Injuries :: First Aid and Emergency Care
by
Karen Leigh Davis
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Injuries
Some injuries, such as minor cuts and scrapes, can be effectively treated at home. The exceptions include deep wounds, punctures, and those that have severed an artery and will not stop bleeding. Serious burns, breaks in the skin caused by a compound fracture, and animal bites also need the quick attention of a veterinarian, although you can perform preliminary treatment on these injuries to ready the cat for transport to the clinic.
Cuts and Scrapes
A scrape that barely breaks the skin (these will most likely appear on the cat’s foot pads) can be cleaned with a disinfecting solution, then treated with an antibiotic ointment (ask your veterinarian what products can be safely used on cats because the cat will lick and ingest it). Often a bandage is unnecessary, although you will want to clean the scrape daily until it begins to heal and the threat of infection has passed. Be sure to reapply the antibiotic ointment each time you clean the wound. If any signs of infection appear, see your veterinarian.
Cuts that seem to be deep or continue to bleed for more than five straight minutes will probably need veterinary attention, perhaps even stitches. To control the bleeding until you reach the vet’s office, apply direct pressure to the wound, by either pressing down directly on it with a gauze pad, or applying a pressure bandage, which is simply a gauze pad held in place with a gauze roll or an elastic bandage. If the wound is on a limb or tail, for example, you can wrap the area several times (not too tightly) and leave it for fifteen minutes, observing whether or not it continues to bleed, or eventually stops. Often this short period of direct pressure will quell the flow of blood and allow clotting to begin.
Sprains and Fractures
Sprains or muscle pulls will not normally call for bandaging or splinting, but may require that the cat be confined to a crate or small room for a few days to limit movement. Even if hairline or simple fractures are present, they may not need splinting right away, but will necessitate a trip to the veterinarian.
In the case of a serious break or fracture of a leg, in which the lower portion of the leg is dangling freely, you will need to stabilize it immediately with a splint. Be aware, however, that an injured cat in pain may bite and scratch, no matter how tame it is or how well it knows you. Take the necessary precautions to protect yourself and anyone else helping you.
This may include wearing thick gloves or gently wrapping the cat in a towel to restrain it.
Do not attempt to straighten or set a fracture yourself. Simply immobilize it for the trip to the veterinary clinic. Find a heavy piece of cardboard or another appropriately sized, stiff object (even a rolled up newspaper works in a pinch) to serve this purpose. Wrap the injured leg carefully (have someone help hold the cat) with cotton padding or a disposable diaper. Secure this lightly with adhesive tape, then tape the splint to the padding. Cover any skin breaks with gauze and tape to limit infection. Then get the cat to the veterinary clinic as quickly as possible.
Tourniquets
Serious bleeding of the limbs or tail that does not respond to a pressure bandage may necessitate the use of a tourniquet, a last-ditch technique you should use while preparing to go to the vet clinic. Never a first choice, tourniquets can, if applied improperly, cut off all blood flow to all areas below the wound, effectively starving those tissues of vital oxygen. Tissue death can result; in severe cases, the affected limb or tail may need to be amputated.
Use a length of rope, surgical tubing, cloth, or even an extension cord, if that is all that’s available. Form a loop or slip knot, and tighten it around an area a few inches above the wound. Do not over-tighten. Increase pressure until the bleeding slows to a trickle, and always try to reduce pressure, not increase. Remember to release the tourniquet every ten minutes to allow oxygen to flow to tissues below the wound. After twenty or thirty minutes, try using only a pressure bandage to quell the bleeding. Someone should be driving you to the nearest emergency clinic while this is happening. Remember to take rags and towels with you to catch any blood that spills.
Puncture Wounds
Stop the bleeding first. No puncture wound should go unseen by your vet, owing to the frequency of infections and abscesses. In addition, the injury, especially if it’s a bite from another animal, could transmit some viral or bacterial disease that could prove fatal if left untreated.
Falls
Because of their ability to right themselves in midair, cats often survive falls with little or no injury. Sometimes, however, a cat can suffer internal injuries that go unnoticed by its owner. Many cats push or tear through flimsy window screening and fall from high-rise buildings. Veterinarians see injuries from such incidents often enough to call it “high-rise syndrome.” If your cat takes a fall of more than fifteen or twenty feet, it is advisable to see your veterinarian right away. Take care to move a fallen cat as little as possible, to prevent possible injury to the spinal cord, as you transport it to the clinic.
Car Accidents
No cat should ever be hit by a car, because no cat should ever be allowed outdoors unsupervised. If, as is all too frequently the case, your cat slips out unnoticed and the inevitable does happen, you will probably have a very serious situation on your hands.
First, do not panic. If you witness your cat being struck by a car, your instinctive reaction might be to become hysterical and to act irrationally. Instead, your cat’s chances of survival will depend on you acting calmly and methodically and knowing what to do.
Assess the situation. How badly does the cat seem to be hurt? Is it walking around, or lying on the ground? Conscious or unconscious? Bleeding or not? Do you see evidence of broken bones or compound fractures?
Keep the injured cat as still as possible. There could be spinal cord damage, and if so, moving the cat could exacerbate the problem and increase the chances of paralysis. Even a cat that is walking around may have serious internal injuries that can be compounded by excess movement. Do not let the cat run away, whatever you do. It could injure itself further, or disappear for days, returning home only when it is too late for treatment, or dying from its injuries.
Of course, it will be necessary to move the cat to place it in a travel crate, box, or on a blanket for transport to the veterinary hospital. In doing so, try to keep the cat’s body in as straight a line as possible, so that you’re not bending the spine, and with minimal movement. Also, be mindful of the bites and scratches that a panicky cat in pain could inflict on you and take steps to protect yourself as much as possible.
Shock
An animal is said to be in shock when its tissues are not being adequately supplied with blood and oxygen. Most often caused by a severe drop in blood pressure owing to blood loss from either internal or external bleeding, shock can easily kill a cat if not treated quickly. Signs of shock include:
- Weak, rapid heartbeat that gets weaker with time. Often the pulse
- will be imperceptible, even though the heart is still beating.
- Falling body temperature. The cat’s extremities may feel very cool to
- the touch.
- Very pale or white gums, indicative of failure of the blood to circulate.
- If the gums are white, it means that the brain is also being
- starved of oxygen.
- Disorientation, lethargy, and unresponsiveness to any stimuli. The
- cat may seem “out of it,” and may lapse into a coma.
Any cat showing signs of shock needs to see a veterinarian as soon as possible. Any delay could prove fatal. In the interim, keep the cat as warm as possible.
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