The cat fell out of the window: what to do?

The main enemy of the mustachioed-striped is the carelessness of the owners, who believe that nothing will happen to their pet. Cats have acrobatic skills, but it’s best to show them off in a safe environment. If your ward has never stumbled while walking along the balcony railing, this does not mean that you are forever protected from this.

Even an accidental fall from a first floor window can end sadly. The cat will land too quickly, not having time to group. Bruises and shock are possible due to a sudden traumatic incident. Such well-being can make a cat run away, hide somewhere to recover. Can you find her later?

It happens that when falling from the third, fourth floor, the cat lands safely on its paws on a soft flower bed. But this is great luck and an exception to the rule. The fact is that the cat does not understand how high it is above the ground when it looks out of the window. You probably happened to get carried away reading a book in transport and accidentally pass your stop. A cat can also get carried away chasing a bird on a branch outside the window and not notice where the window sill ends.

Cats are able to act with lightning speed, like any predators. Maybe you opened the air for just a minute, but a second is enough for a cat to find itself on the windowsill. Opening the window at night is also a bad idea. Cats may wake up several times a night. Veterinarians say up to five fluffy patients with injuries consistent with falling from a height can come in during the summer for night duty.

Mosquito netting is another hidden danger. It is designed to protect the house from insects. The cat sees that there is a certain barrier on the window, can trustfully lean on the mosquito net and fall out along with the net. There is no need to talk about a safe landing here, because the cat can catch on the net with its claws and miss the moment when you need to group up so that the landing is more or less soft.

Here is a list of the most common cat injuries caused by falls from a height. These are craniocerebral injuries, damage, bruising or even rupture of organs, internal hemorrhage, fractures, cracks in the palate, wounds, biting of the tongue. 

First of all, you need to examine the pet without moving the victim in order to understand the nature and severity of the injuries. Be prepared for the fact that the cat, against the background of pain and shock, will show aggression, conduct an examination in tight gloves.

• If you understand that your ward has a fracture, you need to transport the victim to the veterinary clinic without changing the position of his body. Take a sheet of plywood, wrap it with a cloth, place an absorbent diaper on top. On such a hard surface, you can take your pet to the vet. In case of a fracture of a limb, the damaged foot must be fixed with a splint and a bandage in order to immobilize. But if you don’t know how to put a splint at all, you don’t need to do this, it’s enough for the pet to wait for the veterinarian to examine it on something flat and hard.
• In case of superficial bleeding, a bandage should be applied. A wound on a limb requires a tight bandage, that is, a tourniquet that must be fixed above the place where the blood comes from. In summer, the tourniquet is held for up to one and a half hours, in winter 30 minutes is enough. If bleeding continues after the tourniquet is removed, reapply the tourniquet.

The wound itself also needs a bandage, but a little looser. The bandage must first be moistened with a disinfectant solution. Solutions of miramistin, chlorhexidine, furacillin are quite suitable. Do not remove the bandage from the wound until the fluffy patient is examined by a veterinarian. If the pet scratched the skin, bruised his lip, before visiting the veterinarian, it is enough to disinfect the wounds with a disinfectant solution. A special hemostatic powder will help stop the bleeding. One of the most common cat injuries is a cracked palate. The crack may be very small, but it is dangerous, because food will enter the respiratory tract through it. The vet will sew up the crack.

• Pay attention to the condition of the mucous membranes. If they turn pale, it is possible that anemia develops against the background of internal bleeding. Another symptom is cold extremities. The sooner a vet can help your pet, the better.

If the pet is unconscious, first of all make sure that he is breathing. When a cat’s chest rises and falls, it means that oxygen is circulating in the body. When in doubt, press your cheek against your pet’s nose, then you will feel the cat exhale.

• Make sure that the pulse is palpable, start artificial respiration. Make sure the victim’s airway is not blocked. Fix the pet lying on the right side. Cover your pet’s nose and mouth with your mouth, take about fifteen breathing movements for a minute. As a response, the pet’s chest should begin to rise and fall, as with normal breathing. If you feel that the cat’s ribs are intact, it is better to press on the ribs during artificial respiration, this should activate the lungs.

The first hour or two after a cat falls are crucial. During this time, it is important to have time to provide medical care to the cat. Take your pet to the nearest vet. If your ward is non-transportable, there is a suspicion of a possible fracture of the spine or other extremely serious injury, call the veterinarian to your place, specifying how serious the situation is and that the pet needs urgent help.

Focus on the situation. Does your ward have no visible injuries, but the pet is breathing heavily? This indicates a possible bruise of the internal organs. Take your pet to the veterinarian as soon as possible, where he will be placed in an oxygen chamber. You need to take a cat with a lung injury in a car with an open window, you need to keep a piece of gauze soaked in ammonia at the ready.

It happens that a pet that has survived a fall seems healthy outwardly, it still needs to be shown to a veterinarian, because the cat needs anti-shock therapy, and the presence or absence of internal injuries can be judged by the results of X-ray examination and ultrasound of the abdominal organs.

We sincerely hope that the knowledge of emergency care for a cat will never be useful to you in practice. To a large extent it depends on you. You can secure windows, vents and balconies so that you do not have to worry every second whether your pet is okay.

On the windows and vents that you open wide, put metal anti-cat nets. Some owners of mustachioed-striped ones admit that they trust only those nets on which they themselves can fearlessly lean on, withstand a person, which means they can withstand a cat.

The balcony is a great place for walking, do not deprive your pet of a breath of fresh air. It is enough to cover the balcony with a sufficiently small protective metal mesh to make a safe enclosure.

As for plastic windows, we urge you to either abandon vertical ventilation or install special grilles on the windows that will not allow a curious pet to get stuck in a narrow slot of the window. It is quite possible to get by with horizontal ventilation, but even here it is better to get limiters like those that help secure windows in a house where a small child lives. If you haven’t installed anti-cat nets yet, a temporary solution would be to simply keep your pet out of the room where the ventilation is going on.

Please note that an injured cat or cat will be less independent, require more care and attention. And you will also need finances and time to visit the veterinarian and follow his instructions. It is better to pay attention to safety issues in advance, and spend the saved time and energy on communication and games with your pet. We wish your pets a safe home environment and good health!