Pink Paws & Purrs
CAT CARE
Cat Home Care Cabinet
A safety-first guide to helpful supplies, gentle home support, and knowing when your cat needs veterinary care.
Keep These Numbers Where You Can Find Them Quickly
YOUR VETERINARIAN
Your veterinarian’s phone number
ASPCA ANIMAL POISON CONTROL
PET POISON HELPLINE
Consultation fees may apply when contacting an animal poison-control service.
What to Keep in Your Cat’s Home Care Cabinet
What to Keep in Your Cat’s Home Care Cabinet
Important Information
• Veterinarian’s contact information
• Emergency hospital information
• Poison-control numbers
• Current medication list
• Brief medical history
Wound-Care Supplies
• Sterile saline wound wash
• Sterile gauze pads
• Nonstick dressings
• Styptic powder
• Disposable gloves
• Clean towels
Helpful Tools
• Pet-only digital thermometer
• Blunt-tip scissors
• Oral medication syringes
• Familiar carrier
• Clean carrier bedding
Comfort and Monitoring
• Cool-mist humidifier
• Familiar wet food
• Clean water bowls
• Notebook or symptom tracker
• Veterinarian-approved feline probiotic
Prescribed Care
• Current prescriptions
• Written dosing directions
• Medication organizer
• Emergency refill information
Gentle Home Support While You Contact Your Veterinarian
Mild Digestive Upset
Drooling, lip licking, repeated swallowing, reduced appetite, vomiting, or diarrhea may indicate nausea or illness. While contacting your veterinarian: • Offer fresh water in several quiet locations. • Offer a small amount of familiar wet food if your cat is interested. • Add a little water to wet food to support hydration. • Keep the litter box clean so you can monitor urine and stool. • Record changes in appetite, vomiting, stool, water intake, and behavior. • Use a feline probiotic only with veterinary approval. Do not give Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate, Imodium, antacids, oils, milk, or leftover medication unless specifically directed by a veterinarian. Contact your veterinarian promptly for repeated vomiting, blood, lethargy, pain, an inability to keep water down, or loss of appetite. A mature cat who has not eaten for approximately 24 hours needs prompt veterinary attention. Kittens and medically fragile cats can deteriorate much sooner.
Mild Nasal Congestion
While contacting your veterinarian:
• Run a cool-mist humidifier nearby. • Gently wipe nasal discharge with a warm, damp cloth. • Warm familiar wet food slightly to make it more appealing. • Keep your cat in a quiet, comfortable room. • Avoid essential oils, vapor rubs, diffusers, and human cold medications. Open-mouth breathing, labored breathing, blue or pale gums, pronounced abdominal effort, collapse, or an inability to rest comfortably is an emergency.
Itchy Skin or Insect Bites
Do not automatically give an antihistamine. Contact your veterinarian before giving any allergy medication.
While contacting your veterinarian:
• Prevent licking or scratching when it can be done safely. • Apply a cool, damp cloth to a small, mildly irritated area. • Check for swelling, wounds, fleas, or a retained stinger. • Photograph the area so you can monitor changes. • Do not apply human creams, peroxide, alcohol, essential oils, or medicated ointments unless approved. Facial swelling, repeated vomiting, weakness, collapse, open-mouth breathing, or difficulty breathing requires immediate emergency care.
Suspected Low Blood Sugar
Signs may include weakness, unusual sleepiness, trembling, stumbling, disorientation, seizures, or unconsciousness. • If your cat is awake and swallowing normally, offer food. • If your cat cannot swallow normally, rub a small amount of honey or corn syrup on the gums. Do not pour liquid into the mouth. • Contact a veterinarian or emergency hospital immediately. • Do not give another insulin dose unless directed by your veterinarian. Suspected hypoglycemia is an emergency and should not be monitored at home without immediate veterinary guidance.
Broken or Bleeding Nail
• Keep your cat as calm and still as possible. • Apply firm, gentle pressure using clean gauze or a clean cloth. • If bleeding continues, apply styptic powder. • Plain flour or cornstarch may be used as a temporary alternative. • Once bleeding stops, gently flush visible contamination with sterile saline. • Prevent licking and excessive activity. • Do not pull off a partially attached nail or apply a tight bandage. Seek veterinary care if bleeding does not stop within 5–10 minutes, the nail is torn near its base, tissue is exposed, or your cat remains painful or lame.
Minor Surface Wounds
• Apply gentle pressure if the area is bleeding. • Flush the area with sterile saline. • Prevent licking when possible. • Contact your veterinarian about punctures, animal bites, deep wounds, swelling, discharge, continuing bleeding, or significant pain. Do not use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol. These products can irritate tissue and interfere with healing.
Stop Before You Reach for the Human Medicine Cabinet
Many common human medications and household products can seriously injure or kill a cat. Never give medication, induce vomiting, or administer a home antidote unless directed by a veterinarian or animal poison-control specialist.
Never give your cat without veterinary direction:
• Acetaminophen or Tylenol
• Ibuprofen, Motrin, or Advil
• Naproxen or Aleve
• Aspirin
• Pepto-Bismol
• Human cold or cough medication
• Combination allergy medication
• Decongestants
• Essential oils
• Cannabis or THC products
• Leftover antibiotics
• Medication prescribed for another animal
When It Cannot Wait
Seek urgent or emergency veterinary care if your cat experiences:
• Open-mouth, difficult, rapid, or noisy breathing
• Blue, gray, very pale, or yellow gums
• Collapse, seizures, severe weakness, or unresponsiveness
• Suspected poisoning or medication overdose
• Repeated vomiting or inability to keep water down
• Blood in vomit, urine, or stool
• A painful or swollen abdomen
• Straining to urinate or producing no urine
• Sudden paralysis or inability to walk
• Significant trauma or severe pain
• Loss of appetite in a kitten, senior, diabetic, or medically fragile cat
This educational resource is provided for general cat-care preparedness. It does not diagnose illness or replace veterinary advice. Contact your veterinarian before giving any medication or treatment. Pink Paws & Purrs Cat Care does not provide veterinary diagnosis or emergency medical services.
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Last updated: August 2026​
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Cat care in: Minneola, Clermont, Montverde, Groveland, Oakland, West Winter Garden, and surrounding Lake County communities.
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