Veterinary Nurse's Observation

A veterinary nurse’s observation can give the vets valuable information, which will assist the vets in the diagnosis and treatment. Any observations should be recorded, and anything abnormal reported directly to the vet in charge of the animal.
This is not a very easy task for the veterinary nurse, as not only does normal behaviour vary from animal to animal, but animals do not tend to behave normally in a veterinary practice. A veterinary practice is a very scary place for an animal, so it is important that the veterinary nurse does everything possible to reduce the animal’s fear and anxiety. It is a good idea to become familiar with each individual animal so that you can recognise its normal behaviour and appearance.
To know what is an abnormal appearance in the
Possible abnormal appearances of the dog and cat will include the following:
• Feeding and drinking o Loss of appetite (this is often the first sign that an animal is unwell) o Voracious appetite with weight loss o Pica (craving for unnatural food) o Coprophagia (eating faeces) o Polydipsia (increased thirst) o Has a normal appetite, but has difficulty with eating
• Vomiting o Retching (retching without vomit) o Projectile vomit (forceful vomiting without retching) o Bilious vomit (containing yellow bile) o Haematemesis (vomit with blood, either fresh, or digested, which looks like coffee grounds) o Regurgitation (freshly eaten food is regurgitated before reaching the stomach) o Stercoraceous (vomit with