Do you have a first aid kit for your pet? Do you know how to do CPR on your cat? Heimlich on your dog? Know what to do if your pet is hit by a car or eats something poisonous?
Teague's badly wrapped ear! A hematoma that required draining on a Sunday afternoon.
The Associated Press ran a poll that found that most of us are willing to do just about anything to help save our pets if they are in trouble — 63 percent of dog owners and 53 percent of cat owners would perform CPR if necessary (of this there is a gender split: 65 percent of the women affirmed that they would do CPR to the positive male responses of 50 percent). However, only 20 percent of us have a first aid kit for a pet’s medical emergency.
Considering that 41% of the people polled have had at least one incident requiring an emergency trip to the vet, it seems that we are woefully unprepared for when calamity strikes.
Moreover, more than half (54%) of the pet owners did not have a plan for how to evacuate their dogs or cats in the event of a house fire.
There is little chance that planning for an emergency will make it less likely to happen, but in doing simple things — like putting together a first aid kit — you reduce the odds that the emergency you face will end unhappily. The Red Cross and several shelters offer training classes in pet CPR and basic pet safety.
Teague at the ER sporting a super cute hot pink bandage on his tail.
Animal first aid kits, everything from basic to everything you could think to need, are available to purchase. It is also relatively simple (and cheaper) to put one together. Here’s a basic list of equipment to compile:
- Cotton balls
- Gauze pads and tape
- Self-adhesive wrap – sometimes called VetWrap
- Scissors
- Tweezers
- Roll cotton
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Hydro cortisone ointment
- Triple antibiotic ointment
- Rubbing alcohol
- Eyewash
- Ear cleanser
- Buffered aspirin
- Styptic pencil
- Exam gloves
- Oral syringes
- Pediolyte®/ balanced electrolyte fluid
- Baby food (great for upset tummies)
- Kaopectate/Pepto Bismol tablets
- Generic Benadryl capsules — 25mg, for allergies (great for bee stings)
- Large towel
- Exam gloves
- 1 inch white tape (this is different from gauze tape)
- Rolls of elastic wrap
- Emergency ice pack (“blue ice” kept in the freezer)
- Thermometer (both oral and rectal thermometers can be used rectally)
- Muzzle (if a dog is in pain he can lash out unexpectedly)
With any medication, check with your vet for appropriate dosage — note each one for the medications you keep in the first aid kit and then keep the list with the kit.
As for the times when the disaster is coming to you, you and your pet need to have a plan of escape. This website for hurricane preparedness covers the basics of what you will need to do, as well as a list of supplies for a pet disaster kit:
- Proper identification including immunization records
- Ample supply of food and water
- A carrier or cage
- Medications
- Muzzle, collar and leash
Here’s hoping we are all prepared for the worst that never comes. After all this doom and gloom, have a laugh about the lighter side of accidents, disasters and our worst nightmares (yes, there’s a lighter side!): The Hambone Awards – the most bizarre accidents to happen to pets (such as the Golden Retriever that fetched a sea urchin – OUCH!).