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On Caturday, Claire attended a class of first aid for dogs and for cats in Carouge, very close to Geneva. She took the train at 6:30, and after 120 km and some meters with the tramway, she arrived at the classroom. Valérie drove 710 km by car from Bordeaux to share her knowledge as first-aid worker and to teach the gestures that save.
It was a pawsome day, rich in teachings which we’ll let you discover in video during the next weeks.
First aid for cat : the bases
Do not want to replace the vet !
A well equipped case
The ideal case contains the following material : single-use gloves, small and medium sterile compresses, haemostatic pillow, plaster roller, 2 elastic bandages (5 and 10 cms wide), 2 instant cold packs, at least 2 monodoses of physiological salt solution, 2 monodoses of disinfectant (chlorhexidin), 2 monodoses of hydrogen peroxide, plastic tongue depressor, big syringe, razor, scissors, thermometer, metal tweezers, foil blanket, mask for mouth-to-truffle, cotton strips, hydro-alcoholic gel, cohesive band.
The hydrogen peroxide serves to clean a wound before disinfecting it, and the physiological salt solution serves to moisten a wounded eye or viscera (yuk !) for example.
The syringe is useful to rehydrate in small dose.
The thermometer has a flexible tip, and it takes the temperature within 10 seconds ! (Phew …) Valérie recommends to have a monodose of lubricating gel to make its use less unpleasant.
Scissors are special scissors called “scissors Jesco” and can cut thick materials as harness or seat belt.
The cotton strips (1 m and 1 m 50) can serve to put a withers or to muzzle a dog (except the brachycephalics who must have a muzzle adapted to their very short snout). For us, cats, Claire bought a “special cat” muzzle : this model also covers eyes. These devices, if needed, allow the first-aid worker to intervene in safety with a wounded animal.
The good gestures
What’s to be done if an animal is unconscious ? What’s to be done in case of airway obstruction ? How to do a resuscitation and a cardiac massage ? What’s to be done in case of bleeding ? What’s to be done in case of wounds or in case of burns ? What’s to be done in the event of an ocular accident ? What’s to be done in case of intoxication or in case of poisoning ? What’s to be done in case of drowning ? How to put correctly a bandage that holds on a tail, an ear, eyes, or a paw ?
Claire learnt all this in the course, but BEFORE helping an animal, it’s necessary :
- Protect yourself, protect the present persons, and protect the animal : muzzle the animal and held him, establish a safety zone, or go away from a danger zone, and put gloves on.
- Give warnings : warn the veterinarian, and if needed the police or the fire brigades.
Then, we can really help : the mission of the first-aid worker is to help the hurt animal to arrive to the veterinarian with the best possible chances of survival.
And don’t forget to replace the used material !
that was very nice from Valerie to drove such a long way… but it was for an important topic and we all should know what we can do if bad things happen….
My human wants to take a first aid class for pets too!
That was a very comprehensive class full of fabulous information to help an animal in distress wherever and whenever it should occur. GREAT!
Hugs, Pam
That was a nice bunch of really good information!
pixie N zorro; thanx for sharin thiz post; it haz grate info….N 984 paws UP two valerie for travelin all that way ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 🙂 ♥♥
That sounds like a very comprehensive and interesting course.
We need a first-aid kit like that at Eastside Cats!
I love that they offer courses on first aid for pets. How wonderful!
That sounds like a very interesting and useful course to take. Our Mama didn’t know there were first aid masks for cats. They would prove very useful!
the critters in the cottage xo
I just went through the boys first aid kit to make sure everything was up to date. Thanks for the reminder!
How interesting! We’ve never even heard of such helpful instruction–we’re not sure there are any classes like that here.
Excellent information that we all need to learn.
Thanks for sharing! I have always wanted to take a first aid class for dogs and cats. I’m going to save this post, thanks!
WoW! This is a skookum post! Thanks for sharing Claire!
I am now even more convinced I want to take a first aid course!
And 710 km that is the same as Vancouver to Calgary. here – a 12 hour drive. One I have made quite frequently.
Purrs
Marv
Mom took a course on first aid for pets many years ago and would like an update. However, this town doesn’t seem to do much for pets.
What a patient cat getting that muzzle type thing on.
Shoko
It’s wonderful that Claire is taking a pet first aid class. More pet owners should have a basic ability to do first aid for their pets.
Great post!
Purrs xx
Athena and Marie
Oh wow, how fantastic!
We need to send the P.A. on a course like that!
This must have been such a great and informative class. i would love to attend a class like.
We don’t realize how important these skills and supplies are until we need them desperately.
Fantastic information! I would love to attend a first aid course. I’m not prepared for emergencies at all.
That sounds like a pawsum class. We’ll have to try to figger out what some of those are in American English to make sure we have them in our kit. We can’t wait fur the rest. Big hugs
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena