We have all heard thousands of times that cats always manage to land on their feet, and perhaps for this reason, some do not give much importance to the fact that their kitty spends hours on the windowsill of a fourth floor, stalking the pigeons. But these years of living with cats in buildings, and too many fatal accidents, take away our reason and make us see that, even if cats manage to land on their pads, that is not synonymous with survival.
From our site, we know that this terrible event is too frequent and serious, and we want to offer you a series of tips on how to act. We will explain what the first aid is if your cat has fallen out of the window.
Pick up a cat that fell off the balcony
If we manage to realize in time that our cat has fallen off the balcony, or out the window, it is essential to pick it up before it manages to get up and run away in terror due to the noise and the completely strange environment. Wounded cats seek to hide in quiet places, even more so if the area they are in is totally unknown to them, and they obey the instinct to be safe from anyone that can take advantage of their situation of vulnerability.
Logically, before we get down to the street, our kitty will surely have sought shelter, and it is very common to find posters in all veterinary clinics of people looking for their cat, which fell by the window days before. The theory is always relatively simple, and the practice, especially talking about cats, is another story, but it is always easier to "skip the recommendations" if we have some reference.
He's still on the sidewalk, can't move or is scared
We'll have to collect our strength and cold blood and run to get his rigid carrier, the first thing, to go down for him. If we do not have a carrier we will go down with a towel.
Upon arrival, we can find him in dorsal decubitus (lying on his side), in which case, we will have to pass both hands with the backs against the sidewalk, and the palm in contact with his body. In this posture, you must enter the carrier, without bending or turning any limbs, or your neck, just as bakers place bread in the oven. Help is always essential, and more so in this case, since the ideal is for someone to have disassembled the upper part of the carrier to be able to deposit it without hardly moving it, and close it later.
If we don't have a carrier, we can, with the help of another person, create a rigid surface with the towel, tightening it tightly, to take him to the nearest veterinary clinic.
If he is wobbly but still on his feet, an option that may be a little annoying, but the least stressful for him considering the situation, is to gently grasp him by the skin of the interscapular area (nape) as his mother used to carry them from one place to another, and put him in the carrier. Our first intention is always to grab it by the chest, but in this case it is not very advisable.
You can't find your cat and you don't know where he is
After falling off the balcony, a cat may have minor injuries, in which case it may have traveled a considerable distance trying to find a hiding placeSome are run over in this flight, and others are limited to waiting under cars, or between bushes, any place where they are rarely seen.
If after checking all possible nearby hiding places we do not locate it, we must follow the steps to find a lost cat: notify all nearby veterinary clinics and animal shelters (posters with color photography always help of the cat near our house) and wait for the night to go out and call him. Our voice is more easily recognizable without so much noise from people and cars and the tranquility encourages them to go out.
Although we find him apparently "he althy", we must introduce him gently into the carrier and take him to a veterinary clinic to look for some of the typical pathologies of "parachuting cat syndrome".
While you wait to take him to the vet
Sometimes, when there are no apparent injuries, we see our cat so scared that we take him home, and wait to contact our veterinarian for some instructions if we are outside opening hours from the clinic and it will take a few minutes to come. Some tips you can give us:
- We must leave our cat in the carrier in a quiet place, with little light and stimuli.
- Do not manipulate him or put a cushion or mat.
- Place the carrier on a slight incline, so that the cat's head and chest are above the abdomen.
- Never give water or food. If a few hours have passed since the cat fell out of the window, it is normal that our first intention is to feed the cat, but its palate may be open as a result of the fall, and the water or food can pass into the respiratory tract causing aspiration pneumonia.. It'll only be a couple more hours.
How do you know if the cat is getting worse?
If we have picked it up or found it after falling from the balcony relatively stable, but everything gets complicated, we can notice it by:
- Orthopneic position (stretches neck and looks up, trying to get more oxygen).
- Loss of consciousness that he maintained
- If we open the door of the carrier and see that his pupils are dilated and fixed, and the color of his gums is white or bluish gray
- Finally, if there have already been too serious injuries, or we have arrived late, we will hear serious vocalizations, and we will observe the typical "puffs" that precede death. In these cases there is usually no time for observation, or to get to any place where you can be treated.
Once at the vet
After falling out of the window our cat can present a series of injuries, of greater or lesser severity, which are included in the "parachuting cat syndrome". If you have had time to react and to be able to turn to land on your feet, you will have done so on all four limbs extended, and your back arched to minimize the force of the impact. But the rebound effect, more or less intense depending on the distance from which it has fallen, brings a series of consequences:
- Broken jaw: when rebounding after the fall, it is common to find the mandibular symphysis broken.
- Cleft hard or soft palate: That's why it's better not to offer him anything even if it looks fine. These sutures must be repaired, and sometimes the cat is fed through a nasogastric tube until the palate is completely closed.
- Metacarpal-metatarsal and phalangeal fractures: The fingers of all extremities usually take the worst part.
- Femur, tibia and hip fractures: The hind limb, more flexible, cushions the impact of the rebound more than the front one, for what finding fractures or fissures (breaks without displacement) is very common. Sometimes they go unnoticed and weld on their own, only to be found later as a chance finding in another exploration.
- Diaphragmatic hernias: The impact causes a rupture of the diaphragm that separates the thorax from the abdomen and the abdominal contents (bowel loops, liver, spleen…), passes to the thorax preventing the lungs from expanding. Sometimes it is very evident, the cat breathes badly and there is a thinning of the abdomen, but on other occasions it is a small hole through which just a few loops of small intestine slip through and it only becomes apparent when handling the cat or after tests.
- Hepatic and bladder rupture: If the urine bladder was full at impact, it has a high chance of rupturing under stress. The liver can also be bruised or ruptured, as can the abdominal aorta, leading to internal bleeding that is usually fatal.
What tests will my cat have after falling off the balcony?
Each veterinarian will propose a series of tests, according to the case and the physical examination of the cat, but in general there are several common things:
- Stabilize him before starting to explore: Oxygenating and sedating is almost mandatory if our cat has difficulty breathing, even if it is slight. If he does not tolerate masks or is very nervous, which aggravates the dyspnea, a mild and relatively safe sedative, such as midazolam, may be required to continue. The plates require moving the cat and for this we need to be sure that he ventilates properly. Normally this moment is used to catheterize a central vein. Opioid analgesia can be delayed if you fear it will depress respiration, but there are many other pain relievers available.
- Basic examination: the color of the mucous membranes, auscultation, temperature, abdominal palpation or pulse provide a lot of information to the veterinarian to continue deciding tests.
- Diagnosis by imaging: It may be necessary to postpone it for a few hours until the cat is stabilized, but the film allows us to see the diaphragmatic hernia and the ultrasound indicates free fluid in the abdomen (urine, blood), the integrity of the liver and spleen, and the urinary bladder. If the cat is sedated and they do not have an ultrasound machine, they can choose to catheterize the bladder to check if urine comes out of the catheter. If it comes out, it indicates that the urine is being stored in an intact bladder, and it is assumed that it has not ruptured, but they will verify it after a few hours with a plate, in which a contrast can be made.
You must bear in mind that a ruptured bladder or liver, and dyspnea (due to diaphragmatic hernia, pulmonary contusion, etc.), are critical and very unfavorable situations in which it can almost never be done, neither by the owner, nor by the veterinarian. Many cats manage to overcome stabilization to undergo surgery, but die during diaphragmatic hernia surgery or postoperatively due to complications such as the one that involves rebalancing pressure in the thorax by removing the mass that was occupying that space.
Back home, bruised
If we're lucky, and you've been discharged, which usually happens after a minimum 24 - 36 hours of observation, he may just have some bone crack that doesn't require surgery, and a good pulmonary contusion. In this case, they will ask us that our cat rest as much as possible, sometimes in a cage, and that we monitor its urine and feces (it may need a lubricant to evacuate better, such as olive oil or liquid paraffin), as well as your breathing and the color of mucous membranes.
The daily intake of painkillers and in some cases, antibioticsto avoid contamination of a bone crack and a prudent time, will lead to a complete recovery.
Prevention rather than cure
Let's remember that when our cat falls once through the window or the balcony of our apartment, it is an accident. We must have left the window open, they are not yet neutered and they have smelled conspecifics, they have been stalking the birds, or simply, something caught their attention out there.
But a second and even third time, as seen many times, is already a case of carelessness or negligence on our part. Obviously if there are children at home, we will have to opt for intermediate solutions, in case they decide to open the window without checking where the cat is: mosquito nets, aluminum fabrics… There are many methods of containment that allow light and air to pass through and are inexpensive when it comes to saving a life.
A necklace with an identification tag is not always to the cat's liking, but we can always opt for the microchip, although it is not mandatory in cats in many communities. Thanks to it, many owners locate their skydiving cats.
But after falling down once, he won't fall down anymore…
In that aspect they are a bit human, they stumble twice, and as many times as it takes, with the same window open. The saying that curiosity killed the cat has been in the proverb for a long time for a reason.
Sometimes we leave the window in the lowered position convinced that there is no danger, but many cats die by hanging or suffocating in the casement trying to escape when they get trapped, something that we do not believe, until we happens. And it happens very often. Remember, if you think it's impossible for your cat to do something… without a doubt, he will do it.
