Each responsible owner must have certain knowledge and skills in order to be able to help the pet in danger before providing professional veterinary care and thereby preserve the health, and sometimes life, of the beloved ward.
The main rule is that you should never panic. In any situation, it is necessary to maintain calm and calm, accurately and confidently perform the necessary manipulations. After all, the well-being of the pet depends on the reaction of the owner.
This is one of the most common and variable problems. Cats and dogs are often injured while walking, but domestic injuries are not uncommon.
First you need to determine the type of injury, its severity and the general condition of the pet.
Abrasions, scratches, cuts they are dangerous because infection easily enters the body through them. Also, there are cases when, under seemingly minor injuries, much more serious and dangerous injuries are hidden. First of all, the damaged area is cleaned of dirt and wool. Washed with peroxide, chlohexidine or plain clean water. Small foreign objects are removed, however, if there are large foreign bodies (fragments or the like) in the wound, they are not touched so that heavy bleeding does not open.
The hair around the wound is trimmed neatly. Blot the treated wound with a clean cloth or swab. After these manipulations, a disinfectant is applied to the damaged area - a powder for wounds, streptocide or the like, a bandage is applied and they immediately turn to the veterinarian.
At deep wounds (chopped, ragged, chopped, chopped, etc.) profuse bleeding often occurs. The wound is tightly clamped - it is convenient to use any absorbent materials: towels, scarves, bandages, etc. If the limb is damaged, but it is known that there are no bone fractures, the leg should be raised higher. Do not use disinfectants.
A blood-soaked improvised dressing cannot be removed - this can trigger repeated bleeding. The pet is provided with peace, as soon as possible call a veterinarian or take the victim to the clinic.
An important point is that in order to make the pet easier to tolerate the situation, you need to calmly and tenderly talk with him, keep in touch all the time, give praise and encouragement.
At bruises fractures, ruptures of ligaments necessarily provide peace. It is necessary to minimize the motor activity of the animal, so as not to aggravate the situation, and contact the veterinarian immediately.
The victim is laid on a healthy side, craning his neck to facilitate breathing. Third-party objects, mucus, blood (if any) are removed from the mouth. Check the pulse and breathing, if necessary, conduct heart massage and artificial respiration.
If the head and spine are not affected, the back of the body is slightly raised. To do this, rollers from improvised means are used - clothes, bag, etc.
Do not let your pet eat, drink, move around.
Bleeding is stopped by applying pressure dressings. With nosebleeds, ice or any other cold object is placed on the forehead and nose, 1 to 3 drops of adrenaline are instilled into each nostril (you can directly from the ampoule).
The pet is covered with a blanket, jacket or similar warming item and carefully delivered to the veterinarian urgently.
This situation is dangerous for injuring the esophagus, trachea and blocking the airways, which leads to suffocation and threatens the life of a cat or dog. Pointed objects often get stuck tightly in the victim's throat and have to be removed operatively. However, due to the irregular shape of the object, there is almost always a gap in the airways of the animal, and the pet has the ability to continue breathing.
Balls, tweeters and other smooth objects cannot scratch and prick the pet’s organs, but they carry the risk of quick asphyxiation.
Signs that the pet is choked are the following symptoms:
- abrupt anxiety;
- the animal rubs and paws its muzzle, trying to free itself from an obstructing object;
- labored breathing;
- whooping cough;
- hypersalivation (increased salivation);
- loss of consciousness.
Immediately you need to examine the oral cavity and pharynx of the pet. If the stuck item is clearly visible, you can try to remove it yourself. The jaws are fixed in the open position - a stick is inserted between the teeth, a comb handle, if it is a large dog - you can use a shoe or any other suitable object, fix the animal itself (you can’t do without an assistant here) and carefully remove the stuck object with tweezers. Do not pull and rotate a foreign body if it is stuck tightly.
Smooth, rounded items should be removed as soon as possible.
If the pet is conscious, for large and medium dogs this method helps - they grab a pet around the waist, clutching one fist, place it just above the navel and clasp both hands in the lock. A sharp movement quickly presses the dog’s stomach several times. Usually this provokes the advancement of an object into the oral cavity, from which the dog will begin to cough up and will not need more help. For small dogs and cats do this manipulation with your fingers so as not to damage the internal organs.
If the animal faints, they urgently turn it head down through its substituted bent knee and carefully strike the palm of its back in the area of the shoulder blades several times. Due to this, a foreign object enters the mouth and can be removed.
If for various reasons (electric shock, heat or sunstroke, drowning, exposure to poisons, etc.) the cat or dog is unconscious, it is urgent to check his vital signs and act accordingly. Determine the presence of respiration and pulse.
A mirror, a lens of glasses, a screen of a mobile phone or the like are brought to the nose. and observe the appearance or absence of condensate.
Pulse measured on the inner surface of the thigh or directly behind the elbow on the chest on the left side.
Pupils checked: they expand in the absence of cardiac activity.
Check the gums: pink color is a good sign, cyanosis, pallor is danger.
If the mucous membranes turn pink again when pressed - means the blood circulates, if they remain pale - there was a cardiac arrest.
If there is a heartbeat but no breathing, you need to hit sharply three times with your palm on the chest of the pet. Cats and small dogs are beaten with fingers, but hard enough. This excites the diaphragm and intercostal muscles responsible for breathing.
Required support brain activity: the cat or dog is raised for several seconds by the hind limbs head down. Large dogs are difficult to raise in this way, so you can lay the victim, raising the pelvic limbs and the back of the body as high as possible. This manipulation is carried out only if there were no blows to the head.
In the case when the pet does not show signs of life, cardiopulmonary resuscitation is performed. In the presence of a pulse and lack of breathing, only artificial respiration is done.
Artificial respiration carried out as follows: clean the mouth, stretch the neck and check the airway. They squeeze their mouth so that the air blown into the nostrils enters the lungs, and begin to intensively blow into the nasal passages. They make sure that the chest rises. Then release the mouth and nose - exhalation occurs spontaneously.
Large dogs you need to blow a lot of air, small dogs and cats - respectively less. About 15 to 25 respiratory movements should occur per minute. All the time they monitor the pulse and check whether the victim has breathed on his own.
In the absence of breathing and pulse, cardiopulmonary resuscitation is performed. For large and medium dogs: the pet is placed on its right side on a hard surface, its hands are locked in the lock and placed on the widest part of the chest (behind the elbow). Palms sharply forcefully press on the chest, making sure that the arms remain straight. Spend about 80 clicks per minute. It is good if there is an assistant who will conduct an artificial breath every 5 to 10 taps. If resuscitation is carried out by one person, he must do everything himself.
Small dogs and cats carried out according to a similar algorithm, however, the position of the pet is different - the chest is wrapped around on both sides by the hand and pressed with your fingers. A total of about 100 pressures per minute should be performed.
In any case, the pressure should be accurate, strong, but controlled so as not to damage the ribs, but provide sufficient compression of the chest.
It is important to check all the time for a pulse and breathing. At the first sign of resuscitation, they stop and continue to follow. If necessary, repeat the manipulation.
It should be remembered that the outcome of the situation largely depends on the speed of the reaction and the confidence of the owner. It is necessary first of all to think about the well-being of the pet, leaving fears and doubts, and then the chances of saving a four-legged friend significantly increase.
