Build Your Own Kitty First Aid Kit
April is Pet First Aid awareness month. While we recommend consulting with a veterinarian for pet injuries, it never hurts to have a first aid kit standing by in an emergency. Here are the items we recommend including in a pet first aid kit:
- List of emergency phone numbers including those for your pet’s veterinarian, an after-hours emergency veterinary hospital, and the National Animal Poison Control Center
- Examination gloves
- Gauze sponges ( a variety of sizes)
- Elastic cling bandage
- Adhesive tape, hypoallergenic
- Non-adherent sterile pads
- Small scissors
- Tweezers
- Magnifying glass
- Grooming clippers
- Towel
- Water-based sterile lubricant
- Hydrogen peroxide (3 percent)
- Rubbing alcohol
- Topical antibiotic ointment (in date)
- Antiseptic towelettes
- Insect sting stop pads
- Cotton-tipped swabs
- Instant cold pack
- Syringe or eye dropper
- Sterile saline wash
- Diphenhydramine, if approved by your veterinarian
- Styptic powder or pencil
- Penlight with batteries
- Clean cloth
- Needle-nose pliers
- A bottle of liquid dish soap
- A quart size bag full of kitty litter
- A can of canned tuna (in water) or a can of chicken broth
