We hope we never need it, but we should always be prepared for emergencies. The best action for every emergency is to contact the vet, so know the name of your local practice and keep your veterinarian's phone number on hand.
Is it an emergency?
It is challenging to decide whether immediate attention is needed outside normal hours. You can always use a phone call to ask for suggestions.
You need to telephone the vet if
- Your pet seems weak and is reluctant to stand up.
- Breathing is difficult, the breathing is noisy or quick, or regular coughing is causing distress.
- There is repeated vomiting, especially if the pet is young or senior. Diarrhea, nevertheless, is less serious (except in kitties). Unless it is serious, bloody or the pet appears weak, you can try to feed small amounts of a bland (steamed chicken or white fish) and see a vet if it persists for more than a day.
- Your feline seems in extreme discomfort or pain.
- Your cat suddenly has difficulty with balance.
- Your cat is attempting to pee or excrete yet cannot pass anything. Obstruction of the bladder can happen especially in males and can be fatal if not treated urgently.
Top Tips In Cat First Aid
- Never offer human medicines to a cat, and do not supply food or drink if your cat has to have an immediate anesthetic.
- Any feline with breathing troubles should be handled gently, especially if breathing with an open mouth. Many of these cases are dangerously ill and can collapse if disturbed.
- If there is a need to put an Elizabethan collar on your cat, do not allow them outside after as it might prevent your cat from seeing traffic.
- Drive carefully when going to surgery and have your feline in a shut box or a carrier for transport.
- Whatever the situation, always phone first. There might not be a vet at the center, and you will waste precious time. Nevertheless, personnel might be able to recommend prompt action to take. Have a pen in handy in case an additional number is offered. Treatment can be given more quickly if the cat is taken to the surgery instead of calling the veterinarian to your home.
Cat First Aid In Different Emergency Situations
Road crashes
Prevention is always better than cure. Keep your cat at home always, especially in the evening, as this is when most road mishaps occur. If you find a cat in a road accident, take them to the veterinarian even if the cat seems safe. There may be internal bleeding that is not immediately obvious. Grab the cat carefully, keep them cozy, and put them in a box for transportation to emergencies.
Bleeding
Keep the feline calm. Put on a tight bandage in the sight of bleeding. You can improvise with strips of towel or clothing if needed. If blood is seeping, apply another tight layer. Use a tourniquet as a last option. If you can not put on a bandage, press a pad securely onto the wound and hold it in position. To the vet immediately.
If you have bandaging products available, layer these as follows. First, place a non-stick dressing on the injury and cover it with swabs or a cotton bandage. After that, put a layer of cotton wool over this and cover once more with a cotton bandage. Protect this top bandage layer with medical tape and cover all of it with tape or adhesive bandage. Do not put Elastoplast on the hair, and never leave a bandage on for more than 24 hours.
Open Wound Injuries
Anything that creates an open wound needs to be dealt with as soon as possible before infection sets in. Do not attempt to remove any kind of protruding objects. If there is a lot of bleeding, follow the instructions above. If not bleeding, prepare the area by cleaning up away any type of particles. Clean the area with water, do not use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. Use gauze. In either situation, see the vet quickly.
Broken Bones
Deal with any severe bleeding, but do not use a splint because it can cause the bone to break through the skin and is very painful. Confine the patient to a well-padded carrier for transport to the vet.
Burns and scalds
Run cold water over the injury for at the very least 5 minutes. After that, contact your vet. Do not use ointments or creams, although you can cover the wound with a saline-soaked gauze pad while awaiting treatment. Remember to maintain the individual warm.
Eye injuries
If chemicals have gotten in the cat's eye, clear out with water continuously (preferably from an eye bottle) and call the veterinarian. Do not allow your cat to rub an aching eye with its paws—you can use an Elizabethan collar. Contact the vet promptly if you notice a trauma in the area if your cat has a shut or discharging eye or sudden eye problem.
Drowning
Never put on yourself in danger trying to rescue a drowning cat. Wipe away any material from the mouth and the nose. Hold the feline upside down by the hind legs until all water is drained. Offer resuscitation if breathing has stopped. Even if the animal seems to recuperate, always see the vet after as problems afterward are common.
Electric shock
If a high voltage, non-domestic (for instance, high-voltage line) supply is involved, do not use the first-aid technique. Call the police.
In the house, turn off the power first. If this is difficult, utilize a dry non-metallic product, like a broom handle to push the cat away from the power source. If breathing has stopped, provide resuscitation. Call the vet right away.
Heatstroke
Affected animals are weak, panting, dribbling, and will appear distressed. Place the cat someplace cool, preferably with a draft. Wet their coat with tepid water. Do not use cold water, for it will contract the blood vessels in the skin and slow heat release. Phone the vet. You may give the cat a small amount of water. Heatstroke is uncommon however can occur if a cat has been entrapped somewhere, such as in a greenhouse on a hot day.
Stings
Take out the sting by pressing below the poison sac, then wash the area with either watered-down vinegar for a wasp or bicarbonate of soda solution for a bee sting. Soothe the area with ice. Contact the vet if the sting is in the mouth or throat as it may swell and hinder breathing.
Seizures
Ensure any type of harm is away from your pet during a seizure. Do not try to restrain or put your hand on the mouth; they won't bite their tongue. However, they might attack you. Go to the vet right away as soon as the seizure has run its course (usually less than five minutes).
Basic resuscitation
Put the animal on its side and check if breathing has stopped. Hold a wisp of hair to the nostrils to know. Open up the mouth, pull the tongue forward, and look for blockages, such as blood. Be careful not to get attacked while removing any material.
If breathing has stopped, extend the head by pointing the nose forward. Close the mouth and blow into the cat's nose about ten times per minute. If you can not feel a heartbeat, push on the chest every one or two seconds. Blow two breaths into the nose for every 15 pushes on the chest body. If this is unsuccessful after 3 mins, recovery is not likely.
Cat First Aid Kit
- Bandages—a roll of self-adhesive bandage cover or crepe bandage (5 centimeters size)
- Surgical sticky tape
- Box of cotton wool
- Box of sterilized absorbent gauze or a packet of swabs.
- Some non-adhesive absorbent dressings (5 centimeters square) to cover open wounds
- Blunt-tip bandage scissors, preferably curled
- Thick towel
- Elizabethan collar
- Bottle of sterilized saline solution
Miscellaneous But Essential
- First-aid manual
- Emergency numbers
- Pillow Cases make for a great quick makeshift cat carrier in a pinch.
- Exam gloves—pick latex-free gloves
- Flashlight or another light source—a trustworthy light is necessary for when injuries occur at night and for looking closely in between the toes or your cat's mouth, ears, or nostrils.
- Towels & rags
- Collapsible water bowls—retractable bowls can also be used to blend a disinfectant or to put water in to clean up a wound.
Last Thoughts
Knowing the fundamentals of animal emergency treatment can considerably raise the chances of an emergency being resolved without causing unnecessary harm to your pet. By using these feline first aids, you can be sure to have the very best possibility of conquering an emergency before things go out of hand.
I hope that this article and the list have helped you prepare, or double-check, your cat's first-aid kit. Ideally, you'll never need to use this, but it is better to be over-prepared than under. Stay safe.
