Capture the Start of the Illness While It Is Fresh
Begin the log with when you first noticed something was wrong and what that something was, described plainly: she skipped breakfast, she vomited after drinking, she sat hunched by the water bowl. Write down anything unusual in the day or two before, such as a new food, a visitor's dog, a houseplant moved within reach, or a missed litter tray change, because triggers are obvious only in hindsight. Note whether the change came on suddenly or crept in over several days, since that pattern helps a clinician judge how the episode unfolded. Vague entries like seemed unwell help nobody later; concrete observations do.
Record the Daily Signs That Show Direction
Each day she is ill, note the signs that show whether she is improving or slipping: how much she ate and drank, what came up or did not, and what her litter tray showed in terms of urine, stools, straining, or accidents outside the tray. Record her energy honestly, whether she groomed, played, hid under the bed, or cried when picked up, and note her breathing if it seemed fast, noisy, or laboured. If your veterinarian showed you how to take her temperature or check her gums, log those readings with the time. A simple line each morning and evening builds a curve of the illness that no single snapshot can give.
Log Medicine, Food Changes, and What Helped
Write down every administration of any medicine your veterinarian prescribed, with the time given and whether she kept it down, spat it out, or refused it entirely, so the follow-up conversation is based on what actually happened rather than what was intended. Note any food changes made during the illness, including bland meals offered, favourites refused, and the first normal meal she finished. Record what seemed to help, such as a quieter room, warmed food, or fluids offered in a different bowl, and what made her worse. These practical details turn the next illness, if one comes, from guesswork into a plan that already worked once.
Mark the Recovery and the Questions Left Over
Close the log with the date she ate normally, used the tray normally, and behaved like herself again, and flag anything that never quite returned to normal, such as a smaller appetite or a new dislike of being handled. Add the questions the episode raised: whether a follow-up test was mentioned, whether her weight changed, whether the problem might recur. Contact your veterinarian sooner than any planned follow-up if the log shows her stopping eating altogether, struggling to pass urine, breathing with effort, or becoming unresponsive, because a written record makes those turning points easier to spot and describe.
Keep the Log With Her Permanent Records
An illness log kept in a notebook that gets thrown away loses its value, so file it with her vaccination card and clinic summaries where the next episode's log can sit beside it. Patterns across episodes — repeated stomach upsets, seasonal flare-ups, slow weight drift — are only visible when the logs survive together. Held in her KinsLe Pet Passport with the rest of her health records in one portable packet, your notes from this illness stay available to any clinician who treats her next.