I’m doing something a little different for this blog- with a flashback to my days in veterinary practice. I recently attended a first aid course. You know the type of thing- wrap your partner in bandages too tightly, and hope that you don’t get the baby dummy for fear of crushing its little chest. This got me to thinking about first aid for pets and whether the ‘responsible’ pet owner should invest in some supplies. I have to admit that in spite of having pets of the canine and feline variety, I don’t have a specific kit for them, so would be raiding our medicine cupboard if one of them had an incident.
Now I learnt nothing specifically about pet first aid or doggie CPR in my vet school days. But, to my surprise, there is actually a lot of information online on these topics. Various organisations such as the Animal Welfare League and TAFE also offer face-to-face training courses and dedicated first aid kits for your furry companions. So if you wanted to put together a basic first aid kit what might be included. Here’s my thoughts:
1. Injuries
Well- if your pets are anything like mine they’re also getting themselves into places they shouldn’t, so management of injuries would be up there with things likely to have to deal with. The principles for this are pretty much like in people. Cuts and minor scrapes should be flushed with saline and a bandage applied under pressure if needed to stop the bleeding. If there is debris in the wound, don’t try to pull it out as you might push it deeper, just flush under pressure to remove as best you can. Oh and big tip with cuts: ears and pads bleed profusely and will in a matter of moments make your living room look like a Jackson Pollock creation. After applying first aid, visit the vet just to make sure stitches aren’t needed or a course of antibiotics.
If your feisty feline gets a cat bite wound you’ll need to seek veterinary attention as these usually need antibiotics. A saline bathe may assist if caught early but since they can cause widespread infection get to professional help as soon as possible.
If you think there may be broken bones, you need to get to professional help immediately, perhaps using a blanket to restrict movement of the area as best you can. The vet may splint the area but this might need sedation and you don’t want to fight with an animal in pain and potentially worsen the issue.
Useful supplies:
1. Saline pods
2. Conforming bandage
3. Self-adhesive bandage – unlike people animals will extract themselves from bandages within minutes
4. Non-adherent dressing
5. Latex gloves
6. Gauze swabs
7. Bandage Scissors
2. Poisoning/insect bites/snake bites
Poisoning is a common presentation in veterinary practice. Since these all need to be treated differently depending on the substance, the best course of action is to find out what fluffy ate and make a note. If you’re not sure, grab the plant or substance and take it with you to the vet (vets love those Haigh’s chocolates :)- and yes chocolate poisoning is a thing for dogs)
If you suspect your pet was getting a little too nosy in that wasps nest and now looks like he’s gone through 3 rounds with Mike Tyson, anti-histamines might be of use but give your vet a ring to check the dosage.
Snake bite first aid is similar to people. Pressure immobilisation bandages should be applied if you are able (lots of bandage) and keep your pet quiet to stop the venom spreading. Quick access to veterinary treatment is the priority.
Useful supplies:
1. Conforming and self-adhesive bandage
2. Anti-histamines eg Zyrtec, Claritin
3. Resuscitation
There’s not much specific to put in a kit for this in pets. CPR can be performed on an animal that has no heart beat and is not breathing using a combination of cardiac massage and artificial respiration. There are in fact CPR guidelines for dogs and cats suggesting the rate of compressions/ratio of breaths. As when doing this in people, you may not wish to do the breaths. If you do, breathe into the nose. If not, don’t worry, we know from human medical practice that there is some air flow with compression-only CPR so you are still providing benefit. There’s also no reason why you shouldn’t use a CPR barrier mask.
Useful supplies:
1. Barrier Mask – the plastic sheets with a one-way valve would likely work for most snouts.
4. Miscellaneous
Ticks are a problem in many areas of Australia. The worst things you can do with these is just pull as you risk leaving the head in to cause infections. The easiest way to get them out is a specially designed tick twister. Cotton wool with a judicious amount of ethanol on it and placed over the tick also works a treat.
Useful supplies:
2. Tick twister
3. Thermometer – yes these do go rectally! You can get non-contact infra-red ones as well.
4. Spare dog lead- useful for when you’re out walking and come across a stray dog
5. Thermal Blanket for shock
6. Styptic powder or sticks to stop nail bleeding for those overenthusiastic nail trimmers or those with wriggly pets.
So there’s my round up of first aid kit basics for dogs and cats. Why not enrol in a course to find out some more. Now, I’m off to the shops to stock up my kit.
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