Pet First Aid Kit Checklist: What to Pack (and What to Leave Out)
A pet first aid kit will not replace your vet, but it buys time. It helps you stop bleeding, keep a hurt animal safe on the way to the clinic and give your vet useful information. Most of what you need fits in a small box and costs little. Put it together once, keep a smaller copy for the car and check it twice a year.
Start with the information card
The most useful item in any kit is a card, or a note in your phone and on paper, with:
- Your vet's phone number, address and opening hours
- The nearest 24-hour emergency vet clinic, with address
- A poison line. In the US: ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (+1 888-426-4435) or Pet Poison Helpline (+1 855-764-7661); both charge a consultation fee
- Your pet's age, weight, microchip number, medical conditions, current medicines and allergies
- A recent photo of your pet, in case they go missing
- A copy of vaccination records, which boarding kennels and emergency clinics may ask for
The checklist
- Gauze pads and a roll of gauze: for pressure on wounds and padding
- Non-stick wound pads
- Self-adhesive bandage (the stretchy kind that sticks to itself, not to fur)
- Adhesive first aid tape
- Blunt-ended scissors: for cutting bandages and trimming fur around a wound
- Tick remover or fine-pointed tweezers
- Digital thermometer and a water-based lubricant
- Sterile saline: for flushing eyes and rinsing dirt out of wounds
- Disposable gloves
- A towel or small blanket: for warmth, for restraint and as a stretcher for a small dog or cat
- A spare slip lead
- A soft muzzle that fits your dog. Even gentle dogs can bite when they are in pain
- A plastic syringe without a needle: for giving water or prescribed liquid medicine
- A cone or recovery collar to stop licking at a wound
- A torch, for checking paws, mouths and eyes
- A carrier for cats and small dogs. A frightened cat is far safer in a carrier than in your arms
- Any prescribed medicine your pet takes regularly, with the dose written on it
If your vet recommends specific items, such as an antiseptic solution for your dog's wounds, add them with the instructions written down.
What to leave out
Many things in a human first aid kit or bathroom cabinet are dangerous for pets. Keep these out of the pet kit:
- Human painkillers such as ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin and paracetamol (acetaminophen). They can cause stomach ulcers, kidney or liver damage, and paracetamol is especially dangerous for cats. Only give medicine your vet has prescribed for that pet.
- Hydrogen peroxide for vomiting: some vets advise keeping it, but only use it if a vet or poison line tells you to, at the dose they give. Never use it to make a cat vomit, and do not use it to clean wounds, because it damages tissue.
- Essential oils, including tea tree oil, which can be toxic to pets, especially cats.
- Zinc oxide creams and other human creams your pet may lick off.
- Salt or anything else to induce vomiting. Home methods can cause serious harm.
First steps in an emergency
- Keep yourself safe. Approach slowly and use a towel or muzzle if needed. Never muzzle an animal that is vomiting, struggling to breathe or overheating.
- For bleeding, press firmly on the wound with gauze or a clean cloth and keep pressing. If blood soaks through, add more layers rather than lifting the first one.
- Keep an injured pet still and warm, and support the body when you lift. Small pets can travel in a carrier or on a towel.
- For a suspected poisoning, note what was eaten, how much and when, keep the packaging and phone your vet or a poison line before doing anything else. Our chocolate guide shows the kind of information they ask for.
- Call ahead so the clinic is ready when you arrive.
Taking a temperature
A rectal reading with a lubricated digital thermometer is the most reliable at home. Normal is roughly 101-102.5°F (38.3-39.2°C) for dogs and 100.5-102.5°F (38.1-39.2°C) for cats. If a reading is clearly outside that range, or your pet seems unwell, call your vet. Do not struggle with a pet that will not allow it.
Go straight to the vet
Do not wait and watch if your pet:
- Has difficulty breathing, collapses or has a seizure
- Is bleeding and it does not slow after several minutes of firm pressure
- Has a swollen, tight belly or is retching without bringing anything up
- Has been hit by a car or had a fall, even if they seem fine afterwards
- Has eaten something toxic, such as antifreeze, chocolate, xylitol, grapes, lilies (cats) or human medicine
- Is straining to pass urine, especially a male cat
- Has an eye injury, or signs of heatstroke such as heavy panting, drooling and weakness
Keep it ready
Store the kit somewhere everyone in the house knows, and pack a travel version for car trips and holidays (see our holiday travel checklist). Every six months, replace anything used or out of date and update your pet's weight and medicines on the card. Winter adds its own risks, from antifreeze to salted pavements, covered in our winter hazards guide. A pet first aid course, offered by organisations such as the Red Cross and some vet practices, is a good way to practise bandaging and handling before you ever need it.