A cat can be choked anytime, it is a common but rare issue. Choking in cats incident is usually for food, bone, plastic toy, hairball or hair tie getting stuck in the throat. But question is, what to do if your cat is choking?
It’s important to know about first aid when a pet emergency occurs.
What to Do if Your Cat is Choking
Learn here some important ways to help your cat to prevent choking incidents.
Owners responsibility
A choking incident is caused by a hairball that it can’t expel. Food, hair ties or plastic toys can be stuck in its throat. If the cat is choking, calm down. Determine whether its airway is blocked or not. In the case of a hairball, it will let it out in a few seconds.
Mouth sweep
Open your cat’s jaws and sweep its mouth with your index finger. Check for any object to avoid pushing farther down. Pull the tongue forward to check the back of its throat. If nothing is visible, move on to the Heimlich maneuver.
Cat Heimlich
Hold the cat with its back against your chest and her feet hanging. Firmly push on its belly in a succession of quick and upward thrusts for five times. Hold the cat up by its back hips with its head down and sweep its mouth. After removing the obstruction, bring it to the nearest vet.
How to Prevent Choking?
There are a few things you can do to help prevent your cat from choking:
- Keep your cat’s nails trimmed. Overgrown nails can catch on things and cause your cat to choke.
- Be careful what you feed your cat. Some foods, like chicken bones, can easily get stuck in your cat’s throat.
- Keep an eye on your cat when they are playing with toys. If you see them swallowing a toy or piece of string, stop them immediately and remove the object.
- Taking extra care: Your cat may be gasping because of an underlying health issue. When it throws up a hairball, it isn’t a choking emergency. If the hairball doesn’t come up, it could lead to serious medical problems. It can block the digestive tract.
- Give away cat choking hazards from your home. Move around your home for small and easily swallowable stuff. Keep stuff like plastic bags, staples, wine corks, rubber bands, aluminum foil, bottle caps, straws, paper clips, etc in a pet-proof location. Any stuff might go into its throat in a second.
If the cat throws up a hairball more than once a week, consult a vet about hairball control food. It also can be a sign of underlying gastrointestinal disease or asthma.
How Do You Know When a Cat is Choking?
If your cat is choking, it will have trouble breathing, make a raspy sound when breathing, or be unable to breathe at all. It may paw at its mouth and make a gagging sound. Your cat may also panic and become agitated.
Further Reading
His professional interests include humane education, ethics, small animal behavior, and veterinary. As a pet lover from school life, having grown up with two cats and a dog. If he isn’t spending time with his friends and family, Justin enjoys traveling. Learn more about Justin here.
