Pet Symptom Guide: Work Out What to Do Next
A few questions about what you are actually seeing, then a plain read on what it usually means, what people commonly try at home, and the point where it stops being a home-care problem.
Read this first: this is not a diagnosis and it cannot examine your animal. It is a guide to help you decide whether you are looking at something mild or something that needs a veterinarian today. When in doubt, the answer is always your vet.
Everything this guide covers
We currently cover Itchy skin & allergies, Upset stomach & diarrhea, Urinary tract support (FLUTD), Anxiety & stress, Thunderstorms & fireworks, Travel & car sickness, Separation anxiety, Hot spots, Joint stiffness & senior mobility, Cuts, scrapes & minor wounds, Bruises & post-injury soreness, Grief & emotional upset, Appetite & digestion, Stress marking & spraying, Senior & cognitive support. These pages stand on their own, so you can read them directly instead of answering questions.
Itchy Skin & Allergies (dogs and cats)
- Seasonal, environmental itchingItching that follows the calendar and concentrates on paws, face and belly.
- Flea-bite itchingItching concentrated over the rump and tail base, with fleas present or unconfirmed.
- Dry, flaky, year-round itchingDull coat, visible flakes, and a mild constant itch that does not follow the seasons.
- A sudden red, hot, swollen flareSkin that came up quickly and is visibly red, warm and puffy to the touch.
- Broken, raw or oozing skinSkin the scratching has already damaged, which changes this from an itch problem to a wound problem.
Upset Stomach & Diarrhea (dogs and cats)
- They ate something they should not haveA sudden upset with an obvious dietary cause, in an animal who is otherwise still bright.
- Upset after a food changeLoose stool that started within a few days of switching food, in an animal who is otherwise well.
- A stomach upset with a stressful triggerLoose stool or a lost appetite that lines up with a clear change in the household or routine.
- A stomach upset that keeps coming backA pattern over weeks or months rather than a single episode, which is a different problem.
- A stomach upset in an animal who seems unwellWhen the animal itself seems wrong, the vomiting is the least important detail.
Urinary Tract Support (FLUTD) (cats)
- Straining or passing only small amountsThis is the presentation that becomes an emergency, and the answer is a vet today.
- Not sure how much she is producing, confirm it within the hourHow much urine is coming out is the single most important thing about a cat with urinary signs, and it decides whether this is an emergency. You can settle it today, at home, in about an hour.
- Recurring bladder irritation with a stress patternEpisodes that come and go, pass normal volumes, and line up with upheaval at home.
- Going outside the box, but otherwise wellNormal volumes in the wrong places, which is more often about the box than the bladder.
- A first episode, with normal volumesSomething looks slightly off but output is normal, so here is what to watch and when to stop watching.
Anxiety & Stress (dogs and cats)
- Anxiety that appeared suddenly, with physical signsBehavior that changed within days, alongside a change in eating or in the gut.
- Situational nervousness with a clear triggerFine most of the time, frightened by particular predictable things.
- Fear of people or other animalsFine with the family, frightened or reactive around visitors, strangers or other pets.
- Unsettled since something changedA move, a new arrival, a departure, or a new schedule, and they have not resettled.
- The generally anxious animalNo single trigger. Baseline nervousness that has always been part of who they are.
Thunderstorms & Fireworks (dogs and cats)
- Noise panic that has caused injuryThe fear has reached the point of physical harm or escape attempts.
- Fear that starts before the storm doesThey know it is coming an hour before you do, and by the time it arrives they are already frightened.
- Startled by the bang itselfFine until the noise happens, then a sharp fright that fades reasonably quickly.
- They hide, but it does not helpThere is a hiding place, they use it, and they are still frantic inside it.
Travel & Car Sickness (dogs and cats)
- Genuine motion sicknessDrooling that builds into nausea and vomiting once the car is actually moving.
- Fear of the car, not motion sicknessThe distress starts before the engine does, which makes this fear rather than nausea.
- Copes locally, struggles on long tripsShort journeys are fine. It is the multi-hour drives that go wrong.
- A young animal still learning to travelA puppy or kitten whose first experiences of the car are not going well.
Separation Anxiety (dogs)
- Soiling indoors when left, medical causes firstUrinating or defecating indoors while you are out, in a dog who was previously clean.
- Distress that starts before you leaveThe panic begins with your keys, your shoes, or your coat, before the door has even opened.
- Genuine separation distressDistress that peaks in the first half hour, aimed at the exit rather than at your belongings.
- Boredom rather than separation anxietyDamage or noise that comes later in the day and is aimed at interesting things, not at the door.
- Hyperattachment after a change or a rehomingA dog who has recently lost or gained a household, and cannot yet be alone in a room.
Hot Spots (dogs)
- Infected or actively spreading, this needs a vetDischarge, smell, or a red edge that is moving outward into skin that looked normal yesterday.
- A fresh, small hot spot caught earlyA raw, weeping patch no bigger than your palm that appeared in the last day and is not infected.
- Drying out and scabbing overThe weeping has stopped and a crust has formed. The job now is protecting it while skin rebuilds underneath.
- Hot spots that keep coming backMore than one patch, or the same patch returning. At that point the hot spot is a symptom, not the problem.
- A hot spot on the cheek or neck below an earPatches in this location are usually caused by the ear above them, so the ear is the thing to treat.
Joint Stiffness & Senior Mobility (dogs and cats)
- A limp that came on suddenly, get this examinedSudden lameness in one leg is an injury until proven otherwise, and injuries are diagnosed rather than supplemented.
- Stiff after rest, easier once movingSlow and creaky getting up, better after a few minutes of movement, worse in cold and damp. The classic arthritis pattern.
- Carrying extra weight on sore jointsThis is the one intervention with a bigger effect than anything you can buy, and we would be doing you a disservice by burying it.
- Sore the day after doing too muchFine during the walk, stiff the next morning. This is a workload problem before it is a joint problem.
- Not jumping or playing like they used toNo limp, no obvious pain, just a quieter animal who has stopped doing things. In cats especially, this is how arthritis actually looks.
Cuts, Scrapes & Minor Wounds (dogs and cats)
- Deep or puncture wound, this needs a vetAnything that goes through the full thickness of skin, or in through a small hole and a long way down, is a veterinary job.
- A surface graze or scrapeSkin scuffed rather than opened. Clean it properly, keep it dry, stop them licking, and mostly leave it alone.
- A shallow cut with the edges togetherThrough the skin, but narrow and sitting closed. Watch it carefully for the first two days.
- A cut or graze on a paw or padPads bleed dramatically, heal slowly, and get reinfected every time the animal walks outside. They need a different plan.
- A wound they keep licking, that is not closingA wound several days old that is still open, still wet, and being licked. The licking is now the problem, not the original injury.
Bruises & Post-Injury Soreness (dogs and cats)
- Not weight-bearing, or in real painA leg that will not take weight, or pain bad enough to vocalize, means something structural. That needs imaging, not arnica.
- Sore after a knock or a bad landingWalking normally but obviously tender in one place. Rest, cold then warmth, and honest daily reassessment.
- Stiff and sore after overdoing itGeneral stiffness the day after a hard session, rather than one specific painful spot.
- Sore after a procedure or an operationFollow the practice's plan first. Anything from this site is at most an addition, and some additions genuinely interfere.
- Still sore after several daysSimple bruising improves within a few days. Something that has not settled by then is a different problem.
Grief & Emotional Upset (dogs and cats)
- Not eating, which needs a vet rather than timeComplete or near-complete refusal of food is the one part of this that cannot be given more time, particularly in a cat.
- Withdrawn and flat after losing a companionQuiet, sleeping more, less interested in things they used to enjoy, but still eating. This usually lifts, and routine helps more than anything else.
- Searching, waiting, and calling outLooking for someone who is not coming back. Predictable routine and gentle redirection, not reassurance every time they call.
- Clingy and unsettled after a changeFollowing you room to room and unsettled when you are out of sight. Reassure by being predictable rather than by being constantly present.
- Still flat after a month or moreA month or more of low mood has outlasted the usual course. At that point the useful step is a physical check, not more patience.
Appetite & Digestion (dogs and cats)
- Barely eating, which needs a vet rather than a new foodNear-total refusal of food for more than a day is a medical sign, and in a cat it is a short clock.
- A genuinely fussy eater who is otherwise wellEats enough to stay well, but only on their terms. This is usually a training problem in the household rather than a problem in the animal.
- Off their food since a change of dietA new food changed too quickly upsets both appetite and stools. The fix is usually pace rather than another new food.
- Eating well, but the digestion is offAppetite is fine and the problem is downstream: gas, rumbling, inconsistent stools, or straining.
- Off their food since something changed at homeAppetite that dropped when the household changed. Usually short-lived, but cats have a much shorter safe window than dogs.
Stress Marking & Spraying (cats)
- Squatting with volume, medical causes firstA normal-sized puddle on a flat surface is not marking. Rule out the medical causes before treating this as behavior.
- Spraying at windows and doors because of cats outsideTerritorial spraying aimed at the boundary. Block the sightlines and the reason to spray largely disappears.
- Spraying from tension between cats in the houseMarking driven by competition indoors. More resources in more places, so nobody has to compete for anything.
- A litter box arrangement the cat does not acceptGoing near the box rather than in it usually means the box is the problem, and that is the easiest thing on this site to fix.
- Spraying since something changed at homeMarking that started with a move, a new baby, visitors or new furniture. Usually temporary, and helped most by putting the cat's own scent back.
Senior & Cognitive Support (dogs and cats)
- A sudden change, which is illness rather than agingAging is slow. Anything that arrived in days is a new illness wearing the costume of old age, and it needs diagnosing.
- Genuinely slowing down over monthsShorter walks, more sleep, less play, developing over months. Most of this is joints and muscle rather than age itself.
- Confusion, or restlessness at nightStaring, getting stuck, pacing at night, or calling out in the dark. There is more that can be done about this than most owners are told.
- Sight or hearing goingAnimals adapt to gradual sensory loss remarkably well. Most of the work is yours, and most of it is arranging the house.
- Toileting accidents in an older animalLosing house-training late in life is usually physical rather than cognitive, and a urine test answers most of it.