Local Workshop Shows Pet First-Aid Lessons as Important as Ever

Angela Farino discovered she was not as prepared for a natural disaster as she thought she was. Kelly Hagins wanted to be ready to help her cats in the event of a health emergency. Tina Moretti learned the proper way to position her hands when performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation for a pet.

They were among the 13 attendees at a pet first-aid and CPR class held earlier this month by Friends of Lake Forest Animals. Presented at the El Toro Library by Red Cross-certified UC Irvine students Scott David and Emma Choi, the class covered disaster preparation, emergency recognition, first-aid technique and the proper ways to help choking pets and to perform CPR on animals.

Take disasters. They may call for you to care for an injured animal. But your preparation should go beyond that. Have paperwork that states who can take possession of your pets if you aren’t home and that establishes your ownership of a pet in case he is lost and you must reclaim him.

If you haven’t put in writing that your pet should be cared for and by whom, the animal will be sent to the shelter, so make arrangements beforehand, Choi says. It’s also a good idea to have photos of you and your pet together so you can prove ownership. Farino and Hagins have since taken those steps.

Lake Forest resident Hagins, who co-owns pet-care business Animal Amour with her mother, Joni Oldfield, had an especially personal reason for her interest in the first-aid training. Two of her three cats—Jack, Tabitha and Tigger—have asthma.

“I am so concerned that one day they may have trouble breathing to the point that I will need to provide CPR while getting them to the emergency vet,” she says. "So I wanted to feel more comfortable about doing that."

Moretti, who works part time for Animal Amour, has good caregiving skills because she is a nurse. But she was interested to learn about some of the differences in techniques between dealing with choking and providing CPR, such as where to place the hands and how to position animals of various sizes.

With four stuffed animals as their patients, David and Choi demonstrated how to make a muzzle using a long piece of gauze, and how to perform the Heimlich maneuver and CPR. Then students took turns practicing the techniques.

April is Pet First Aid Awareness Month, so it’s a good time to learn skills that could one day help to save your pet’s life. The American Red Cross, Pets America and Pet Tech all offer classes, and you can ask if your veterinarian provides first-aid training for clients. Becoming an instructor and teaching other pet owners is a great way to learn and then practice the skills.

Until then, here are some tips on recognizing emergencies and providing first aid until you can get your dog or cat to the veterinarian.

First, know what’s normal for your animal so that any changes will be obvious. For instance, it’s not normal for cats to pant. That’s an emergency situation.

If your pet is bleeding heavily, apply pressure with a clean cloth or towel. If the blood soaks through, maintain the pressure and place another cloth on top of the first one.

Injured pets, no matter how docile they are normally, are in pain and may bite out of fear. Approach them cautiously, remain calm, and, if possible, put a muzzle on them before treating any wounds. (Don’t try to muzzle cats or flat-faced dogs; they don’t have enough of a foreface to keep the muzzle in place.)

Your pet may be choking if he is restless, pawing at his mouth or, most important, not breathing. Do a finger sweep inside the mouth to see if you can find and remove the obstruction.

Give CPR only if a pet is not breathing and has no pulse.

Take your pet for treatment right away in the following situations:

• Physical trauma such as being hit by a car or falling out of a window, even if the animal appears to be unhurt.

• Loss of consciousness.

• Changes in gum color from a healthy pink to white, yellow, gray or blue.

• Increases in respiratory rate. The normal rate in a cat is 20 to 30 breaths per minute and for a dog 16 to 24 breaths per minute.

• Choking or having difficulty breathing.

• Sudden collapse.

• Seizure activity.

• A bloated or enlarged belly.

• Retching or vomiting that doesn’t bring anything up, especially with a bloated or enlarged belly.

• Bloody or black/tarry diarrhea.

• Inability to walk, or a wobbly gait.

• Straining to urinate, especially in male cats.

On Saturday, April 23, Friends of Lake Forest Animals is hosting the Bob’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream booth at the Orange County Market Place swap meet. All proceeds from the day’s ice cream sales go to FOLFA.