Safety First Always—Mends After Accidents

Joan Henderson
One of the saddest things for a pet parent is to see their beloved pet injured or hurt. If you are a pet parent and your pet is hurt or injured in an accident, here’s how you can help and avoid any further injury or blood loss.
 
If your cat is hurt or injured, you need to be extra careful while handling her. For cats who have had an accident, there’s one essential thing that you need in first aid and that’s something to carry them in. Get a basket or a box or even a cardboard container and place it over the cat. If you cannot stand the sight of blood, then this is the easiest thing to do. It’s simple enough, and you needn’t look while you are doing it. The reason this is absolutely essential is that cats will often drag themselves off after an accident. They will hide in a corner and that may cause a lot of blood loss.
 
Fragile: handle with care
If you are not afraid of the sight of blood or suffering, what do you do? Exactly the same thing, except you gently place the pet in a container so that you can take immediately to the vet for proper treatment.
 
Remember that a cat in pain will scratch at you, so grab her firmly and transfer her quickly. If there is a great deal of bleeding you might attempt to stop it – hopefully to avoid any hemorrhaging – but other than that I think any attempt at first aid will cause more harm than good.
Get the cat in a basket and take him to the veterinarian as quickly as you can.
(Joan Henderson is retired international cat show judge based in Melbourne, Australia)