In Part 1 and Part 2 we looked at how to approach an ill or injured cat; in this final part of the series, we will be talking about how to manage specific emergencies and conditions. Remember, this is first aid – it is intended to help you provide emergency care to your cat before you get them to us, not to replace proper treatment! 

What constitutes an emergency?

An emergency is any situation you find your cat in where their life or welfare is unexpectedly threatened. In more practical terms, we need to see them ASAP if…

• They have open wounds or are unable to take weight on a leg.
• They have lost consciousness (even if only for a short while) or have had a fit or a seizure.
• They are collapsed or unable to stand.
• They are struggling to breathe (in cats, this usually means they are breathing through their mouths or panting – this is deadly serious).
• They seem to be in pain.
• They are unable to pass urine or faeces.

Now, to finish off this series, we’ll briefly look at how to manage a range of different common situations, while you wait to get them in to see us.

Road traffic accidents (RTAs)

Cars moving at speed can cause a huge amount of damage to a cat’s body; however, cats are very good at getting out of the way and only then collapsing. This is why cats who have been hit by cars often manage to limp or crawl home, even if they have very serious injuries.

On assessing a cat after an RTA, it is quite likely that the full extent of their injuries won’t be apparent – internal bleeding, diaphragm ruptures and crush injuries can be hard to distinguish from “simple” shock. These cats should be handled and moved as little as possible and brought to us as rapidly as you can – please call ahead so we know you’re coming in and can get set up! Even if the injuries seem minor, we need to see them – some conditions (like lung bruises) seem fine until a few hours later, and can then rapidly become life-threatening without urgent treatment.

Cat fights

Cats are solitary hunters, and if they find a strange cat invading their hunting grounds, are likely to respond violently. Most cat fights result in superficial wounds and scratches, but if a tooth or claw goes deeper under the skin it can set up a “Cat Bite Abscess” which is really quite a nasty thing. Often, you won’t realise that they’ve been in a fight until a few days later when the abscess starts to grow. These aren’t usually life-threatening, but they do need to be seen by one of our vets for the best treatment (antibiotics, pain relief and often drainage of the pus). Make an appointment within the next day or so unless your cat is really sore or unwell in themselves; it is also helpful to bathe any wounds with warm salty water.

Eye injuries

These are most commonly due to cat fights – when quarrelling, cats don’t fight fair, instead, they slash with their claws at their adversary’s weak spots, like the eyes. This often results in “corneal lacerations”, slashes and cuts on the front of the eye. Often, the only symptom is a runny eye that the cat holds closed. These can usually be treated effectively, but eyes are fragile so need seeing as soon as possible.

Breathing difficulties

Open mouth breathing or panting is highly unusual in a cat and often suggests a serious respiratory problem (although it can also occur with diseases like cat-flu). Any difficulty breathing, or altered breathing rate is an emergency. Put the cat in a box, keep it quiet and calm, and get them to us ASAP.

Burns

Most burns are relatively superficial, but they’re really painful, so don’t get hurt yourself! The best treatment, in general, is to run cold water over the burn for at least 5 minutes, then get them to us for treatment. That said, if the burn is really large or deep (with obvious charring around the edges, for example) it may not be painful because the nerves have been burned away. If the burn seems moist or oozy, cover it with cling-film before cooling it (to reduce fluid loss) and then get them to us asap.

They’ve been exposed to something poisonous

Cats are sensitive to a wide range of different poisons, including many plants, most human medicines, and a number of household chemicals like cleaning agents, antifreeze and paint. If your cat is behaving abnormally or seems to be covered in some strange material, call us for advice straight away.

Fits or seizures

Fits are fairly uncommon in cats, and are usually due to poisoning, metabolic diseases (like diabetes mellitus), or injury to the brain (such as a stroke). While your cat is having a fit, it is best to leave them in a quiet, dark place to recover. They can’t “swallow their tongues” so don’t put your fingers in their mouth, don’t try to stroke them or talk to them (it can prolong the seizure), just let them recover. You can bring them in the be checked out once they’re over it. The exception is any seizure lasting more than a couple of minutes, or if they have multiple overlapping fits. These are medical emergencies that need seeing right now if we’re going to save their life.

If your cat is suddenly ill or injured, call us for advice!

In the first part of this blog, we talked about assessing the situation – making sure you aren’t at risk, and assessing the cat to see what you need to do then and there before rushing them in to see us. In this part, we’ll be looking at what you can do – how to resuscitate a cat, stopping bleeding, and transporting them safely to us. 

[Push], [Push], [Push], [Push], staying alive, staying alive… the art of feline CPCR 

CPCR (CardioPulmonary Cerebral Resuscitation) used to be called CPR, and if you want to use that term, feel free! Whatever you call it, it is essentially providing breathing and a heartbeat for a cat who is unable to do so on their own. Any cat who is so severely injured that they require CPCR is unlikely to survive – the TV programmes showing people miraculously reviving after a chest compressions are, sadly, very misleading. However, there are cases every year where rapid CPCR can genuinely save a cat’s life, so it’s always worth a try!

• Breaths – for a cat who is not breathing on their own, and clearing their airway hasn’t solved the problem. You cannot do mouth-to-mouth with a cat, but you can do mouth-to-nose. Do be careful, however – if the cat wakes up suddenly (or is less unconscious than they appear) they may bite you! In addition, any cat with a nasal discharge or blood in their mouth may conceivably be carrying a disease that you could catch – it is unlikely, but not impossible. If you know the cat and are confident that they are healthy (except for whatever has just happened to them), then you can carry out “rescue breaths” mouth-to-nose, otherwise, use a “spacer” (like the styrofoam cup described below):
  • Form a seal over their nose – for the reasons given above, it’s probably best to use a styrofoam cup with the end knocked out rather than wrapping your lips around their nose, but that is an alternative.
  • Extend their head and neck so the neck is a straight as possible (avoid if they have obvious injuries to their head or neck).
  • Blow gently into their nose until you see the chest rise; then allow the air to flow out again. Ideally, you want to be giving roughly 20 breaths per minute.
• Compressions – for a cat who has no heartbeat. Note, however, that a cat with severe bleeding may have such a weak heartbeat that you can’t feel it – in this case, stop the bleeding first!
  • Lie the cat on their right side (so their right legs are underneath) – if they seem to have suffered a spinal or head injury it is best to avoid moving them, and chest compressions can be done with them on their left side, but it isn’t as effective.
  • Place your hand around their chest, just behind the elbow, and squeeze the chest so it is compressed by about a third.
  • Repeat approximately 100 times a minute (yes, the song “staying alive” does work for cats!).
  • As you’re probably having to breathe for them as well, give two rescue breaths every 3-5 chest compressions.
• Know when to stop – if the cat hasn’t made any response in 3 minutes, it’s time to stop. If their heart and breathing haven’t started on their own in this time, they aren’t coming back.

Stopping the Bleeding

If a major artery is cut, a cat can bleed to death in thirty seconds or so. However, most injuries affect smaller vessels and, give half a chance, the blood will clot and the bleeding will either stop or at least slow down enough to give you a chance to get the cat to us.

The key to stopping bleeding is pressure – but once again, make sure you aren’t injured by a miserable cat when you start pressing on a sore spot! It can help to have an assistant to hold the cat still while you try to stop the bleeding, but if not, you can use one hand to restrain them and one to work on them.

Ideally, try and apply a fairly tight pressure bandage – however, this may be difficult one-handed, and it’s important not to cut off circulation to the leg (see tourniquets, below).

If you can’t, or the wound is somewhere you can’t bandage (e.g. around the neck), then apply digital pressure with your fingers through a sterile dressing (if you have one!) or a clean cloth like a handkerchief.

If all else fails, it is possible to apply a tourniquet to a limb – a really tight bandage that will stop all blood-flow to the limb. A tourniquet can only stay on for about 15 minutes, though, or else the limb will die and become gangrenous, so do not try it unless you know how or we tell you to.

Bring them to us!

Although first aid is genuinely vital, it doesn’t usually save lives on its own – what it does is buy time to get the cat to us so we can work on them. However, transporting an ill or injured cat is something of an art form… The trouble is there’s no one single way to do it, it depends on what’s wrong with the cat. In general, however, try to follow these rules:

• Do not transport cats loose, held or on your lap. However badly injured they are, they need to be transported in a box or basket, to stop them trying to escape en route.
• Don’t move or bend cats with possible spinal injuries any more than necessary (e.g. weakness or paralysis or obvious injury to the spine or back). These cats should be gently “scooped” off the road or wherever using a rigid board (actually, a shovel is usually pretty good) and transported in whatever position they’re in.
• If there is an open wound, an “Elizabethan” collar or “cone” is really useful to prevent them from making it worse.

In Part 3 we’ll talk about the management of specific types of injury or illness. If your cat is suddenly ill or injured, call us for advice!

It’s a nightmare scenario, and one that many cat owners don’t like to think about – you find your cat, bleeding, or injured, or otherwise in distress. What do you do? 

Most people who find themselves in this situation panic, and run around for a bit, and then rush their cat down to the vets. However, if you think about it in advance, and plan what you need to do, you can dramatically improve the chances of a good outcome (which can be defined as a happy pet going home with you at the end!). In addition, there are many situations where appropriate first aid at the time can genuinely save lives.

This is the first in a series of three blogs where we’re going to look at first aid in cats. In Part 1, we’ll look at assessing the situation, and how you can respond appropriately. In Part 2 we’ll talk about what you can right away to maximise their chances of survival, and then in Part 3, we’ll look at some of the more common diseases and conditions that you’ll need to know how to deal with.

First of all, assess the situation!
The primary and vital rule of first aid is do not put yourself in danger. If you become a casualty, you aren’t helping your pet (and you are potentially putting others in danger as they try to rescue you). Of course, what constitutes danger will depend on the situation, but the most common ways people put themselves at risk when trying to help cats include:

• Traffic – running out into traffic because a cat’s been hit isn’t helpful to anyone, as there’s a good chance you’ll be injured! It is better to stop or block the traffic or call the police to do so, before moving into a busy road.
• Water – cats can, in fact, swim really quite well (although most prefer not to!). If your cat is in difficulty in deep water, don’t jump in yourself, but instead try to fish them out with a net, or a branch, or a floating object that they can cling on to.
• Fire – do not run into a burning building to rescue your cat. Instead, tell the Fire Brigade that the cat is in there, and allow them to make the rescue. Many fire appliances now carry cat-sized oxygen masks to allow the firefighters to help as well.
• Electricity – cats do periodically become entangled in electrical wires. If inside the house, if possible make sure that the current is off (for example, by flipping the trip switch or pulling the fuse). If you can’t get to the fuses or the power switch (or either look like they may be unsafe), use a dry, non-conducting object (such as a wooden broomstick – nothing metal!) to untangle them and push the electrical cables away from them. If it is outdoors and is a mains cable (e.g. overhead wires) do NOT approach – call the police and the electrical company immediately.
• The cats themselves – frightened and painful cats often bite and scratch – it isn’t that they want to hurt you, but they can’t help it when they’re scared or hurting. So make sure you’re not injured while trying to help!

Once you have managed to safely reach the injured puss, your next task is to assess their situation. Are they breathing? Is there severe bleeding? What’s going on? At this point, it is often helpful to call us – one of our vets or nurses will be able to walk you through what you need to do over the phone and can prepare to meet you at the surgery.

The first part of your assessment is the primary survey – this is intended to check whether the cat is at imminent risk of death.

1. Are they responsive? Are they aware of their surroundings, and (at least semi-) conscious? If yes, move to point 3.
2. If not, then (just like human first-aiders), we use the “ABC” model to try and work out why:
   1. Airway – can the cat move air? If in doubt, try to extend the head and neck and gently pull the tongue out of their mouth. If there’s anything in the mouth, try and hoick it out (without getting bitten).
   2. Breathing – is the cat breathing? The best way to check this is to hold a clump of fluff in front of their nose and see if it moves. If not, you may need to start CPCR (see Part 2).
   3. Circulation – is the cat’s heart beating? You can check this by feeling behind the elbow on their left-hand side. If not, you will need to carry out CPCR.
3. Are there any other life-threatening injuries? We’re not generally talking about broken bones here (they’re painful but unlikely to be fatal as long as you’re careful). However, severe bleeding, head trauma, and damage to the chest are all potentially lethal. Of these, the only one you can do anything about in the first aid situation is bleeding – you’ll need to try and stop it, or at least slow it down, and then rush them to us for definitive treatment.

In Part 2 we’ll look at what you can do for your cat in an emergency situation. If your cat is suddenly ill or injured, call us for advice!