What should I do if a Balinese cat is dehydrated? When a cat is dehydrated to a certain extent, we have to rehydrate it, and the methods used will be different depending on the urgency and severity of the situation.

Next we will introduce the rehydration methods used in different situations.

1. Oral rehydration: suitable for chronically ill animals that are not seriously ill and do not vomit after oral administration. If the sick animals show severe vomiting, diarrhea, and rapid and large loss of body fluids, intravenous infusion should first be used to replenish the cumulative loss, and then oral replenishment of continued loss and maintenance of fluids should be performed. In addition to oral rehydration, oral rehydration can also be given through a nasogastric tube, pharyngeal esophagus, or gastrostomy. Supplementary fluids may also contain nutrients or hypertonic fluids.

2. Subcutaneous rehydration: Suitable for dogs and cats that are mildly dehydrated or do not like to eat. You can choose to rehydrate in areas with loose skin on the neck or back. The supplement is isotonic or slightly hypotonic liquid, but the isotonic 5% glucose solution cannot be injected subcutaneously. Each point can inject 30 to 50 mL of liquid.

3. Intravenous rehydration: suitable for sick animals with severe dehydration or vomiting. Intravenous infusion can control the input speed, quickly replenish a large amount of fluid, and easily replenish the required amount of fluid accurately. Isotonic, hypertonic, hypotonic or irritating liquids (such as calcium chloride solution) can be injected intravenously. The injection site can be the jugular vein, the brachiocephalic vein of the forelimb, the saphenous vein of the hindlimb or the femoral vein.

4. Intraperitoneal rehydration: suitable for rewarming severely dehydrated puppies and cats, and animals with hypothermia. Isotonic or slightly hypotonic fluids can be used for intraperitoneal rehydration, which must be warmed to body temperature before infusion. Because it easily causes peritonitis, it is rarely used clinically.

5. Intra-marrow rehydration: suitable for severely dehydrated kittens or small animals. At this time, the infusion blood vessels are deflated and intravenous infusion is difficult. Except for highly irritating liquids (such as calcium chloride solution), all liquids that can be injected intravenously, including blood, can be injected through the bone marrow. The input site can be the bone marrow of the femur, tibia or humerus.

6. Rectal infusion: Because the large and small intestines of dogs and cats are short, liquids and nutrients can be instilled through the rectum. The method is to raise the hindquarters and pour water and nutrients into the large and small intestines to facilitate absorption.