Cat First Aid

Home medical care of your cat's minor illnesses and injuries may require medication sometimes. Sometimes, because many of your pet's medical problems, such as a minor abrasion, a sprain, or occasional vomiting or diarrhea, resolve them-selves without medication. Feline bodies have a remarkable capability for healingthemselves, but we are a drug-oriented society: we feel that an injection of this ora tablet of that will do the job. In reality, a little time and knowledge are often allthat is needed, and they may well be the most effective (and the cheapest!) treatment. This fact should not be abused, however.

Veterinarians are occasionally confronted with an injury or minor illness thathas healed itself even when the owner did not use the medication or follow theinstructions. The owner calls a week later to say that the ear infection is completelyhealed or the diarrhea has disappeared. This does not mean that you should notfollow your doctor's instructions!

The following is a list of medications that are good to have on hand, as well as the ailments they treat. Keep all medicines out of the reach of children.

Constipation

Laxatives should not be used on a regular basis unless recommended by yourveterinarian. Safe laxatives are made from psyllium (see below). Alternative laxa-tives are milk of magnesia or mineral oil. If an enema is needed. use warm water(best) or a Fleet enema.

1. Bulk Laxatives

Products such as Metamucil and Mucilose are refined from the psyllium seed.The substance from this seed is not absorbed by the digestive tract; it only passesthrough. Thus, it is a natural product and one with essentially no contraindicationsand no side effects. It provides bulk by drawing water into the stool. If youthink your cat has an intestinal obstruction or impacted feces, do not use a laxative.

Dosage:

1 teaspoon mixed in the food once or twice daily. Be sure to mix water82into the food and supply drinking water at all times.

2. Milk of Magnesia

The active ingredient, magnesium, causes fluid to be retained within thebowel and in the feces. It is also helpful in speeding passage of any poisons throughthe digestive tract.

Dosage:

1 teaspoon per five pounds of body weight. (One dose should do the job.)

Be sure to mix water

Side Effects:

Milk of magnesia is nonabsorbable, but it does contain magnesium and somesalt and should not be used if your pet has kidney or heart disease.

3. Mineral Oil

This is the cheapest and most effective laxative, but it can be dangerous ifadministered improperly or given for a long period of time. Mineral oil should neverbe given directly in the mouth because it is bland and may enter the breathingtubes and lungs before your pet can cough. Mineral oil in the lungs will cause asevere pneumonia. Instead, mix it in the food. If mineral oil is given for a longperiod of time, it can cause deficiencies of the fat soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K.

Dosage:

1 teaspoon per ten pounds of body weight, mixed in the food once daily, fortwo days at the maximum.

Side Effects:

Pneumonia or vitamin deficiency if administered improperly.

Constipation

1. Fleet Enema

If your pet has obstipation (impacted or hard feces in the lower intestine andrectum), you should see your doctor. If you must give the enema, use the Fleetpediatric enema. This may lubricate and soften the hard feces. Use only the mineral oil enema, not the phosphate type.

Dosage:

The lubricated nozzle is inserted into the rectum, and one ounce of the so-lution is gently administered. Another enema can be given half an hour later, ifnecessary.

Side Effects:

Severe complications can result if used when fever, nausea, vomiting,or abdominal pain is present. Do not use in cats that are dehydrated or have knownkidney disease.

Coughs

The only safe cough medicine I recommend for use without veterinary con-sultation is an expectorant. The expectorant liquefies the secretions and allows thebody's defenses to get rid of the bad material. Cough suppressants should not be used without your doctor's advice, because they contain such narcotics as codeineOver-the-counter cough suppressants may contain dextromethorphan. a closechemical relative.

1. Glyceryl Guaiacolate (guaifenesin)

If your cat has a dry, hacking cough, a lubricant soothes the inflamed area. Ifyour pet has a cough with mucus, glyceryl guaiacolate liquefies the mucus secre-tions so that they may be coughed free. It does not suppress the cough reflex, butrather encourages the natural defense mechanisms of the body.

Read the label: Do not use Robitussin or 2-G with the additives PE (for thedecongestant phenylephrine), CF or DM (for the cough suppressant dextromethor-phan), or AC (for codeine). Use Robitussin or 2-G with only glyceryl guaiacolate(guaifenesin) in 3.5 percent alcohol.

Dosage:

I/4 teaspoon every four hours.

Side Effects:

No serious side effects, but check with your doctor if the cough persists.

2. Kaopectate

Kaopectate is a very safe medication for cats. Do not use paregoric - it maybe toxic to your cat. See your veterinarian if diarrhea persists.

Kaopectate contains kaolin and pectin, which coat the intestinal tract andhelp to form a solid stool.

Dosage:

2 teaspoons per ten pounds of body weight every four hours.

Eye Irritations

For short-term use, apply an ophthalmic ointment such as Neosporin or Neo-polycin to your cat's eye three or four times daily. These ointments contain threeantibiotics: polymyxin, bacitracin, and neomycin.

Fungus

1. Tinactin

If your pet has only one ringworm lesion, you can use this cream. It is avail-able over the counter in drugstores.

Dosage:

Apply the cream to the skin lesion with a Q-tip twice daily. Do not touchthe lesion with your finger.

Side Effects:

If the skin becomes more irritated, stop the medication and see your veteri-narian. Do not get the medication in the eye.

Hair Balls

Brushing and combing your cat frequently will help prevent hair balls (swallowed hair from self-grooming). If your cat still vomits hair balls, a lubricant such as white petroleum jelly may help. A commercial hair-ball medicine (Ka t-a-I.,Lax atone) from your veterinarian or pet store can also be used.

1. White Petroleum Jelly

Dosage:

1/2 teaspoon per ten pounds of body weight. Apply it to the cat's nose and it will be licked off. This can be given once weekly. The jelly melts in the stomach to an oil that lubricates the hair ball for easier passage in your cat's bowels.

Side Effects:

Keep in mind that white petroleum jelly has the potential to decrease the absorption of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E. and K) if given in large doses or for prolonged time.

2. Bo nine

If you are unsuccessful, an antihistamine called Bo nine (medicine hydrochloride) can be used. It is effective against the apprehension, salivation, and vomiting or diarrhea that some pets experience when traveling. If Bo nine is not successful eliminating the motion sickness, your veterinarian can provide you with tranquilizers or antihistamines that are effective.

Dosage:

12.5 milligrams given on an empty stomach one hour before traveling. The dose can be repeated in twenty-four hours.

Side Effects:

Your pet may experience drowsiness. Do not give Bonnie to a pregnant cat - it may cause birth defects.

Pain and Fever

Do not give aspirin or Tylenol to cats without your veterinarian's recommendation. Cats have problems detoxifying and excreting these substances.

Poisoning

1. To Induce Vomiting: Hydrogen Peroxide

If your cat swallows a poison that can be expelled by vomiting, a 3 percent solution of hydrogen peroxide works very well. Do not induce vomiting if the poi-son swallowed is a petroleum-based compound or a strong acid or strong alkali . Be sure that the hydrogen peroxide purchased is not a higher strength (such as for bleaching hair).

Dosage:

1 teaspoon every ten minutes until your cat vomits. You can repeat this two or three times, if necessary. If this treatment is unsuccessful, 1 or 2 teaspoons of salt or a mustard-and-warm-water solution put on the back of the tongue should induce vomiting.

2. To Absorb Poison: Activated Charcoal

After vomiting, a few teaspoons of activated charcoal mixed in milk or water can be given to absorb the poison if the specific antidote is not known. Activated charcoal can be purchased in drugstores.

To Speed Passage Through the Digestive Tract: Milk of Magnesia

Dosage:

1 teaspoon per five pounds of body weight once daily.

Skin Irritations

1. Sterilizing Agents and Antiseptics

Soap and water is the best way to clean a wound. Hydrogen peroxide (3 percent strength) foams and cleanses wounds very well, and is inexpensive. Beta dine,a non stinging iodine preparation, kills germs and is a good agent to use on the skin, but it is expensive. To soothe the skin temporarily, calamine lotion can be applied, but it loses its effectiveness when it dries out. It must be washed off and reapplied frequently. Do not get it in the eyes.

Dosage:

Cleanse the wounds three times daily. Trim the hair around the wound, if necessary.

2. Domeboro Solution

This is a soothing wet dressing for relief of skin inflammation. It has antiseptic properties and reduces itching.

Dosage:

Dissolve one teaspoon or tablet in a pint of warm water. Bathe or apply wet dressings of the solution to the affected skin for fifteen minutes. You can repeat this three or four times daily.

Vitamin A & D Ointment soothes irritated skin and can be applied three or four times daily to affected areas. The ointments containing antibiotics (Newsprint,Nonpaying, and Maintain) can be applied to affected skin three times daily.

Urinary Infections

Acidifiers help control bacterial infections of the lower urinary tract and help prevent a recurrence of crystal or stone formation in the tract.

1. Vitamin C and Juices

Tomato juice and cranberry juice are excellent urinary acidifiers - if your pet will drink them. You can measure their effectiveness by testing urine with litmus paper. If blue litmus paper turns red, the urine is acidic.

Dosage:

1/4 to 1 cup of cranberry juice or tomato juice per day should be adequate.100 milligrams of vitamin C three times daily.

Vomiting and Stomach Upsets

Apostate, Maalox, Mylanta, Poeticism

All of these products soothe the stomach lining.

Dosage:

2 teaspoons of Apostate per ten pounds of body weight every four hours. 1 teaspoon of Maalox or Mylanta per ten pounds of body weight very eight hours. 1teaspoon of Poeticism per ten pounds of body weight every four hours.

Side Effects:

Maalox and Mylanta may loosen the stools a little. If your pet has a history of heart or kidney disease, consult your veterinarian before using either of these.

THE FIRST AID KIT

This is a must. Keep the kit in a convenient location but out of the reach of
small children. A fishing-tackle box works very well, by the way.

- Adhesive tape, 1 inch wide
- Gauze bandages, 1-inch rolls Absorbent cotton
- Sterile gauze pads, 3 x 3 inches Cotton-tipped swabs (Q-tips)Rubbing alcohol
- Rectal thermometer
- Teaspoon
- Tweezers
- Sharp scissors with rounded ends
- Medications