One of the trickiest parts of owning a pet is handling emergencies. These situations are not only harmful but also unpredictable. Which makes them a matter of life and death for your furry friends. That’s why you should know when to ask for help from vets.
Most new pet owners sometimes don’t know what to do when these things happen and are often overwhelmed with emotions. While it’s only natural to be worried, panicking is the last thing you want to do during an emergency.
As responsible fur parents, you have to learn how to control your emotions so you can handle pet emergencies effectively.
Tell-tale Signs That Your Pet Needs Urgent Medical Help
Normally, it’s easy to tell whether your pet needs an animal emergency vet clinic or not. But there are cases when it will be hard for you to assess the situation. And you only have your parental instinct to rely on.
Fortunately, some signs can tell you whether your pet is in danger or not. If you observe these signs on your pet, don’t hesitate to call your vet.
- Unconsciousness
- Seizures
- Non-stop vomiting
- Bloated or swelling abdomen
- Cherry-eye inflammations
- Blood in poop
- Non-stop bleeding
- Choking or difficulty in breathing
- Blindness
- Loss of balance
- Inability to walk
- Fractures or injuries
- If your pet can’t pee and poop
- If pregnant and can’t deliver babies
Once you’ve seen these signs on your pets, call your pet immediately. Then calmly explain to them the situation so they can give you instructions about what you can do at the moment.
What to do while help is on the way
It’s not every time that your vet will be able to attend to your pets right away. Sometimes it will take 10-15 minutes for you to drive to the nearest clinic, or for an ambulance to rescue your pets. And those minutes are a crucial time.
Within those minutes anything can happen (knock on wood). That’s why it’s also important that you know some basic first aid so you can attend to your pets while help is on the way.
Below are some tips that you can do to somehow stabilize the situation. So next time there are emergencies, you would know how to react and what to do.
Seizures
The best thing to do when your pets are having seizures is not to restrain them in any way. In other words, let them be.
Instead, notify your doctor so they can instruct you on what to do. Usually, they will tell you to, first, remove everything around your pet that might harm them during the seizures.
Seizures normally last for 2-3 minutes and will stop naturally. But when the seizures don’t stop after three minutes, that’s when you should call your vet again and ask for further instructions.
Fractures
When your pet is injured, you have to be gentle all the time. So your pet won’t be as aggressive towards you.
But sometimes, when animals are hurt, it’s almost their natural response to bite anything or anyone who comes near them. So try your best to muzzle your pet gently.
Once you’ve done this, the next step is to secure them onto a flat surface, preferably a stretcher, using mattresses or elastic bands.
Then bring them to the nearest animal clinic if possible.
Bleeding
Bleeding is a serious situation. Loss of blood in pets could mean life and death.
But don’t panic. Again, calmly muzzle your pet first. Trust us, they will bite anyone whenever they’re under stress. Even if you’re the owner. So don’t forget the first step.
Once you’ve muzzled your pet, get a clean gauze pad or a piece of cloth and put it over the wound. Then apply very slight pressure for a few minutes. It’s important not to overdo the pressure because too much could hurt them.
After a few minutes, remove the gauze pad and check if the bleeding stopped.
If not, put another gauze pad or piece of cloth over the wounded area then gently wrap it with elastic bands to continuously suppress the bleeding.
Lastly, bring your pet to an emergency vet and pray for the best.
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