My cat is bad! What to do?! Manual “Medusa”
On 8 September during a fire in the Hermitage a few local cats were poisoned by combustion products. We decided to tell you how to help a cat or cat if they became ill. In the instructions we decided to use a common name — cat, but this does not mean that the text is not concerned with seals. Moreover, many of the tips are quite relevant to other Pets.
1. Understand how serious this is
- There are several important indications that the cat needed urgent support:
- Severe bleeding or bleeding that does not stop within five minutes
- The cat choked, she can’t breathe, she coughs continuously
- A cat’s injured eye
- There is a suspicion or do you know for sure that the cat ate a poisonous substance to her
- Cats have cramps or it wobbles. It happens, for example, if the animal was suffering from smoke inhalation
- There’s a fracture, the cat is very lame or can’t lift a paw
- Obviously, the cat is anxious or hurt her (she’s weird or little moves, with pressure on a specific area reacts violently, hiding, less plays and eats, lets out a plaintive sound or growling)
- Overheating (hot skin, vomiting, salivation, rapid breathing, loss of coordination)
- Severe vomiting or diarrhea (diarrhea) — or more than two times per day, or in combination with other symptoms
- The cat does not drink a day or more
- The cat is unconscious
2. Call the clinic
Call the clinic, which are going to take the cat. There should tell you how to provide first aid, and, in addition, the clinic will know that it goes to a patient in need of emergency assistance. This number must be in your phone or in veterinary medicine. And better if it is night clinic. In some cities there are also emergency assistance — if you want to consider this option, but these services are not always fast, and cat better get to the clinic as soon as possible.
3. Protect yourself
A cat that badly hurt, could bite or scratch anyone who tries to help. Even if it was very quiet and gentle. Therefore, it is not necessary to hold close hold-to-face is also not necessary. You need to wrap animal in a towel or blanket (but not too tight and the nose, of course, must not be covered). You can still wear a muzzle, but only if the cat does not tear.
4. Administer first aid
Before heading to the clinic, you need to try to help the cat yourself. To do this, it’s got to be a first-aid kit, which contains:
- bandage, sterile gauze, roll adhesive tape
- a solution of magnesium hydroxide or activated carbon — is used in cases of poisoning, but without the advice of a veterinarian cannot be used
- three-percent hydrogen peroxide — induces vomiting, but without the permission of the veterinarian cannot be used, otherwise it may get worse
- electronic thermometer (temperature is measured rectally normal value to 36.7−38,9 °C, although, I must say, good different sources provide different rules)
- eyedropper or syringe without a needle to give medicine in the mouth
- the stretcher (Yes, there are stretchers for cats!) to the injured animal was not moving and hurting yourself while you were taking him to the clinic. Only the straps should not pull the injured area and the chest, instead of them, you can generally use a blanket. Alternative to the stretcher — hard carrying, to the way the cat needs to hold hand. If there is too much space and the cat are hard to fix, it is possible to put inside the blanket.
Trauma
If the cat is injured (for example, she was hit by a car or she had a bad fall from a height), it should be placed on a flat surface.
Even with major fractures in the cat may get up and go, but this should not be allowed — you should immediately contact your veterinarian.
If the fracture you are sure that you will be able to splint it (and to do it not so easy), it is better to leave this idea.