Pet First Aid and the Emergency Sheet

Most pet emergencies come at the worst time: late, on a weekend, when you are tired. When it happens, you will not want to be hunting for a phone number or wondering where the nearest emergency clinic is. This guide helps you prepare in an evening, then tells you what to do in the most common emergencies in plain steps, with a one-page emergency sheet for the fridge.

This is general information. It is not veterinary advice, and it is not a replacement for a vet. First aid is what you do on the way to a vet, not instead of one. It gives no medicine doses, and it does not tell you to give your pet any human medicine. A pet first aid class run by a vet, a Red Cross-style course or a clinic is the best way to learn hands-on skills such as CPR.

Not veterinary advice. Call your vet or an emergency vet right away if: your pet is having trouble breathing, collapses, has a seizure, is bleeding heavily, has been hit by a car or fallen, may have eaten something poisonous, has a swollen hard belly, is straining to pee with little or no result (especially a male cat), is overheated, is vomiting repeatedly, or if you simply feel something is badly wrong. When in doubt, call. Calling costs little, and the vet can tell you whether to come in.