Cat and Dog Rescue Breathing

1. Check the scene to make sure it is safe for you to enter or get to the animal. (for example: Don't get hit by traffic trying to save an animal that has been hit by a car.)
   
2. Injured animals could lash out. Even if it is your pet, make sure that you take precautions so that the animal doesn't bite or scratch you.
   
3. Check to see if the animal responds. If the animal is unconscious, call for help. Get a family member or neighbor to call the vet.
   
4. Look, listen, and feel for breathing. Get your ear over the mouth to hear and feel if it is breathing. Use your senses. Look at the chest and feel with your hand on its chest to feel if it's breathing. If the animal is not breathing, you want to extend its head and lengthen its neck, open its mouth, and pull its tongue forward. Look inside to see if there is anything blocking the airway and remove it if so.
   
5. Put your hands around the animal's mouth. Seal the lips closed with your palms. Put your mouth over the animal's mouth and breathe 2 slow breaths. (If you are squeamish about this, you can put a light cloth over the animal's mouth and breathe through that.) Watch the chest to see that your breath goes in.
   
6. Now check for a pulse where the inside of the thigh meets the body. (Find out where the vital signs are on your animal. Every animal is different.) If there's a pulse, continue rescue breathing once every 5 seconds until the animal is breathing on its own or you are at the animal hospital.
   
7. If there is no pulse, put one hand under the ribcage between the animal and the ground to stabilize the animal. The animal should be lying on its right side. Then press the top ribcage firmly with your other hand 15 times, pause and breathe 2 slow breaths. After 4 cycles, check the pulse again. If no pulse, continue until there is a pulse or you get to the animal hospital.
   

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