First aid emergency for Cats
First aid for cats
By having a cat you are responsible for their care therefore you should be aware of the emergency first aid that should be given to cats that are in an accident.
The first thing to do with burns or scalds is to rinse the area under cold water for a few minutes; you must not cover the area. After you have rinsed the area contact your vet.
Cats can choke on anything from a fish or cat bone to a swing nettle, if this happens get your cat and wrap them in a blanket or towel – this will restrain them, next open their mouths and try to locate the object ensuring not to tilt their head backwards as this could result in the object falling further down their throat. If you can see the object use a blunt ended pair of tweezers to pull it out.
If you are unsure or unable to see anything then take you cat to the vets as soon as possible, don’t pull at anything you are unsure of as it could be attached to the stomach.
Dehydration can be caused by a number of illnesses such as heatstroke and kidney disease. One way of seeing if your cat is dehydrated is by pinching the skin at the back of the cats neck, if it falls back slowly then your cat is dehydrated. An early sign of dehydration is if your cat’s gums feel dry or tacky. Dehydration can cause dogs to feel extremely weak and can cause fits and even death so it is important to contact your vet quickly.
Before you treat your pet make sure that the electric appliance involved is turned off to save yourself from getting electrocuted. You may find that if your cat ha chewed through a cable their mouth will be burned and electrocution can often lead to cardiac arrest so it is important to get your cat to the vet’s immediately.
The first immediate thing to do after rescuing a act after nearly drowning is to make sure they are kept warm. If the cat is unconscious you will have to supply artificial respiration, firstly check for a heartbeat, then hold your cats head lower than his body to drain the lungs of water, lay the cat on its side and clear anything from its mouth and pull their tongue forward. If this doesn’t start any breathing you will have to push down carefully on the cat’s chest with a short sharp push with the flat of your hand every 5 seconds, allowing their lungs to fill with fresh air.
If this fails to work then you will need to use mouth to nose respiration, do this by holding the cats mouth firm closed and blowing short gentle breaths up both of the cat’s nostrils, pause and repeat until the cat starts to breath, be careful not to over-inflate the lungs though.
Serious falls or Cat accidents
The first thing to do if possible is to move the cat away from any further danger, the next thing to do is to make a type of stretcher from a blanket or coat, carefully slide the cat onto the stretcher making sure that you are careful with them as they may have broken bones. Due to the cat being in pain they may lash out so wear gloves and make sure you don’t lean your face in too close to them. Try not to twist them as they may have accrued a back injury, also keep they head slightly lower than the rest of their body so that the bloody continues to flow around their body. Wrap your cat up keeping them warm and get them to the vets immediately.
When approaching the cat make sure your do so slowly and softly, it is advised that you hold them gently but firmly by the scuff of the neck and supporting them by having your hand under their hind quarters.
For any external bleeding place a firm cold compress over the bleeding wound to help stem the blood flow, please do not use any disinfectant, and get your cat to the vet.
Symptoms to look out for that could mean your cat has poisoning are vomiting, diarrhoea, drooling and staggering, if you notice these symptoms contact your vet. If you know that your cat has eaten rat poison it is important that they have vitamin K injections immediately. If you find that your cat has gotten paint or oil on its fur then use vegetable oil or petroleum jelly to soften it and then bath them in soapy water and rinse them thoroughly.
If you cat gets stung then it is important to remove the sting with tweezers immediately, be careful not to squeeze the sting as it will release more poison. If your cat has been stung by a bee use an alkali to bathe the sting, just an ordinary baking soda in cold water will do. If they have gotten stung by a wasp then treat the sting with an acidic such as vinegar. If they get stung in the mouth it is important you get them immediately to the vets as this could cause their mouth or throat to swell preventing them from breathing.