Pets just like people get involved in accidents and sustain injuries from them. While humans and pets alike get into accidents, pets are prone to certain types of injuries.
Some of these common pet injuries include eye, oral, ligament, spinal, and limb injuries. Click here to find out other common dog injuries. Sadly, as is the nature of accidents, you can’t predict when accidents that could lead to these injuries will happen.
This is why having a pet first-aid kit handy is very important. Being prepared for these emergencies could help you save your dog’s or cat’s life. Hence, in this article, we will go over supplies that are necessary and have to be in the first-aid bag for your furry friend.
This will help you restock on these supplies, or if you’ve never compiled the kit before, know what you should have in it.
1. Emergency Contact Numbers and Your Pet’s Medical & Vaccination Records
In an emergency, your pet’s information may be needed if it has to get medical care. If an emergency vet is contacted, they’d provide better care for your furry friend if they have its medical records at hand. So, ensure you keep this paperwork in the kit so that you won’t run about looking for them in critical situations.
While you may have this information stored in your USB drive, this should just be for backup. You need to have hard copies of these data because they may be all you can access if there is a disaster and electricity, phone service, and the internet gets cut off.
This would also come in handy when you aren’t around and your pet needs medical attention. The friend or sitter that you asked to take care of your dog or cat should know where this document is.
2. Antibiotic Ointment
If your dog enjoys the outdoors, then an antibiotic ointment should never be out of your reach. This ointment can be applied to scratches and small cuts to prevent infection and also relieve pain.
This supply is very important in first-aid kits because even very small scrapes and cuts may cause severe health issues if they get infected.
3. Hydrogen Peroxide
Most people think the only purpose of hydrogen peroxide is to clean small wounds. However, it goes beyond this. Pets sometimes eat toxic things. When this happens, you could remove the poisonous substance from your pet’s system by inducing vomit.
Before you do this, make sure you speak to a vet or poison control expert. Also, make sure you are familiar with how to go about it. Visit https://www.dailypaws.com/ to read an article on how to make your dog throw up poisonous substances.
Remember, do not try doing this if you do not have professional guidance.
4. Rubber Gloves, Tape, Scissors, and Gauze
You may be wondering why we decided to lump all these items as one. Well, in our opinion, these items should be considered as a package. This is because in a case where one is needed, every one of them would be too.
Gauze typically is used to control bleeding. It could also be used as a brace during emergencies and suspected fractures. When you use this item, you’d need tape to hold it in place. You could use scissors to make more strips with your old shirt if a stronger bandage is needed or the gauze you have gets exhausted.
Lastly, rubber gloves should be used in any medical situation. You should always use gloves whenever you are dealing with bodily fluids and blood. If possible, wear glasses or goggles too.
5. Antiseptic Wipes
You can minimize the chances of a wound getting infected by cleaning the wound with antiseptic wipes.
You can also put in ordinary grooming wipes. They may not look like an “emergency” item. However, when your pet gets its paws muddy, you can use the wipes to clean them off so that it doesn’t cause a messy accident inside your car.
6. Digital Thermometer
Checking the temperature of your dog or cat will help you know how serious the condition is. It’s also important information to tell your vet when you speak with them over a call. Ensure you get a digital thermometer that can read up to 105° Fahrenheit.
7. Medications
Based on your pet’s medical needs, you need to include specific medications in the kit. Especially prescription medications because you may run out of them when you are on a trip. In this case, you won’t need to wait for your vet to call the pharmacy around you for you to get the medication for your pet.
While medications are necessary for first-aid kits, you have to be sure that they don’t stay there and get expired. Always check up on them and replace them whenever they are near their expiry dates.
Other than prescription medications, you also need to add some standard remedies. If your cat or dog uses any supplement, it will be wise to also add them to the kit.
8. Treats
Finally, you need to have treats in the kit. These won’t stop bleeding or prevent infections, but they would help distract your pet from the pain of their injury.
Treats should only be given to the pet when they can eat safely. Don’t feed your dog or cat if it is vomiting, having a seizure, or any other condition that won’t let it swallow properly.
You can check the Holistapet site if you don’t know where to get some of the supplies listed so far.
Conclusion
Pets get involved in accidents and sustain injuries that may be mild or severe. A first-aid kit can help you handle the situation before a vet is available. For this kit to provide basic medical needs, it needs to contain some vital supplies, some of which have been listed in this article.
