How to Assemble a Pet First Aid Kit

Most families have a first aid kit for their own use, but what if something happens to your pet? To be prepared for injuries, illnesses or the accidental escape of your pet, no matter what kind of animal he is, you need to have some basics in a special first aid kit just for pets.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sturdy first aid box with latch
• Copies of pet's registration, identification and vaccination information
• Tweezers
• Clippers
• Blunt scissors
• Styptic powder or cornstarch
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Gauze
• Nonstick wound dressing
• First aid cream or antibiotic ointment
• First aid tape
• Rectal thermometer
• Petroleum jelly
• Pet's medications
• Ace bandage, extra gauze or fabric
• Tongue depressors
• Milk of magnesia
• Vet's emergency phone numbers
• Poison control center phone number

1. Make and keep copies of your pet's registration, identification, vet and proof of vaccination information. These are your pet's ticket to home and safety if he gets lost or in an accident and ends up in a local animal shelter. Find out your vet's emergency procedures and phone numbers and include them with these documents.

2. Add tweezers, clippers and small, blunt-tipped scissors to your pet first aid kit. You'll need these tools for pets, especially those who spend lots of outdoor time and get into many messes resulting in splinters, torn nails and burs in the fur.

3. Keep a blood-clotting agent on hand in case a nail clipping gets bloody or your pet suffers a small puncture wound or scrape. Styptic powder is made specifically for pets and is available at pet stores and feed stores. A good substitute for this clotting agent is cornstarch, available in the baking aisle of your grocery store.

4. Stock your kit with basics like hydrogen peroxide for cleaning wounds, a roll of gauze, large, nonstick wound dressings, first aid cream or antibiotic ointment, and first aid tape (adhesive bandages don't really stick well to fur to protect wounds underneath). Also include important items like a rectal thermometer and petroleum jelly in case of weather-related illnesses like heat stroke or hypothermia.

5. Protect your pet's special medications from little hands or from getting lost in the kitchen by keeping them handy in your pet's own first aid kit. Keep a small syringe or eyedropper for giving liquid medications easily. You can also hand-feed an ill bird or tiny animal this way.

6. Include material to make a muzzle in case of an emergency and your pet becomes out of control or is in pain. Use stockings, ace bandage or even gauze. Wrap the cloth gently around the snout and under the chin, and tie behind the ears.

7. Keep tongue depressors handy. They're the perfect tool for splinting small pet legs and also for parting fur to check for a wound or parasite.

8. Add a bottle of milk of magnesia for absorbing poisons in case your pet ingests something hazardous. Keep the number of your local poison control center handy with the important papers and phone numbers. You never know what your pet might get into when foraging through neighbor's garbage cans!

Tips & Warnings

• Take the time to get these supplies together in a secure box. This way, you won't be frantically searching high and low for cornstarch and gauze while your pet is in pain, ill or bleeding all over the floor. It pays to be prepared!
• Another useful item to have on hand (but might not fit in the box) is something to use as a stretcher in case your pet is injured or ill and cannot move for himself. Suitable items depend on the size of your pet. A pet stretcher can range from a shoebox for pocket pets and birds to a folded up blanket for smaller dogs and cats to an old door or piece of wood for large dogs and farm animals.
• A first aid kit is not a substitute for veterinary care! But having these items handy can help you treat your injured pet and get her to the vet safer and quicker.

Resources

• Find pet first aid information from the Humane Society.

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