Pet Health Check up
Hi, I’m Dr. Hendrickson from Hillchester Hospital For Animals.
Today we’re doing a physical exam on our house kitty in order to give you an idea of what we do when we do an exam. My assistant’s name is Kurt. He’s going to help restrain Mercedes. She’s called Mercedes because she purrs so nicely. She’s purring quite nicely right now. Mercedes has been with us for quite a few years. She came to us as a stray when she was pregnant. She nursed all of her kittens, and she all of the kittens that we had during that summer. She was injured, and she had a bad crushed foot. We had to amputate her leg. She was not up for adoption. We kept her because she’s such a nice kitty.
In order to start a physical exam, we start at one end and work our way towards the other. The first thing we do is to check the eyes for any abnormalities. Her skin looks good. She doesn’t appear to have any parasites. We check the teeth, open the mouth, and look for tumors in the mouth. We make sure that her teeth are clean and that there are no holes or broken teeth. We check the ears by using an otoscope. Mercedes’ ears are just fine.
When a pet comes in, want to know if they have fleas. We look for flea dirt and use a flea comb. Mercedes doesn’t have any fleas because she’s on Frontline for cats. In an animal hospital, it’s easy for her to pick up fleas when other pets or strays come in that have had fleas. Thus, we have to keep protecting her against that.
The next thing that we look for are the lymph nodes on the various areas of the body. We check under the chin to make sure that her thyroid gland is ok and not enlarged. We look for lumps as well. It’s easier to check the heart and lungs after Mercedes has stopped purring. It’s also important to check the abdomen for any possible abnormal growths. The final check is to look at the tail and rear end for any problems.
Mercedes appears to be just fine.
Once again, Mercedes has passed her annual physical exam. Thank you for watching.
Schedule an appointment online at www.HillchesterAH.com
