Keeping your cat's health in tip-top shape isn't always easy, especially when they're extremely adept at hiding an illness. So how can you detect when your feline friend isn't feeling so hot? Being familiar with baseline vitals, such as what a normal cat temperature is and how many beats per minute indicate a healthy cat heart rate, can help you get a pulse on your pet's health.

What Are Normal Vital Signs for Cats?

Checking your cat's vital signs at home is a great way to gauge their health, particularly if you feel they've been acting a bit off. The baseline vitals, or what's considered "normal" for cats, are as follows:

• Body temperature: Between 99 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit (37.2 - 39.2 degrees Celcius)
• Respiratory rate: An average of 20 to 30 breaths per minute
• Heart rate: About 160 to 180 beats per minute (this will vary based on level activity, age and fitness)
• Blood pressure: Between 120 and 130 mmHg (millimeters of Mercury)

How to Check Your Cat's Vitals

To ensure you're checking these vitals correctly, you'll want to ask your vet for guidance. With that being said, here are some basic tips for monitoring your cat's health, the tools you'll need to check each of these four vital signs, and what abnormal readings may indicate.

1. Temperature

There are two ways to determine if your pet has a normal cat temperature; unfortunately, your cat is probably not going to like either one. Pro tip: Recruit a friend to hold your kitty during these delicate procedures, suggests Cat Health.

• Rectal: Rectal temperatures are more accurate than ear temperatures. For this method, hold your cat comfortably, ensuring their back legs are supported. Use a rectal thermometer and cover the flexible tip with a lubricant, such as petroleum jelly. Gently insert the thermometer into their rectum, just past the tip of the thermometer and no further or you'll risk injury. Hold the thermometer steady until it beeps, then gently remove it to view the reading.
• Ear: Use a digital ear thermometer for ear temperature readings. Note: You do not need lubrication for ear readings. Hold the tool at a 90-degree angle and be careful not to damage your kitty's eardrum. When the thermometer beeps, gently remove it and check to see if it's within a normal cat temperature range.

An elevated temperature, especially when coupled with symptoms such as weakness, rapid heartbeat and panting, can be indicative of illness — yes, cats do get fevers. Fevers can alert you to the presence of a bacterial infection, inflammation or dehydration, among other issues. Contact your vet right away for advice and treatment options should you suspect a fever.

2. Respiratory Rate

To evaluate your cat's breathing at home, they need to be in a resting state — that is, asleep or awake, but not running around. Have your phone or a watch handy to time their breaths to the second. "Normal respiratory effort in a resting dog or cat means the sides of the chest rise and fall at a regular rhythm," according to Brewster Veterinary Hospital.

Stand a foot or two away from your kitty in order to see both sides of their chest. Time their breathing to see if it matches up with average vitals and to ensure that their breathing isn't labored. You can also hold your hands gently on their chest to feel the rhythm of their breathing.

Vets are notorious for being able to "read" a respiratory rate just by looking at an animal. But cats can get nervous at a checkup, experiencing exaggerated breathing that while easier to monitor, may lead to a potentially inaccurate assessment. At home, consider filming your cat in a resting state to help you — and your vet, too — better determine what your cat's normal respiratory rate is, suggests researchers in the Department of Clinical Science of Companion Animals at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

The two leading causes of breathing difficulties in cats are asthma and congestive heart failure, according to the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. To be safe, consider bringing your kitty to an emergency clinic if you notice any shortness of breath. Just like humans, cats are susceptible to upper respiratory infections, colds and the flu, so keep an eye out for sneezing, lethargy, a runny nose and breathing irregularities.