How can you tell if your cats running a fever?

I got Tiki back from the Vet this evening & I can tell she's feeling better. But I noticed that she feels really warm to the touch & her nose is much more pink (almost hot pink) in color. It's normally a peachy pink color. I felt her belly & it's warm...almost hot. She's not panting or acting real sluggish. I just caught her laying on top of the toilet tank where it's cooler.

It's probably just my imagination running wild since I know she's got a Bladder infection, but could she be running a fever? If so, how do I tell? The only thermometer I've got is an oral digital one.

Should I be concerned or am I just being paranoid?

When my cats have a fever, their noses are dry, their ears are warmer than usual and of course, they won't eat and are sluggish. I don't notice any change in the color of their noses though.

She isn't as sluggish as this weekend & she's been eating and drinking since she got home. I tried touching her nose, but she got totally ticked off at me. I'll try to catch her napping soon & see if it's dry.

Also, she's using the litterbox like normal.

I'm just worried....I'm just an old Mother Hen!

The only way to really tell is to take it Shell. That's the safest way.

Can I use my oral one? I wasn't sure if it would be accurate. Plus, what is the normal temp for a cat?
Thanks!

I was always told to use a pet thermometer which is rectal. I would hesitate to use an oral thermometer to take a cat's temp.

Ok...luckily I haven't been able to find it! All the pet store around here are closed now, but if she's still feeling hot I'll get one in the morning.

Any idea about the hot pink nose? That's just got me flustered!

Really no clue, I noticed that after I took Bailey to the vet and he had a bit of a time of it with an illness, his nose turned black? Stress perhaps? Just push fluids with her- dribble tuna juice into her water, anything to encourage her to drink.

Originally posted by Shell
Can I use my oral one? I wasn't sure if it would be accurate. Plus, what is the normal temp for a cat?
Thanks!

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If you did use it... would you really ever want to use it again after it had been up the kitten's bum bum?

And they took Zero's temp at the vet the other day. I think they said 102 which was normal but I could be off.

The normal temperature in cats is 100.5 to 102.5 degress Fahrenheit.

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Found this on petplace.com!

Originally posted by Shell
Can I use my oral one? I wasn't sure if it would be accurate. Plus, what is the normal temp for a cat?
Thanks!

Click to expand...

I know that your supposed to take it rectally. Some human ones work oral or rectal, but because a cats normal temp is higher than ours it may be difficult to get a precise reading on those non-digital thermometers that stop around 102/104 degrees. If you decide to try on your own, lubricate the thermometer first

Fwiw, my experiences with kitties and fevers is that I have seen diarhea or avery flat affect, almost apathetic, lethargic.

I would never be able to tell by flushing, as Curls flush when excited - the inside of their ears gets very pink <G>.

Hoping your girl keeps feeling better and better now that she's home and on meds,

Hope she starts to feel better soon

My vet told me I could use a regular digital thermometer. (if I had to) but ya I would probly throw it away after.. or save it just for the cats.

I asked my vet a few years ago if I could get an accurate reading from one of those ear scanners for humans, and she said she didn't think so, but I could try it. Since then I've used one three times on JC, and got the same reading using a rectal thermometer, so apparently it does work.