Animal Care and Nursing
Assessment and monitoring
Nursing begins with a systematic assessment: temperature, pulse, respiration, mucous membrane color, capillary refill time, hydration, body condition score, and mentation. Approximate canine heart rates are 60–140 beats/min (higher in small dogs and puppies) and feline 140–220; rectal temperature is about 38.0–39.2 °C in both species. Always treat values as ranges and interpret them alongside the patient's demeanour.
Restraint and handling
Use the least restraint necessary: a towel wrap for cats, gentle lateral recumbency or a muzzle for dogs, and chemical restraint when handling would cause pain or injury. Fear, anxiety, and stress reduce the reliability of physical findings and slow recovery; low-stress handling and species-appropriate housing matter clinically, not just ethically.
Nutrition and fluids
Resting energy requirement is RER = 70 × (body weight in kg)^0.75, and daily energy requirement is RER multiplied by a life-stage factor (roughly 1.2–1.4 for neutered adults, higher for growth and lactation). Body condition is scored 1–9, with 5 ideal. Maintenance fluid rates are roughly 50–60 mL/kg/day; calculate deficits and ongoing losses separately and reassess perfusion after boluses.
Husbandry and safety
Know isolation protocols for infectious disease, hand hygiene, zoonosis awareness, enrichment, and record keeping. Report abnormalities rather than waiting for the next scheduled check.
Worked example
For a 10 kg dog: 10^0.75 ≈ 5.62, so RER = 70 × 5.62 ≈ 394 kcal/day. Multiply by the appropriate factor to obtain the daily feeding target.
Traps
Treating a single abnormal number without assessing the patient, overfeeding hospitalized animals, and using excessive restraint instead of sedation.