|
|
First-Aid for Dogs & Cats
What is first aid?
Helping your animal when injured or ill until veterinary
assistance can be given or until the animal recovers naturally. A cool head and
a calm approach help to keep animals calm. A special first aid kit is not
essential, but basic cleanliness helps to prevent possible infection.
What to do
 |
Do not offer food to soothe injured fractious animals. A general anesthetic
may be necessary. Vomiting may make internal injuries worse.
|
|
|
Never give animals human painkillers unless asked to do so by your vet.
Taking 1 paracetamol tablet, aspirin or human anti-inflammatory tablet can
fatally poison cats. Dogs can suffer damage to internal organs.
|
|
|
Contact your vet for advice and use common sense.
|
Signs of
illness or injury
Dogs and cats behave very
differently when injured. Your dog may show obvious discomfort and seek your
attention whereas your cat may retreat to a hiding place or sleeping place and
not appear for meals or when you call. Pain may lead to uncharacteristic
behavior such as biting, scratching, and running away.
Handling
Easy handling will allow you to
inspect your animal when signs of injury or illness are suspected. Encourage
your animal from a young age to allow handling and inspection of mouth, ears,
eyes, coat and feet, and to allow you to pick him up.
If you need a vet
Contact the clinic immediately or
get someone to do it for you. Be prepared if your call is out of hours
(overnight or at weekends), you may not speak to the vet right away. There may
be an answering machine, an answering service or a message taker. Familiarize
yourself with your local practice’s out of hour’s arrangements. Be calm,
explain the problem as you see it, give your name, telephone number and address,
and details of the animal.
Emergency Service
All practices are obliged to
provide out of hours cover for their clients. Some do not do house calls, some
have an animal ambulance and some refer all out of hours work to a centralized
emergency veterinary clinic in the area.
Advance Warning
Call your veterinary clinic to
warn them of your arrival. Arriving unannounced may result in delayed treatment
if the vet is out on a call or operating on an urgent case. Staff security is a
concern in veterinary practices and bogus calls result in wasted time and lost
sleep. Prior notification of an arrival in the middle of the night helps to
alleviate these concerns.
Transporting your animal
Be prepared to transport your dog
or cats to the clinic as it may not be possible, or in the best interests of
your animal, for the vet to come out. Fully equipped animal ambulances are
uncommon. Your vet can only carry a limited amount of emergency equipment in
the car; therefore precious time may be saved by you taking the animal directly
to the veterinary clinic, where there is specialized equipment and drugs to help
deal with emergencies. If in doubt about moving your animal ASK YOUR VETERINARY
CLINIC FOR ADVICE.
Transporting Dogs
|
|
Restraint: Use a collar and lead to physically restrain your dog.
Alternatively, wrap in a blanket or towel. If small use a well ventilated
carrier or cardboard box. Ask another person to hold onto him, providing
this will not cause more stress and anxiety for the animal. Be aware that
if he is in pain he may bite. |
|
|
Lifting: If your dog is unable to stand, use a coat or a blanket as
a stretcher to lift him. Lay the blanket on the ground next to the dog.
Gently ease him onto the blanket by pulling him body first, with legs
trailing. Engage the help of another person and lift the blanket like a
stretcher into the vehicle (with one person walking backwards). If you
suspect spinal damage, slide a firm object (tray, stiff cardboard, firm
cushions) underneath the blanket and left altogether. |
Transporting
Cats
Injured cats may be weak and
unusually co-operative or they may be fractious and frenzied and likely to
bite. Caution and calm are required to handle and prevent escape. Use a cat
basket or carrier. A cardboard box (tied up or taped) or any closed container
will do provided it is well ventilated. Avoid carrying cats in your arms, as
this may make injuries worse or cause pain.
|
|
Wrapping
& Scooping: Use a blanket (or coat, towel, curtain, piece of
cloth). Drop over the cat to cover completely and speedily scoop the whole
bundle up with him contained and place the whole lot in to the carrier or
just hang onto the bundle. |
Common Situations
|
|
Bleeding from wounds:
Get veterinary advice or request immediate
attention if there is a lot of blood. Press on the wound with a clean cloth
in your hand. Try and keep your animal still, the more excited and agitated
your animal becomes the faster the heart rate, the higher the blood pressure
that makes bleeding worse.
|
|
|
Cut
foot: If bleeding is profuse, wrap the foot in lint or cotton wool and
apply a firm roller bandage with even pressure round the claw.
Never use an elastic band or other constricting material. Take
your animal to a vet for whatever treatment is required.
|
|
|
Breathing
difficulties: Urgent veterinary attention is required for wheezing,
choking and coughing, gasping and mouth breathing. Beware; panting can be a
normal heat control mechanism in dogs but is abnormal in cats and indicates
distress. Cats with breathing difficulties need very careful handling as
panic can lead to death by choking.
|
|
|
Limping
(lameness): Seek veterinary advice. Can your animal use the
affected leg to carry any weight? Non weight bearing lameness is
generally more urgent than weight bearing ones. |
|
|
Collapse,
fainting, fits: Time the event and try and make accurate
observations about what the animal is doing exactly (e.g. stiff or floppy
legs). Never put your fingers into the mouth of a collapsed animal and try
not to touch at all during the fit. Use a wooden spoon or smooth stick to
flick the tongue forward if necessary. Mouth to mouth breathing is not
recommended because of the risk of infection. Calmly reassure your animal
as he comes round.
|
|
|
Poisoning:
Do not try to make your animal vomit unless advised to do so. Get
as much as you can about the suspected poison, ideally, take the packet with
you to the vet. |
|
|
Stings:
Seek urgent veterinary attention if near the head and neck
or in the mouth, or if your animal appears wobbly (some animals can have a
fatal shock reaction to stings). Remove the sting if possible and apply a
cold compress (bag of frozen peas / ice wrapped in a cloth). Try and
establish what has caused the sting. |
|
|
Road Accidents: Injured animals may show no external signs. Keep
quiet and calm, and contact the vet immediately as internal injuries may
have occurred.
|
|
|
Sickness
and Diarrhea: Seek urgent veterinary attention if the animal is very
young or very old or if you see blood. Dehydration is a risk. If bright
and alert, try fasting of food for 4-8 hours and offer tepid boiled water
little and often and then bland foods. You can use glucose and electrolytes
to counteract dehydration. |
|
|
Ear Problems: Seek urgent veterinary attention for sudden and
violent head shaking (may indicate a foreign body in the ear canal). Seek
veterinary advice for smelly ears, scratching, head shaking or loss of
balance. Don’t probe ears – you can damage the eardrum. Do not put liquid
into the ear canal unless advised to do so. |
Frequently asked Questions
Q. Isn’t it wrong to move injured animals?
A. Strictly speaking yes – if there is spinal
injury, but in the vast majority of cases, speed is of the essence in seeking
prompt attention. Removing your injured animal from the road may prevent
further injury and be safest for you and them. Lifting your dog or cat as
described will reduce the risk of further injury or pain.
Check List
ü Use first aid but know your limitations
ü Always call the Vet to alert them of the
situation and to your arrival
ü Never give human painkillers to cats or dogs
unless advised to do so by a vet (one paracetamol tablet will poison and kill a
cat).
|
