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Have you ever noticed that while it’s pretty easy to tell your dog is sick, it’s much harder to know how your cat or bird are feeling? Well, before you start asking your dog why it can’t be more stoic like animals half its size, it’s probably worth considering each animal’s place in the food chain.
你有没有注意到发现狗是否生病很容易，但想知道猫或鸟的感受就比较难了。在你问“为什么狗不能比身材不及它一半的动物更坚强”之前，应该思考一下狗在食物链中的位置。
You see, the lower down the food chain you are, the more important it is for you to hide any sign of illness. Obvious illness or pain function as red flags for predators. You may as well wear a sign saying, “Easy meal, guys. Come and get me.”
要知道，在食物链的位置越低，隐藏疾病的任何征兆就越重要。明显的疾病或疼痛对食肉动物来说是危险的信号。就好像你身上有这样的标语“容易到手的午餐，伙计们，快来吃我吧”。
Now, even small dogs are genetically programmed to function like predators, which makes sense considering they are close relatives of wolves. And birds–you can probably figure out why the only way you’d find out your bird is sick is when it dies. The situation with cats, as compared to dogs and birds, is much more interesting. On the one hand, cats are predators, but on the other, they’re small enough to be prey.
现在，即使是很小的狗也由基因决定了是肉食动物。所以把狗看作狼的近亲也是有道理的。至于鸟类，也许能知道它是否生病的唯一途径就是死亡。而猫的情况与狗和鸟相比，就更有趣了。一方面，猫是食肉动物；另一方面，它们身材矮小很容易被捕食。
So how can you tell if your smaller pets need medical attention? For one thing, trust your hunches. No one knows your pets like you do, so if you notice even very subtle changes in habits and behavior, you may want to have a vet look them over. For a cat, other signs of illness might be that it has stopped grooming, is losing weight, vocalizing more or less than usual, or missing the litter box.
所以你要怎样判断宠物需要医药治疗呢？首先，相信预感。没有人比你更了解你的宠物。当你注意到它们生活习惯上尽管是非常微小的变化，也要请兽医对其进行检查。而猫生病的其它征兆，可能就是精神不振，食欲不佳等症状。
