As heard on WICC this morning by Dr. Claudia Giuliani. PET FIRST AID: Build your own first aid kit! Do you have a Pet First Aid kit in you household? If you dont, now is the time to remember to get one. If you already have a first aid kit around, BRAVO!! You can use this for your two legged and four legged members in your household. Keep in mind, however, that while humans first aid kits are typically sufficient, they may not have everything that you need specifically tailored for your dog or cat. For a good pet first aid kit, check out the American Red Crosss recommendations. But dont forget to add in these few extra key materials! The top 5 ingredients that I would also include: 1. A fresh, unexpired bottle of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. This isnt for cleaning wounds necessarily, but rather for inducing vomiting if your dog gets into something poisonous! Accidental poisonings in our pets occur thousands of times a day across the world, so you always want to be prepared to induce vomiting is necessary. That said, never induce vomiting without consulting your veterinarian or Animal Poison Control (888-426-4435) first, as sometimes it can make your pet worse. 2. A bottle of liquid dish soap (e.g. Dawn, Joy, etc.) I personally always have a bottle of Dawn at the hospital - not for washing dishes, but for safely removing any potentially poisonous chemicals or toxins from an animals fur or feathers. For example, if your CAT accidentally had a DOG flea and tick preventative out on it, you will need to bathe off this chemical immediately to prevent tremors and seizures. Likewise if your pet rolled in something poisonous like motor oil, etc., you can safely bathe with liquid dish soap. 3. A can of tuna (packed in water) or a can of chicken broth. Your probably wondering why this needs to in a first aid kit...well, several plants (e.g. Dieffenbachia, Poinsettias, etc.), household products (e.g. glow sticks) and household cleaners can cause severe foaming and drooling of the mouth due to irritation. By simply diluting the taste or chemical out of your pets mouth with something tasty (like the water from the tuna), it can safely flush out the mouth and esophagus. This is much safer than using a spray or a hose to flush out the taste from your pets mouth, as there is a chance that your pet could aspirate fluid into their lungs. 4. A few cans of dog or cat food and bottles of water. As a volunteer for disaster preparedness, Im a firm believer that you need a pet bag to go in case of emergency. Making sure that you have pop-off lid canned food is important in case you need to feed your pet during a disaster. Dont use dry kibble (which can go rancid after years) or cans that require a can opener, since you are unlikely to remember to grab your can opener on the run). 5. A quart size bag full of kitty litter. Again, you never know when you have to evacuate quickly with your pet. Keeping a bag of kitty litter in your first aid kit or in your cat carrier is imperative in case you are on the run. MY LAST FEW TIPS. -ALWAYS pre-program your cell phone with the emergency numbers to your veterinarian, an emergency veterinarian, and the Animal Poison Control Center in case of emergency. -ALWAYS pre-program the address of your veterinarian and an emergency veterinarians clinic into your cars GPS, so you can get there immediately in case of an emergency. -Consider taking a pet first aid class, where you can learn basic CPR. In the meantime check out Pet First Aid 102 to learn more about Pet CPR.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 15:17:42 +0000