What to Do in the First Ten Minutes of a Pet Emergency

Most emergency outcomes are decided before anyone reaches a clinic. Here is what actually helps in the first ten minutes. First: do not get bitten A frightened animal in pain will bite the person it loves most. Approach slowly, speak normally, and use a towel or blanket for handling. You cannot help your pet from a hospital bed. Bleeding Firm, direct pressure with a clean cloth. Press and hold — do not keep lifting to check, because you pull away the clot each time. Hold it for a full five minutes by the clock. A tourniquet is almost never the right answer and frequently costs the limb. Suspected poisoning Do not induce vomiting unless a vet has told you to for that specific substance. Caustic substances and petroleum products do more damage coming back up. Bring the packet, bottle or plant with you. Common household poisons for pets in Bangladesh: rat poison, paracetamol (lethal to cats in tiny amounts), chocolate, onion and garlic in quantity, xylitol chewing gum, naphthalene mothballs, and lead paint flakes from old furniture. Heatstroke Move to shade. Wet the coat with cool — not ice cold — water, particularly the belly, armpits and groin. Get air moving over them with a fan. Ice water constricts surface blood vessels and traps heat in the core, making things worse. Then go to a clinic, even if they seem to recover, because organ damage can appear hours later. Seizures Do not put anything in the mouth. Do not restrain. Clear hard objects away, dim the lights, note the start time. Most seizures stop within two minutes. One lasting over five minutes, or a second seizure before full recovery, is life threatening and needs a clinic now. Choking If the animal is coughing forcefully, let them cough — that is the most effective way out. Intervene only if they cannot breathe at all. For a small animal, hold with the head pointing down and give five firm blows between the shoulder blades. Bloat in deep-chested dogs An unproductive retching dog with a swelling, hard abdomen who is restless and distressed may have gastric dilatation and volvulus. This kills within hours and only surgery fixes it. Go immediately. Urinary blockage in male cats Repeated squatting with nothing produced, crying in the tray, licking at the back end. This is fatal in a day or two untreated and is the emergency most often mistaken for constipation. What we can and cannot do online A video consultation is excellent at one thing in an emergency: telling you in five minutes whether this needs a clinic tonight or can wait until morning, and what to do while you travel. It cannot replace hands, x-rays or a drip. When in doubt, travel — and call us on the way.

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