时差N小时 如何判断宠物需要医药治疗?(下)

The situation with cats, as compared to dogs and birds, is much more interesting.

而猫的情况与狗和鸟相比，就更有趣了。

On the one hand, cats are predators¹, but on the other, they're small enough to be prey².

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?

所以你要怎样判断宠物需要医药治疗呢?

For one thing, trust your hunches³.

首先，相信预感。

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 vet⁴ look them over.

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。

For a cat, other signs of illness might be that it has stopped grooming⁵, is losing weight, vocalizing more or less than usual, or missing the litter box.

而猫生病的其它征兆，可能就是精神不振，食欲不佳等症状。

1 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

3 hunches   

预感，直觉( hunch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A technical sergeant hunches in a cubicle. 一位技术军士在一间小屋里弯腰坐着。
• We often test our hunches on each other. 我们经常互相检验我们的第六感觉。

4 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

5 grooming   

n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发

参考例句：

• You should always pay attention to personal grooming. 你应随时注意个人仪容。
• We watched two apes grooming each other. 我们看两只猩猩在互相理毛。