How to Take the Pulse and
Control the Heart Beat

The heart rate of a cat in rest fluctuates between 110 and 160 pulsations per minute. Active cats that live in the outside have heart rates that are lower than the sedentary ones or of interior. Puppies have more than 260 beats per minute. Make an estimate and write down the normal heart rate of your cat when he is in rest state.

The heart rate increases quickly with the excitation and the exercise. It also increases when the cat is in pain or has fever, when the initial phase of a shock is present, when scared, poisoned, bitten, or when having suffered an electrical unloading or of hyperthyroidism or any other cardiac disease. Calculate the heart rate of your cat in rest state when he is healthy and in form.

1. Hold the chest behind the elbows. Try to locate the beats of the heart, count them during 20 seconds and multiply by three to calculate the rate per minute.
2. To take the heart rate, put the fingers in the internal side of his rear legs, in the point for which it's joined to the trunk. Explore the area until you find the beatings, count them during 20 seconds and multiply them by three to calculate the cardiac rhythm per minute.