CPR for Cats: 30:2, 100-120 a Minute, First 10 Minutes

Most cats that go into cardiac arrest at home die before they reach a clinic. The ones that survive usually had a person start compressions within 1 to 2 minutes of the last breath. Put the cat on the floor, call the clinic on speaker, and begin. Searching for a pulse you cannot find is the most common way owners lose the first minute.

Confirm arrest in 10 seconds

Lift the lip and look at the gums. Pink means blood is still circulating; gray, white, or blue means it is not. Watch the chest for 10 seconds. A dying cat can take an occasional gasp that looks like breathing but moves no air. Put two fingers on the inner thigh, in the groin, for the femoral pulse. If the cat is unresponsive, not breathing, and the gums are gray, start now. Ten seconds of doubt costs brain tissue that does not come back.

Hands on the highest point of the chest

Lay the cat on its right side on a hard floor. A mattress or a sofa cushions the push you need. Find the highest point of the rib cage, just behind the shoulder blade, and put the heel of one hand there with the other hand on top. On a cat under 5 kg (11 lb), two or three fingers may be all the space allows. Press down about one-third of the depth of the chest, roughly 1.5 to 2 cm (0.6 to 0.8 in) on an average cat, then let the chest spring back fully. Keep your elbows straight and push from the shoulders, not the wrists.

Count 100 to 120 compressions per minute

Rate is the number owners get wrong. Count out loud at 100 to 120 per minute, close to the beat of a fast dance track. Counting lets a helper time the cycle and keeps you from drifting. Push hard and push fast, and do not lift your hands off the chest between compressions. Stopping every 20 seconds to check the gums drops the pressure in the arteries, and the brain loses flow again each time.

30 to 2 alone, 15 to 2 with a helper

Alone, give 30 compressions, then 2 rescue breaths, and repeat. With a second person, switch to 15 compressions to 2 breaths so oxygen arrives more often. Close the cat's mouth with your hand, seal your mouth around the nose, and blow only until the chest rises. Cat lungs hold very little air, so it is a puff, not a full human breath. If the chest does not rise, straighten the neck slightly, look inside the mouth, and try again. An object in the throat is a common reason air will not go in; the sweep and the restraint hold are covered in choking and breathing trouble.

Swap the compressor every 2 minutes

Even strong hands lose depth after about 2 minutes. Agree on the swap before you start: count to 120 twice, then trade places in under 5 seconds. The new person puts their hands down before the old person lifts theirs, so compression never stops. If you are alone you cannot swap, so settle at 100 per minute and protect the depth instead of racing.

What not to do

• Do not pour water, milk, or sugar syrup into the mouth of an unconscious cat.
• Do not hold the cat upside down to drain fluid from the lungs.
• Do not stop every few seconds to hunt for a heartbeat.
• Do not press on the belly instead of the rib cage; the liver tears easily.
• Do not quit at 2 minutes because nothing changed. Most owners stop at the point where the cat still has a chance.

The first 10 minutes, step by step

Clock	Step	What your hands do
0:00	Check	Lip color, chest movement, femoral pulse, 10 seconds total
0:10	Position	Right side down, hard floor, heel of hand at the highest rib
0:20	Compress	100 to 120 per minute, one-third of chest depth, full recoil
0:20 to 2:00	Cycle	30 compressions and 2 breaths, or 15 to 2 with a helper
2:00	Swap	New compressor in place in under 5 seconds
2:00 to 8:00	Repeat	Three more 2-minute cycles, gums checked only during the swap
8:00	Move	Board or basket, compressions continue on the way out

Compressions in a moving car

Both of the accidents that most often cause arrest at home happen far from a clinic. Put the cat on a rigid board or in a laundry basket lined with towels, with one person steadying the board and another compressing. Drive with the windows down, because a cat that starts breathing needs cool air, and call ahead with four facts: age, weight, what happened, and the minute the cat stopped breathing. The sequence for near drowning and for a cat hit by a car is the same as the sequence on the kitchen floor.

When to stop

Continue until a vet takes over, until you physically cannot keep the depth, or until the cat breathes on its own with a steady pulse. A cat that starts breathing is still in shock and needs oxygen within minutes. Do not stop because the gums look pinker for 10 seconds. Keep cycling until someone with a stethoscope and an oxygen mask is in the room.

Do this now

1. Say the clinic number out loud and put the phone on speaker before you touch the cat.
2. Time the check with a count, not a guess: ten seconds, then hands on the chest.
3. Put a stopwatch or a phone timer where you can see it, and swap at every 2-minute mark.
4. Send someone to open doors and start the car while you keep compressing.
5. Write down the minute breathing stopped; the vet will ask for it first.

Frequently asked