If a Cat Has a Fever
Normal temperature in cats, why the classic nose test does not work, how to measure properly and when a fever needs treating.
The Chinchilla Persian
A silver tipped Persian variety with a striking coat and a flat face. Daily grooming, eye care and the breathing and kidney problems to know about.
The Sphynx Cat
The hairless cat needs more grooming than a coated one, not less. Bathing, skin care, warmth, appetite and the heart condition to watch for.
My Cat Is Sneezing
Occasional sneezing is normal. Persistent sneezing with discharge usually means cat flu, and in some cats it comes back for life.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Is Vomiting Yellow
Yellow vomit is bile, and it usually means the stomach was empty. When it repeats, or comes with other signs, it points at something that needs investigating.
My Cat Has Gastritis: What Should I Do
What gastritis means in cats, what brings it on, how it is treated, and how to tell acute irritation from a chronic problem.
- Is this an emergency?
How Long Are Cats Pregnant
Feline pregnancy lasts about 63 to 65 days. What happens week by week, how to prepare for the birth, and the signs that labour is going wrong.
Why Do Cats Purr
Purring is not only contentment. Cats also purr when frightened, in pain and while healing, which is why context matters more than the sound.
Ginger Cats: Colour, Genetics and Care
Why most ginger cats are male, why every ginger cat has tabby markings, and what the colour does and does not tell you about the cat.
Allergy Symptoms in Cats
Cats show allergy through the skin rather than the nose. What the four main types look like, and how allergies are actually diagnosed.
Atopic Dermatitis in Cats
Environmental allergy in cats, why it is diagnosed by exclusion rather than by a test, and how it is managed over the long term.
Internal and External Parasite Treatment in Cats
Worming and flea and tick control in cats: why it is treatment rather than vaccination, how often it is needed, and which parasites transmit to people.
Feline Herpesvirus
Herpesvirus causes cat flu and eye disease, and cats never clear it. Why it comes back at times of stress and how recurrences are managed.
Feline Calicivirus
Calicivirus is one of the two causes of cat flu. Mouth ulcers are its hallmark, and they are the reason affected cats stop eating.
- Is this an emergency?
Feline Panleukopenia
Panleukopenia is a parvovirus that kills most unvaccinated kittens that catch it. What it looks like, how it is treated and why vaccination matters so much.
My Cat Has Lost Its Voice
A cat that opens its mouth to meow but makes no sound has usually lost its voice to inflammation. What causes it and when it needs looking at.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Is Breathing Fast
How to count a cat’s breathing rate at home, what is normal, and why open mouth breathing in a cat is almost always an emergency.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Has Diarrhoea
What causes diarrhoea in cats, what you can safely do at home, and the signs that mean it should not be managed at home at all.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Is Not Using the Litter Tray
A cat straining in the tray with nothing produced is an emergency in males. How to tell a blocked bladder from constipation, and what never to do.
My Cat Bites a Lot
Biting in cats is usually play that got out of hand, overstimulation, or pain. Which one it is determines what fixes it.
My Cat Is Shedding a Lot
Seasonal moulting is normal. Shedding that leaves bald patches, or comes with scratching, is a skin problem rather than a coat problem.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Has Diarrhoea but Seems Well
A bright, eating cat with loose stools is a different situation from a sick one. What you can reasonably watch, and how long to give it.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Is Bringing Up Its Food
Undigested food returned soon after eating usually means the cat ate too fast, but persistent regurgitation of meals has other causes worth checking.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Is Not Drinking Water
Cats naturally drink little, which makes real dehydration hard to spot. How to tell normal from concerning, and how to get more water in.
My Cat Is Meowing Constantly
Cats meow at people, not at each other. Constant vocalising has causes worth finding, and in older cats it is often medical.
My Cat Sleeps All the Time
Cats sleep twelve to sixteen hours a day, so sleeping a lot is normal. What matters is whether the cat is sleeping or withdrawing.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Trembles in Its Sleep
Twitching during sleep is usually normal dreaming. Trembling while awake, or shaking that does not stop, is a different matter.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Is Not Eating
Why cats stop eating, why it becomes dangerous faster than in dogs, and how long is too long to wait.
- Is this an emergency?
My Cat Has Been Poisoned
What is toxic to cats, what to do in the first minutes, and the things people do with good intentions that make poisoning worse.
Dogs
19Gastritis in Dogs
What inflammation of the stomach lining looks like in dogs, what causes it, how it is treated and when repeated episodes need investigating.
- Is this an emergency?
My Dog Is Shaking
Shaking in dogs ranges from cold and excitement to poisoning and pain. How to tell a tremor from a seizure and when it cannot wait.
Mange in Dogs: Sarcoptic and Demodectic
Two mites, two very different diseases. One is intensely itchy and catches from other animals and people; the other is not.
- Is this an emergency?
Coughing in Dogs
What the sound of a cough tells you: kennel cough, heart disease, collapsing trachea and the signs that mean it is not just a cough.
The Dobermann
An intelligent, sensitive working breed with specific health risks. What the breed needs, and the two heart and blood conditions to know about.
My Dog Barks Too Much
Barking is communication, so the fix depends on what the dog is saying. The five common reasons and what actually reduces each one.
- Is this an emergency?
My Dog Is Not Eating
Distinguishing a fussy dog from a sick one, how long is safe to wait, and the signs that mean the loss of appetite is not about the food.
- Is this an emergency?
Signs of Rabies in Dogs
Rabies is fatal once signs appear and transmits to people. What the signs are, what to do after a bite, and why vaccination is a legal requirement.
The Border Collie
The most trainable dog breed, and the one most often placed in the wrong home. What it genuinely needs, and what happens when it does not get it.
The Golden Retriever
A friendly, biddable gundog with real health considerations: a high cancer rate, joint disease, and a coat that must never be clipped short.
Dog Vaccination Schedule
Which vaccines dogs need, when puppies start and finish, why the course is repeated, and which vaccination is a legal requirement in Türkiye.
Choosing a Dog Breed
What breed actually predicts, what it does not, and the health questions worth asking before you take on any particular type of dog.
Internal and External Parasite Treatment in Dogs
Worming and flea and tick control in dogs: why it is treatment rather than vaccination, how often, and which parasites transmit to people.
My Dog Is Shedding a Lot
Seasonal moulting is normal and heavy in double coated breeds. Patchy loss, itching or a dull coat is a skin problem, not a shedding one.
- Is this an emergency?
My Dog Is Vomiting
Most vomiting in dogs settles on its own. The pattern that does not, and the one presentation that is a surgical emergency.
My Dog’s Breath Smells
Bad breath in dogs is not normal. Dental disease causes most of it, but the smell itself can point at the kidneys, liver or gut.
Eczema and Hot Spots in Dogs
What owners call eczema in dogs is usually allergic skin disease or an acute moist dermatitis. Why treating the surface alone never holds.
- Is this an emergency?
Bloody Diarrhoea in Dogs
Blood in a dog’s diarrhoea is always worth acting on. What fresh blood and black tarry stool each mean, and why puppies need seeing urgently.
Fungal Skin Infection in Dogs
Ringworm and yeast are different problems with different treatments. How to tell them apart, and which one transmits to people.