Sometimes our pets need medical – veterinary – help. At the same time, not all preparations from the “human” pharmacy can be used for an animal, many of them are prohibited! Of course, the best option is to deliver the sick pet to the veterinarian as soon as possible, but still, you should keep at home a minimum set of items for emergency or system help. My Canadian Pharmacy will tell you about a few essential items you should always keep in your pet’s first-aid kit.
How to Make a Pet’s First Aid Kit?
For dog owners
A set of essentials depends on the “lifestyle” of your four-legged friend. A tiny dog that “walks” at home requires a slightly different first-aid kit than a dog who walks on the street for a long time or lives in a personal box in the yard. However, in all cases, it is worth keeping at home a package of dressings (sterile and non-sterile bandage, sterile and non-sterile cotton wool, a long elastic band and tubular bandage), a pair of universal and non-caustic antiseptic vials (for example, chlorhexidine and hydrogen peroxide), an iodine vial. For the treatment of eyes or ears, you will need boric acid (which is allowed for ophthalmic use!).
If you live in an area where doghunter flayers are operating, spreading bait with poison in places of walking dogs (human medicine for tuberculosis, which is deadly poisonous for dogs), be sure to take a syringe with normal vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) for a walk: if you administer it within half an hour after the dog has eaten the poison, then the chances o recovery increase tenfold. Of course, the dog should be immediately taken to the nearest veterinary clinic after the injection.
As for antibiotics, Elizabethan collar and specific drugs for the treatment of specific diseases, it makes no sense to make reserves in advance: in case of illness, the veterinarian will prescribe you everything you need.
For systemic care for dogs, you will need only two drugs – anthelmintic (choose modern drugs that destroy most intestinal parasites) and flea drops. The frequency of use will also be recommended by a veterinarian.
For cat owners
The list of dressings and antiseptics for cats is exactly the same as for dogs. The only thing that should be added is one blanket on the size of your cat: sometimes there are situations when you have to bring an animal to the vet in it.
Veterinarians have a saying – the more you save on cat food, the more you spend on a veterinarian, and this is a complete truth: the gastrointestinal tract of a baleen pet reacts violently to unsuitable food and gives off vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation. Therefore, it is worth keeping an ordinary “human” smectum on hand (half a sachet can be given to a cat with diarrhea), vaseline oil (one teaspoon with food or before a meal will solve the problem of constipation), as well as a special medical food for the removal of hairballs that accumulate in the stomach and turn into a very dangerous lump that comes out during vomiting. As an option, for regular removal of the licked wool from the stomach, you can grow fresh weed on the window – for example, oats or lemon balm. When necessary, the cat will come and chew it.
If your cat is not sterilized and you plan to introduce her to a cat in the near future to get offspring, then unscheduled estrus should be stopped only with natural herbal sedatives. Never use hormones – they deal a heavy blow to the cat’s health. If you do not need kittens – just sterilize the cat. A cat sterilized at the age of 1.5 years lives much longer than a pet with “empty” estrus and has much fewer health problems.
And do not forget that even a home cat needs to receive a suitable anthelmintic drug at least 1 time in 6 months.
For rodent owners
Dressings and antiseptics should be the same as for cats and dogs. You should add to the special treatments for specific parasites living in the tender fur of rodents, as well as medicines used to treat ear mites and lashes. However, if you find that your rabbit or guinea pig has ear problems, go to the vet!
For bird owners
Those who keep at home parrots and canaries know that the greatest danger to birds is the loss of blood from injuries and convulsions. Therefore, be sure to have an injectable hemostatic agent (but check the dosage and place of injection at the veterinarian), as well as anticonvulsant injections (for example, calcium gluconate and vitamin B complex). The diseases in birds develop extremely rapidly, so you should take the pet to the veterinarian as soon as possible.
For amphibian owners
In amphibians (for example, red-eared turtles) the disease, on the contrary, develops slowly. The most common problem requiring medication is pneumonia. It occurs most often for a combination of two reasons – too cold a terrarium and a deficiency of certain fat-soluble vitamins. To treat pneumonia and other inflammatory processes in amphibians, vets usually use antibiotic of a broad spectrum of action – Baytril (Enrofloxacin). It is injected with an insulin syringe, it can be done independently but only a veterinarian should calculate the exact dosage. The vet will also select a vitamin complex: the land and water turtles need completely different sets of nutrients.