YOU never know when an accident or an emergency will happen with us cats. Curious as we are, we love to mess about with things we shouldn’t really be even going near.

Caught in a mad moment, Minky, a chocolate point Siamese got a blob of skin bleach on his dark nose, when he tried to sniff his human’s toes, who until then was relaxing with cucumber slices on her eyes and some skin lightening bleach on her feet.

Jolie, a naughty Persian got burned when she jumped up on the stove when a milk pot was boiling. Minky lived with a pale patch on his chocolate nose for the next three months and Jolie’s paw and fur got scalded and had to be rushed to the vet.

Do get hold of some books on basic cat care and read up so that you can acquire some background knowledge on how to deal with an emergency. There are some brilliant videos and even iPhone apps for pet care are available.

It is a good idea to keep first aid stuff handy for kitties, just like your human family keeps things for children who may suddenly get hurt, appear with a runny nose or complain about a tummy ache. Exactly the same things can happen to pets. Dealing with an emergency becomes much easier if you have your little first aid box handy.

Take a box or a bag and make it smart and personalised to your cat’s needs. Use a clear plastic bag to keep the vet’s contact number in, along with your cat’s record from the vet’s clinic which is usually a little booklet with other related medical papers.

Strings, ribbons, poisonous plants, medicines and toxic substances like insecticides, detergents and pesticides should be kept away from a cat’s reach. Many a time, a cat has got into trouble by accidental swallowing of any of these dangerous substances.

If you are travelling, make sure that the person looking after your cat has access to the first aid box or bag. With correct knowledge and equipment, you can deal with minor problems yourself.

The first aid box should contain:

Tweezers: to remove splinters and foreign objects.

Nail trimmer: many accidents happen when claws get stuck or entangled in fabric or something else.

Scissors: comes in handy for cutting clumps of entangled fur.

Sterile single use wet medicated wound cleansers to keep wounds or cuts.

Saline solution or regular human contact lens saline solution for cleaning out dirt, sand or other irritants out of eyes. You can use soaked cotton balls or directly wash eyes with the solution — flush out eye or just gently squeeze the contents directly into the eye.

Antibiotic ointment to use on a cut.

Cotton bandages in different sizes. Remember that sticky bandages and fur don’t mix. Also that first aid is only an initial step until you take your cat to the vet or the vet arrives. Being lazy and not going to the vet after first aid could seriously harm your pet. By being ready, you could keep your cats nine lives!