PawCompass 毛孩有方

Daily Pet Health Check for Australia: A 5-Minute Guide to Reading Your Cat or Dog's Body Signals

Last updated: 2026-07-29

Anyone who's had a cat or dog for a while knows the trap: as long as they're eating and playing, it's easy to assume everything's fine. But cats and dogs are wired to hide discomfort. It's a leftover survival instinct, since looking weak makes you a target in the wild. By the time it's obvious something's wrong, it's often already been building for a while.

The good news is you don't need a veterinary degree to do basic screening. A couple of minutes a day, working over the body from head to tail, is enough to catch a lot of changes early. This checklist pulls together public guidance from RSPCA and Australian vet clinics, organised by body area and daily habit, so it's something you can actually keep up.

Water intake

I keep an eye on his water intake though. And check his poop. Neither one looks like much on the surface, but they're two of the easiest signals to miss and two of the most telling.

A sudden change in either direction is worth noticing. Drinking noticeably more, especially paired with more frequent urination, is one of the earliest and most common signs of declining kidney function or diabetes, often showing up weeks before other symptoms. Drinking much less, on the other hand, combined with low energy, can point to a pet feeling unwell, and it's worth checking for signs of dehydration alongside it, like tacky gums or skin that's slow to spring back when gently pinched.

You don't need to measure exact millilitres. Just notice whether the water bowl needs topping up more or less often than usual. For a rough baseline by weight, the water intake calculator gives a sensible range to compare against.

Check his poop

Not the most glamorous part of pet ownership, but it's about as direct a report on what's going on inside as an owner is going to get.

Normal stool is chocolate brown, firm, and holds its shape. Most other appearances are telling you something:

• Black or tarry: can point to bleeding higher in the digestive tract, and this one warrants contacting a vet straight away rather than waiting it out
• Streaked or flecked with blood: usually from the lower intestine or rectum; if it repeats or comes with soft stool, get it checked soon
• Yellow and greasy-looking: can suggest a liver or pancreas issue worth a vet visit
• Watery diarrhoea: commonly parasites, infection, or a diet change introduced too fast. If it lasts more than 24-48 hours, or your pet also goes off food or seems unwell, see a vet
• Small, hard, dry pellets: usually dehydration or constipation. Make sure fresh water is available, and if it hasn't resolved in two days, book a visit

Cats make this easier to miss, since it all happens in a litter tray rather than on a walk. Cats are also generally better than dogs at masking that something's wrong, which makes a regular glance at the litter tray worth the habit.

Eyes, ears, paws and nails

Check his eyes, ears, paws and nails daily. These are visual, hands-on checks: nothing here needs equipment, just a proper look and feel.

Eyes should be clear and bright, with no redness, excessive discharge, or weeping.

Ears normally carry a small amount of wax, but watch for odour, discharge, dark debris, or redness and swelling inside the ear. None of that is typical, and any smell coming from the ear is usually worth a vet visit sooner rather than later.

Paw pads are worth checking regularly, especially between the toes. Grass seed season in Australia is a common time for seeds to work their way in unnoticed. Look for discolouration, cuts, or bleeding, and if your pet is limping or flinching when a paw is touched, get it looked at.

Nails that have grown too long need trimming, but avoid cutting into the quick, the blood vessel running through the nail. Cutting too close is painful and will bleed.

Skin and coat

Fur should look glossy overall. Some shedding is completely normal, but a bald patch that appears suddenly is worth watching. More dandruff than usual often means a nutritional gap in the diet, and skin that's regularly red, itchy or sore should be checked by a vet. Dogs with pink skin, such as some pale or hairless breeds, carry a somewhat higher skin cancer risk, so a new lump, bump, or change in skin pigmentation is worth a closer look rather than dismissing.

Nose, mouth and gums

The nose should be free of discharge or swelling. Note any change in pigmentation or a sore that isn't healing.

Teeth ideally look white and unchipped; noticeable tartar build-up is a good reason to talk to a vet about diet or dental care options. Gums should be pink. Receding, bleeding, or swollen gums aren't normal, and the mouth shouldn't have ulcers or sores.

Energy and mobility

Notice how they walk, sit, and get up. Limping, favouring one leg, or struggling to rise are all the body flagging something. Are they less playful than usual today? Some slowdown is expected as pets age, but a sudden change, or one paired with other symptoms, is worth a conversation with a vet, since supplements or pain management can genuinely help older pets stay comfortable.

Appetite

Eating noticeably more or less than usual is worth noticing, not just refusing food outright.

A clear drop in appetite, or going off food entirely for more than 24 hours, especially alongside low energy, vomiting or diarrhoea, is worth a call to the vet. Cats need extra care here: going without food for more than 24-48 hours can trigger a liver condition called hepatic lipidosis, and overweight cats are at higher risk. It's not a situation to wait out on the assumption they'll eat once hungry enough, the longer it drags on, the harder it becomes to treat.

On the other end, a sudden increase in appetite, especially paired with weight loss despite eating more, isn't a good sign either, and is commonly linked to diabetes or an overactive thyroid, which shows up more often in cats. Growing puppies and kittens, pets after exercise, or a food they simply prefer can all explain a bigger appetite too, so the main thing to watch for is whether it comes with other changes.

Weight

Weight is different from the rest of this list: it changes slowly, so checking daily won't actually show you much. A weekly or monthly check is more useful. Viewed from above, there should be a visible waist between the ribcage and hips. Running a hand gently along the side, you should be able to feel the ribs without much pressure. Getting tired quickly during normal activity is also a common sign of carrying extra weight. Senior pets in particular tend to gain weight gradually as their metabolism slows, so it's worth keeping an eye on portion sizes and treats. For a more structured read, the AI body condition score tool estimates it from a photo.

You know them best

The point of this checklist isn't to find a problem every day. It's building a working sense of what normal looks like for your own pet: how they breathe, what they smell like, when they scratch, how they like to lie down, roughly how warm they feel to the touch. Once that baseline is second nature, you'll be the first to notice when something's genuinely off.

Quick daily checklist

Short on time? This is the version to skim:

• Water: noticeably more or less than usual today
• Stool: normal colour and firmness, no blood or mucus
• Eyes: clear and bright, no redness or discharge
• Ears: no odour, discharge, redness or swelling
• Paws and nails: nothing stuck between the toes, walking normally
• Skin and coat: glossy, no new bald patches, lumps or sores
• Nose, mouth and gums: nose clear, gums pink with no bleeding
• Energy and mobility: moving, sitting and getting up as usual
• Appetite: noticeably more or less than usual
• Weight (weekly/monthly is enough): visible waist from above, ribs easy to feel with light pressure

If any one of these stays off, or several show up together, it's time to call a vet.

Daily observation can help you seek care sooner, but it cannot remove the risk of an unexpected vet bill. If you are weighing ways to manage that risk, see the Australian pet insurance comparison and rely on the current PDS.

This guide is for everyday observation and isn't a substitute for veterinary diagnosis. If anything unusual persists, worsens, or your pet becomes lethargic or stops eating, contact a vet promptly.

FAQ