How much can she bleed?

[Kira & Twink]

Holy Moley, I was just scared to death! Right when I was pricking the ear my cat jerked away and it must have torn a bit of a whole or something, because she just kept bleeding. I put pressure on it and it took a few min for it to stop. From looking at the tissue I'm sure it's not enough to be worried about, but at the time I was freaking that it wouldn't stop. Is it possible that they could lose too much blood from a bad ear prick? I always aim for the capillaries in the sweet spot but sometimes I'm fairly sure I must have gotten a vein because it bleeds more than usual (but nothing like this before).

 

[patrick_777]

About 5% of a cat's weight comes from blood. Pets can start developing shock when they lose 10-15 percent of this fluid. This equates in an standard 11lb cat, to 1 to 2 ounces of blood to start seeing affect. Just an ear poke/rip should not cause this type of wound, and will pressure placed directly on the wound, you shouldn't have an issue controlling the blood flow and acquiring clotting action.

1-2 oz is a lot of blood. It would fill a shot glass.

 

[JenElliot]

No, a kitty can't lose enough blood from an ear prick/tear to be dangerous. And I'm sure it will be fine, maybe just keep an eye on it for the next day or 2 to make sure there's no sign of infection. If there is a noticable open wound you could try dabbing a little hydrogen peroxide on it to kill any bacteria.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

If you hit the vein, it can bleed a lot - or least it seems like it. :mrgreen: Usually if you just put a little pressure on the spot for a few seconds, that seems to help stop the flow.

But if your cat is like mine, he always seems to shake his head before I have time to grab the ear and my dining room walls look like a scene from CSI. ohmygod_smile

But don't worry, they can't lose that much blood from an ear prick to cause any problems.

 

[Just-As-Appy]

I agree that it would be hard for a cat to lose enough blood from an ear prick/tear to do much harm - to the cat, that is. A little blood can go a long way to staining everything near and far and causing panic in the human - do you hear 'voice of experience'? Gotta love patrick_777's measuring device!