Questions to Ask About Cats
Questions for a veterinarian, a shelter, or a behavior consultant about a cat you already have or are about to take home: what is normal for her age, how to feed her, what to watch for between visits, and how the harder decisions later on get made.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What should I be checking at home between visits?
Why ask it
Vets can teach you a two-minute check: gums, weight by feel, coat condition, what is in the litter box, breathing rate while asleep. Learning it makes you the person who notices a change weeks before the next appointment would have.
What is normal for a cat her age, and what would you treat as a warning sign?
Why ask it
Age changes the meaning of everything. Drinking more water matters differently in a two-year-old and a twelve-year-old. Asking for the age-specific version stops you watching for the wrong things and missing the relevant ones.
What should she weigh, and is she at that weight now?
Why ask it
Owners consistently underestimate this, and a single extra pound on a cat is a large share of her body mass. Ask to be shown how to feel for ribs and waist, so you can judge it at home without a scale.
What should I feed her, how much, and how often?
Why ask it
Feeding guidance on packaging is generic and usually generous. What you want is a daily amount in grams or calories for this particular cat, because that is the only version of the answer that helps with weight control.
Wet food, dry food, or both, for her specifically?
Why ask it
There is a real argument here involving water intake, teeth, cost, and convenience. A vet who explains the trade-offs rather than naming one brand gives you something you can still apply when your budget or her health changes.
How do I know if she is drinking enough, and why does that matter so much for cats?
Why ask it
Cats evolved to take most of their water from prey and drink poorly from bowls, which contributes to urinary and kidney disease. Ask what to watch in the litter box, since output tells you more than watching a bowl.
Which vaccines does she need, and which depend on whether she goes outside?
Why ask it
Some are recommended for every cat and others are risk-based. Ask which is which and how often each is genuinely required, because the intervals have changed over the years and older advice is still repeated.
What parasite prevention does an indoor cat actually need here?
Why ask it
Indoor cats still meet fleas carried in on clothing and mosquitoes through window screens, and the risk varies by region. A vet can tell you what is worth buying where you live, rather than what happens to be sold at the counter.
What should I be doing about her teeth?
Why ask it
Dental disease is among the most common and least treated problems in cats, and it hurts long before an owner sees anything. Ask what to look for and what a cleaning under anesthesia costs, so the price is not a shock in two years.
How often should she be seen when nothing appears to be wrong?
Why ask it
The interval shortens with age, and for older cats a visit usually means bloodwork rather than an examination alone. Ask which tests are included and what those tests would catch early, since that is the point of going.
What counts as an emergency, and where do I take her at two in the morning?
Why ask it
Urinary blockage, breathing trouble, and poisoning are measured in hours. Get the name, address, and phone number of the nearest emergency clinic into your phone now, because you will not be researching calmly at the time.
How do cats show pain, and what would I actually notice?
Why ask it
The signs are quiet: jumping less, sitting hunched, grooming poorly, hiding, becoming short-tempered when handled. Knowing the list is the difference between noticing within a week and noticing after six months.
She has started doing this. Is it medical or behavioral, and how do you tell?
Why ask it
Describe the specific behavior, because many behavior changes have a physical cause and vets separate them by history, timing, and examination. A short video of what she does is worth more than your best description of it.
What is happening when a cat stops using the litter box?
Why ask it
This is as often medical as behavioral, and urinary problems in male cats can become an emergency quickly. Expect a good answer to begin with a urine sample rather than with advice about retraining.
How many litter boxes should I have, where, and with what litter?
Why ask it
The usual recommendation is more boxes, more spread out, than most homes provide, and location and litter type matter as much as number. It is also the cheapest fix available for an unpleasant and common problem.
How should I introduce her to the cat I already have, and over how long?
Why ask it
Introductions fail mainly because they are rushed. Ask for a timeline in weeks and, more importantly, what to do when it goes badly, because the recovery plan is the part owners are almost never given in advance.
What could I change in the house to make her less anxious?
Why ask it
Vertical space, places to hide, and a predictable feeding routine do more for an anxious cat than anything sold in a bottle. Ask what to change first, and what evidence supports anything you are being encouraged to buy.
How much play does she need, and what kind actually works?
Why ask it
Several short sessions that imitate hunting suit cats better than one long one, and toys that cannot be chased and caught get abandoned. This is also where to ask about a cat who wakes you at four in the morning.
Given her breed and her history, what is she prone to?
Why ask it
Some breeds carry known heart or kidney conditions, and a cat who lived outside may have infections or a lasting anxiety about food. Knowing the tendency tells you what to screen for, and roughly when to start.
How will I know when her quality of life has changed, and what would that decision involve?
Why ask it
Ask this while she is well. A useful answer names things you can observe, eating, mobility, grooming, interest in the household, and describes how a vet assesses quality of life, so that the decision rests on weeks of observation rather than on one bad afternoon.
Getting More Out of a Veterinary Visit
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the appointment
Write down what you noticed, with dates
"She has been eating less since about the fourteenth, and vomited twice last week" is diagnostic information. "She has seemed off lately" is not. A note on your phone as things happen beats trying to remember in the room.
Take a video of anything intermittent
Limping, coughing, straining in the litter box, and odd behavior rarely happen on the examination table. Thirty seconds of footage often settles a question that would otherwise need a return visit.
Bring the food, or a photograph of the label
The brand, the exact variety, and how much you actually give per day, including treats, is the information behind most weight and digestion advice. Owners routinely underestimate treats by half.
Ask about cost as part of the plan
Ask what each test would tell you, what it costs, and what you would do differently depending on the result. A good vet will help you sequence the plan rather than presenting it as one decision.
Signs worth a call rather than a wait
- Straining in the litter box or producing nothing, especially in a male cat.
- Not eating for a day, or drinking noticeably more than usual.
- Breathing with an open mouth, or fast shallow breathing at rest.
- Hiding somewhere she does not normally go.
- Sudden weight loss you can feel along the spine.
- Any change that has lasted more than a few days, even a small one.
Common pitfalls
Waiting to see whether it passes
Cats conceal illness well enough that visible symptoms often mean the problem has been developing for some time. The instinct to wait a week is the single most expensive habit in cat ownership, both in money and in outcomes.
Punishing behavior instead of asking why
Scratching, spraying, and biting are communication or symptoms, and punishment reliably makes them worse while damaging the relationship. Ask what need the behavior is meeting, then change the environment to meet it differently.
Trusting forum advice over an examination
Online groups are useful for questions about litter, toys, and introductions. They are unreliable for anything involving symptoms, because the same signs point to very different conditions and only an examination separates them.