The most common cause of pet fractures

1. Cat fall injury

The frequent occurrence of some diseases in pets this winter is unexpected to me, which is the fracture of various pets. In December, when the cold wind comes, there are also various pet fractures that come with it, including dogs, cats, parrots, guinea pigs, and hamsters. The causes of fractures are also different, including being hit by a car, being crushed by a car, falling off a table, walking in the toilet, and having your foot locked inside. Fractures are not scary in most cases, but because the physical conditions of various animals are different, the treatment methods are also different, Some methods used incorrectly can even lead to death.

Cats have relatively few fractures, which is related to their soft bones and strong muscles. They can adjust their bodies in the air when jumping down from a high place, and then land in a relatively reasonable position to minimize the impact. However, even so, it is impossible to completely avoid fractures caused by falls, especially when a very fat cat falls from a high place, it will adjust to the front foot landing first. If the impact force is strong and the front leg support position is not good, it will lead to uneven force distribution. Front leg fractures, front foot fractures, and coccyx fractures are the most common cat fractures.

The overall size of a cat’s bones is relatively large, so most leg bone fractures will choose internal fixation. For joint and leg bone fractures, external fixation is preferred, and after proper docking, a splint is used for binding. As the saying goes, it takes about 100 days for a pet to heal. Cats and dogs can heal relatively quickly, and it takes 45-80 days. Depending on the location and severity of the fracture, the recovery time also varies greatly.

2. Dog fracture

Three cases of dog fractures were encountered within a month, including the hind legs, front legs, and cervical vertebrae. The causes are also different, which is related to the fact that dogs have a more complex living environment than cats. Dogs with broken hind legs were injured while taking a bath outside because they did not see the video. They suspect that the dog was very nervous during hair blowing and fell off the beauty table. Dogs do not have the same good sense of balance as cats, so a single hind leg is directly supported on the ground, resulting in a fractured hind leg bone. Dogs are very prone to getting injured while taking a shower. When big dogs and small dogs stand at the beauty salon, they often only have a thin P-chain attached, which cannot prevent the dog from struggling. In addition, some beauticians have a bad temper, and when encountering timid or sensitive and aggressive dogs, conflicts often occur, causing the dog to jump off the high platform and get injured. So when the dog goes outside to take a shower, the pet owner should not leave. Looking at the dog through the glass can also help them relax.

In recent years, the most common occurrence of dog fractures is in car accidents, and many of them were not caused by others, but rather by self driving. For example, many people ride electric motorcycles and have their dogs sit on the pedals in front of them. When turning or braking, the dogs are easily thrown out; Another issue is parking in one’s own yard, with the dog resting on tires, and the pet owner not paying attention to the pet while driving, resulting in running over the dog’s limbs.

Two weeks ago, on the way to work, an electric bicycle with a dog in front of it turned sharply while avoiding pedestrians. When the car tilted, the dog landed on the ground, and the rear wheels ran over the dog’s legs, instantly blurring flesh and blood. Immediately lay clothes on the ground, place the dog on a down jacket to support it as a whole, and quickly send it to the hospital for X-ray examination. One leg only had a piece of flesh scraped off from the skin, while the other leg had a fractured ulna bone. There were no obvious fractures in the cervical and spinal vertebrae. Because it was not completely fractured, internal fixation was not performed, and a splint was used to fix it externally. Subsequently, anti-inflammatory treatment was performed on the skin and flesh injury. After a week, the dog’s spirit and appetite gradually recover. It tries to stand up and walk, ruling out the possibility of spinal damage, and slowly emerging from the shadow of fear. If it presses over the neck or spine, it may face paralysis in the later part of life.

3.Guinea pig fracture

If there are fractures in cats and dogs, we can still receive relatively good treatment in a pet hospital, while fractures in pets are much more difficult. I have encountered many small pet fractures in my daily life, such as parrot leg and wing fractures, guinea pig and hamster front and rear leg fractures. As more and more people keep guinea pig and hamster, the frequency of such accidental injuries has also increased. The two most common situations for guinea pig hamsters to encounter fractures are also.

1: Pet owners often place them on the table or bed to play with, and if they are not careful, they may fall off the table. Guinea pigs are famous for their large bodies and small limbs. If their legs land first when falling, a fracture is a high probability event;

2: A more common danger lies in their cages. Many guinea pig owners use grid toilets for them, which is a very dangerous thing. Guinea pigs often leak their toes into the grid, and then accidentally get stuck. If the twisting force is not correct, it can cause muscle strains or bone fractures in the hind legs.

I have encountered several times in China when a pet owner brought a fractured hamster or guinea pig to a pet hospital, and surprisingly, the doctor had to perform surgery on it!! I estimate that these doctors should be cat and dog doctors. They may have never encountered a small pet fracture before. Fractures in hamster guinea pigs cannot be easily operated on because their bones are very thin and fragile, and internal fixation is not possible. Therefore, surgery itself is meaningless. In the United States, pet doctors would never perform internal fixation surgery on hamster guinea pigs with leg fractures. In the past, when there was limited experience, the mortality rate of surgery was very high, and there was still a possibility of survival without surgery. So the correct method is to perform external fixation and pain relief, limit activity, and supplement calcium and vitamins.

The difficulty of treating small pet fractures actually starts around 15 days. When the pain at the fracture site subsides and the body’s strength recovers, they start to become active. Pets do not have strong obedience, so they will definitely play around. If they are not well controlled at this time, it will lead to the fracture site being reconnected, and all treatments will return to the beginning.

Pet fractures are something we all don’t want to see, so being more meticulous and less adventurous and careless in daily life can bring them safety and health.