Treating Your Lame or Injured Pet

Your pet is limping around you don’t know what’s wrong or how it happened all you know is that your pet has a limp and is having difficulty getting around. If not serious, whatever is causing your pet’s lameness will eventually heal on its own but there are a number of things you can do to treat your pet’s lame legs. Your pet’s lameness could be due to an injured paw. Check to see if your pet has a thorn, nail, glass, gum or other annoying object in their paw. If you don’t see anything just let your pet rest for a few days, nature should heal whatever is making them lame. Since pets leap and jump all the time most leg injuries are temporary and superficial. However, any leg injury that lasts longer then two or three days should be checked with your vet. Lameness is more common in cats and it can be more serious than a dog’s lameness.

If your pet does have something stuck in their paws, you can try to gently remove it. However if it is stuck really deep inside of the paw don’t bother it, take your pet to the vet to have it removed. The object may have punctured an artery and removing it can cause lots of bleeding. If your pet has suffered a broken leg, before you take him to the vet you can make an emergency splint by rolling a section of paper into the shape of a tube. Cut the tube so it is the same length as your pet’s leg. Then slip it over your pet’s leg using bandage or tape to secure it in place. You can also use a roll of first-aid cotton, roll a lot of cotton, and wrap it around your pet’s leg, then take a bandage and wrap it around the cotton. When you take your pet to the vet, which should be right away, make sure when you pick him up you keep the injured leg as still as possible.

If you believe your pet may have pulled a muscle, you can apply a cold pack to the area to relieve the pain and reduce any swelling. Apply the cold pack for five to ten minutes several times a day. You can also use some heat therapy to help soothe a strained muscle. However don’t use a heating pad, use a gel pack available at drug stores and warm it in the microwave. Don’t make it too hot, apply the pack on your skin to get an idea of how warm the pack is. Then wrap the heat pack in a towel and apply it to the area for five to ten minutes several times a day. You can alternate the hot and cold treatment throughout the day. Pets will often lick an injured area so if you notice your pet constantly licking a certain part of their body that could also be a sign that something is wrong. If your pet is still limping around after a couple of days of the hot and cold treatment take your pet to the vet.