Do’s and Don’ts If Your Dog or Cat Gets Bit by a Snake
Call this a case of hiss and swell. What should you do – and what should you NEVER do – if your dog or cat gets bit by a snake?
As a master certified pet first aid/CPR instructor, I provide pet professionals and pet parents with veterinarian-approved tips and tactics for a variety of dangerous situations facing our pets – and that includes encounters with snakes.
For starters, this is my definition of pet first aid: it is that life-saving bridge between the incident and the veterinary clinic. Those completing my Pet First Aid 4U classes learn their important roles: to render aid on the scene and safety transport that injured pet to the veterinary clinic – always calling ahead to alert the vet team. Yep, in pet first aid situations, every minute counts.
Okay, let me share do’s and don’ts should your dog or cat be bit by a snake according to emergency and critical care veterinarians who serve as advisors for my Pet First Aid 4U program:
Do not waste time trying to kill the snake. If you can safely – and quickly – take a photo of it on your cell phone, do so to show the vet team.
Do get your bit dog or cat safely out of harm’s way.
Do not attempt to cut the bite area and try to suck out the venom.
Do not apply a tourniquet if the snake bite is on a leg – you can choke off blood supply to the leg and paw.
Do not apply an ice pack or a heat pack on the bitten area – you can cause shock.
Do keep your pet calm and do not let him make a lot of movements.
Do intentionally keep the snake-bite area on your pet below the heart to slow down the spread of toxins in the body.
Do You Know How to Handle This Pet Emergency?
A snake bite on a dog or cat is serious business.
In our pet first aid classes, we also point out that when it comes to venomous snake bites, the venom spreads faster in dogs than in cats. The reason? Recent studies show that venom in feline plasma takes longer to impact the cat’s blood clotting ability. Also, dogs are more apt to try to bite a snake and thus get bitten on the face versus cats who tend to swat at a snake and get bit on the paw or leg.
Once your pet arrives, the vet team will clean the wound, administer antibiotics and pain meds for your pet. Severe snake bites may also require IV fluid therapy to treat for shock and support blood pressure as well as keeping your pet in an oxygen tank and if available, receive anti-venom medicine.
Survival depends on a lot of factors: the age, health of the pet bitten as well as the location of the venomous bite.
In every class, I team up with Pet Safety Dog Kona and Pet Safety Cat Casey to give you realistic, practical training in pet first aid. Together, the three of us hope that your pet never encounters and gets bit by a snake. Please share the snakebite tips I just presented with your pet pals.
Together, we at Pet First Aid 4U are the only pet safety company to offer three ways for you to learn and earn veterinarian-approved two-year certificates in pet first aid/CPR:
Local, in-person classes primarily aimed at pet professionals.
Interactive via ZOOM classes are offered once a month and on demand. We have taught students in New Zealand, South Africa, Egypt, Greece and many other countries.
Self-paced online classes for those who prefer to learn anytime, anywhere on their own schedule. This is our latest option because we are on a mission to get more people – pet professionals and pet parents to really learn first aid and to know what to do – and what NOT to do – in a pet emergency.
Got cat? Or dog? Or both? Sign up for one of our Pet First Aid 4U classes. Do it today – for your pet’s sake.
About the Author:
Arden Moore, founder of Pet First Aid 4 U, is a Master Pet First Aid/CPR Instructor who teaches veterinarian-approved, hands-on safety courses alongside her teaching team of Kona (dog) and Casey (cat). Known as “The Pet First Aid & Safety Coach,” Arden is also a nationally recognized behavior consultant, bestselling author of over 25 pet books, and the award-winning host of the “Oh Behave!” podcast. A Fear Free Certified Professional, she brings decades of pet expertise to all her endeavors — with a mission to help pets live safer, longer and healthier lives.
