Clinical decision support
Neonatal APGAR score
Score newborn puppies and kittens on appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration. Review interpretation, resuscitation guidance, and prognosis. Educational decision-support tool only.
Safety checks
- This tool supports scoring and education only.
- It does not replace hands-on neonatal assessment.
- APGAR is a snapshot; trends over time are more informative.
- Low scores require immediate intervention, not just documentation.
- Always correlate with maternal history and dystocia severity.
Basis and limits
- Scale: Adapted APGAR for veterinary neonates (5 categories, each scored 0–2; total 0–10).
- Appearance: mucous membrane color and perfusion.
- Pulse: heart rate and strength.
- Grimace: reflex response to nasal stimulation.
- Activity: muscle tone and movement.
- Respiration: breathing effort and regularity.
- Interpretation: 7–10 normal, 4–6 moderate distress, 0–3 severe distress.
- Scope: this tool provides a quick scoring reference. It does not replace full neonatal examination.
Scoring audit trail
Scoring details will appear here for verification.