Happy Pets

Fractures

A fracture can range from a cracked toe to a shattered spine. Traffic accidents, awkward falls from a height (especially if the cat is half asleep or concentrating on something else), a bad encounter with a dog or deliberate human cruelty are likely causes — but a small kitten could break a bone (often one of the lower bones of the front legs) just jumping out of your arms.

Amateur treatment of fractures can do more harm than good. If a cat has multiple injuries, likely if it has been hit by a car or savaged by a dog, it is much more important to staunch bleeding and get it to the vet. The time taken to get professional attention will not affect recovery from a simple fracture. Only if you have absolutely no access to a vet should you attempt to treat a fracture by, say, splinting a limb with a flat piece of wood on either side and securing the whole with bandages.

It is as well, however, to be able to recognize a possible fracture. If a kitten limps after jumping or falling out of your arms, for example, check the injured leg. If it seems floppy and is obviously painful head straight to the vet. A simple bruise is more likely if the limb seems all right and the kitten is walking on it a few hours later.

To test for a suspected broken limb, get someone else to place the cat down gently on a table while you compare the suspected limb with its partner. Do they hang differently, or look different lengths? Ask your assistant to hold the cat by the scruff of the neck and to put a hand beneath its chest to take its weight. By lifting the hand a little the weight is transferred to the rear. Does the cat take all the weight on one leg and flinch as the other touches the table? To check the front legs, move the cat towards the edge of the table. Most cats will instinctively reach out for the edge. If it pulls itself forwards with the suspect leg you can be fairly sure that it is not broken.

Burns and scalds

The instant treatment for a general burn is to douse the affected area with cold water, then apply a pad soaked in cold water and get the cat to the vet as rapidly as possible. Even more important is to treat the animal for shock by keeping it still and quiet. Burns to the paw pads, usually from jumping on to a cooker hotplate or other heated surface, should be smothered with Vaseline and wrapped with soft cloth. Do not attempt to bandage them.

Cats generally learn from experience to avoid hot surfaces — once burned twice shy — but scalds are much more frequent and usually not the cat’s fault. Take particular care that pan handles do not project where they can be knocked and that kettles are not overfilled so that they boil over. A cat’s fur does give some protection and a minor scald can be soothed by smothering with olive oil or Vaseline. The problem is that since the fur is not singed the injury from a liquid scald may not be apparent; even fat may be licked off by the cat. If the skin dies and falls

off, leaving a raw patch, this will need very careful attention.

Chemical burns, from corrosive and caustic substances, may take some days before injury becomes visible, though the mouth and tongue can be damaged in trying to lick them off. If you see a cat splashed by or walk into acid (a leak from a car battery, perhaps) mix some bicarbonate of soda in a bucket of water, put on some gloves and push the cat into the bucket as quickly as possible to dilute the acid. For caustic substances use boric acid instead of bicarbonate. If you do not know what has caused a burn use water, wrap the cat in a blanket and get it to the vet for immediate treatment.

Foreign objects

Bones or other objects may get caught on the teeth or in the throat. If you can see them remove with tweezers. Needles can be particularly dangerous if swallowed, so do not leave threaded ones about. And if you see a piece of cotton hanging from a cat’s anus do not pull it — there may be a needle or part of one on the other end, and even if there is not you could damage the rectal lining in pulling out the thread. Cut it short about 11/2 in (4 cm) from the anus so the cat cannot play with it and arrange for a trip to the vet.

If a cat is limping, check the paw for a piece of broken glass, a thorn or some other object that may have penetrated it. Even a grass seed can work its way under the skin between the toes and cause a suppurating sore. Extract the offending article with tweezers if you can, bathe the wound and keep an eye open for any signs of infection.

Foreign objects in an eye or ear will almost certainly need veterinary attention if they have worked their way under the skin or below the nictating membrane. You should never try to remove an object embedded in the eye, although you will probably be able to wipe away a speck of dust, say, with the corner of a handkerchief. The same is true of ears: do not go poking around down the ear canal; confine any treatment to wiping external parts only with a damp cloth.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 20th, 2008 at 5:55 am and is filed under Cats, Dogs, Kittens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.