Cat Shock Treatment

Cat shock is an incredibly serious situation where there is a lack of blood flow. This causes the body to not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, and it can be life-threatening. It is important not only to know the signs of your cat being in shock, but to know how to treat the situation.

Treating Shock

As serious as shock is, there is often not enough time to get your cat into the veterinarian's office. Since time is very precious when your cat is in shock, you should first take some steps on your own to make certain that your cat will be all right or at least able to manage a trip to the veterinarian.

Evaluation

The first thing that you should do is evaluate your cat. You already know she's in shock, but how bad is it? Is she breathing? Does she have a pulse? It's important to know these things as quickly as possible so that you know the best path to take in treating your cat's shock.

Artificial Respiration

If your cat is not breathing, you will need to administer artificial respiration immediately. There are several steps to this.

• Check your cat's airway to make sure nothing is blocking it.
• Pull your cat's tongue forward to make sure there is nothing there. Swoop a finger into her mouth to ensure nothing is stuck that is within your reach.
• Close your cat's mouth and gently keep it shut. You can do this by putting your hands around the cat's head.
• Keep your cat's neck and head extended.
• Place your mouth over your cat's nose and give two quick breaths into the nostrils.

Doing this, your cat's chest should expand. If this does not happen, it could be because you are not using enough force behind your breathing, because the airway is still blocked or because your cat's mouth is not closed well enough.

Once you have begun breathing into your cat's nostrils, you will need to count the breaths. There should be a rate of 20 or 25 per each minute. It is important to remember air can build up in the stomach, so you will need to push gently just below your cat's ribs every few minutes to clear this air away.

Continue this process until your cat is breathing. If your cat is breathing but the breaths are very shallow or slow, lower your rates down to 10 to 15 times per each minute.

CPR

If your cat does not have a heart beat or a pulse, you will want to begin CPR immediately. You do this by performing chest compressions. This is done in several steps.

• Put your cat on a hard, flat surface.
• Put your fingers on your cat's sternum, which is located at the area where your cat's chest meets his elbow.
• Gently compress the chest five times.
• Check for a heartbeat every minute.

Continue this process until your cat once again has a pulse.

Other Treatments

If your cat is breathing and has a pulse, there are still a few other things that you can do to help your cat before you take her to the veterinarian.

• Keep yourself calm
• Keep your cat calm
• Use a blanket to keep your cat warm
• If there is bleeding present, apply direct pressure to try to stop it
• Don't feed your cat
• Don't give your cat anything to drink
• Lay your cat on her side
• Keep your cat's hind legs slightly elevated
• Continually check to make sure your cat is still breathing and that her heart is still beating

Once you have done these things, it is vital that you get your cat to the veterinarian as soon as possible.