Top Supplies Your Pet First Aid Kit Needs to Include

If you have a pet at home, it is important that you keep an emergency first aid kit on hand that can be used to treat common alignments that your cat or dog may develop. Here are a few supplies that should be included in every pet first aid kit.

#1 Contact Information

When your pet gets injured, you can't just call 911 for assistance, which is why your pet's first aid kit should include emergency information for pet services in your area. For example, it should include your veterinarian's name, address, and phone number, as well as the address and phone number of the closest emergency veterinary clinic. You should also keep the number of a pet poison control center on hand, although you should be aware that many pet poison hotlines charge fees for their assistance.

#2 Milk of Magnesia or Activated Charcoal

Next, your pet's first aid kit should include either milk of magnesia or activated charcoal. Both of these substances can be feed to your pet and used to both absorb poison in their system and induce vomiting. Having these two ingredients on hand could save your pet's life in the event that they are poisoned.

#3 Large Gauze Strips and Nonstick Bandages

You need to keep large gauze strips to wrap around your pet's wounds. Animals can have very large midsections, so you should make sure that you have enough gauze to wrap around a potential stomach wound or similar wound on the main part of your pet's body.

You are also going to need access to non-stick bandages as well; you don't want to use adhesive bandages as they could stick to your pet's fur and damage their skin.

#4 Hydrogen Peroxide

If your pet suffers from a cut or bite, you are going to need to clean it out to keep it from getting infected. One of the best things to clean your pet's wounds with is 3% Hydrogen peroxide. It is a simple and easy way to treat wounds.

Hydrogen peroxide is also a great way to get your pet to vomit if they ingested something that they shouldn't have, and your vet or poison control center instructs you to induce vomiting over the phone. Feeding your pet hydrogen peroxide is a great way to accomplish this task and save your pet.

#5 Extra Leash and Muzzle

If you need to take your pet to the emergency vet clinic, you don't want to have to search around for a muzzle or leash. By keeping an extra set in your pet first aid kit, you'll easily be able to grab what you need, load up your pet, and get them quickly to the emergency vet clinic.

This is not an all-inclusive list of the items that you should keep in your pet's first aid kit; you should also keep a digital thermometer, eye dropper, and adhesive tape in your kit. Be sure to ask a vet like those at Southwest Florida Veterinary Specialists & 24-Hour Emergency Hospital for additional suggestions for your pet first aid kit.