When to go to the vet now sorts the signs a pet owner sees into three lists: the ones that mean a veterinarian this hour, the ones that mean a veterinarian today, and the ones to watch. The first list follows the American Veterinary Medical Association's list of animal emergencies.[1]
When in doubt, call the clinic. A phone call costs nothing and the person who answers has heard the question before.
Contents
Go now
- Difficulty breathing, choking, nonstop coughing or gagging, blue or grey gums or tongue.
- Bleeding that does not stop within five minutes, or bleeding from the nose, mouth, or rectum, or blood in urine.
- Unable to urinate or pass stool, or straining and crying while trying. In a male cat this is a blocked bladder and it kills within a day.
- Collapse, unconsciousness, or unable to stand.
- A seizure, or staggering and disorientation.
- Swallowed or touched something poisonous: chocolate, xylitol, rat poison, human medicine, antifreeze, lilies for a cat, avocado for a bird.
- Hit by a vehicle, a fall from a height, a fight with another animal, or any deep wound, even when the animal walks away from it.
- A broken bone, a leg the animal will not put weight on, or severe pain, shown as crying, panting, hiding, or biting when touched.
- An eye injury, or an eye that is suddenly cloudy, bulging, or shut.
- Vomiting or diarrhoea more than twice in a day, or either one with blood, weakness, or a swollen belly.
- A hard, swollen belly with retching that produces nothing, in a dog.
- Heat stress: heavy panting that does not settle, drooling, red or pale gums, weakness. See Pets in the Philippine climate.
- Refusing water for a day.
- Rabbit. No eating or no droppings for twelve hours. The gut has stopped and the clock is running.
- Bird. Sitting fluffed on the cage floor, tail bobbing with each breath, or any bleeding. A bird that looks this sick has been sick for days.
Go today
- Not eating for twenty-four hours in a dog or an adult cat, or one missed meal in a puppy or kitten.
- Lethargy that lasts the day, or hiding in an animal that does not hide.
- A limp that lasts more than a day, or one that came with a cry.
- Diarrhoea for two days, or soft stool with mucus.
- Head shaking, ear scratching, or a smell from the ears.
- A new lump, a wound that is not healing, or a patch of hair loss.
- Drinking or urinating far more than usual.
- Weight loss you can see.
Watch and call
One vomit with a normal animal afterwards, one soft stool, a scrape that stops bleeding at once, a sneeze, a day of eating less in the heat. Watch for twenty-four hours, keep water available, and call the clinic if anything is added to the list.
On the way
- Call ahead. The clinic prepares, and it tells you if it cannot take the case.
- Move the animal in a carrier, a box, or wrapped in a towel or blanket. Keep a hurt animal as still as you can.
- A hurt animal bites. Wrap it; use a muzzle or a towel over the head if you must handle a wound.
- Press a clean cloth firmly on a bleeding wound and keep pressing.
- Keep a shocked animal warm and a heat-stressed animal cool and wet.
- Bring the packaging, the plant, or the pill bottle if the animal ate something.
- Give nothing by mouth, and do not make the animal vomit unless the veterinarian on the phone tells you to.[2]
- Note the times: when it started, when it last ate, how many times it vomited.
During a seizure
Do not hold the animal down and keep your hands away from its mouth. Move furniture away, turn the lights down, and time it. When it ends, keep the room quiet and call the clinic. A seizure that lasts more than a few minutes, or two in a row, is a go-now emergency.
Before you need it
Find the nearest clinic that is open at night and on Sundays, save its number in your phone, and drive past it once so you know the way. Keep the animal's vaccination card, its IAGD profile, and its medicine list where you can grab them. In Metro Manila and the larger cities a few clinics run twenty-four hours; in most towns the veterinarian's mobile number is the after-hours service, so ask for it at the first visit.
Common questions
Can I give my dog paracetamol or ibuprofen?
No. Both are dangerous to dogs and paracetamol kills cats. Human medicine of any kind goes to a pet only when a veterinarian names the drug and the dose.
My cat is straining in the litter tray with nothing coming out.
Go now. In a male cat that is a blocked urethra, and it is fatal within a day or two without treatment.
The clinic is closed and the animal is not in the go-now list.
Keep the animal quiet, offer water, withhold food if it vomited, and be at the door when the clinic opens.
See also
- Pets in the Philippine climate
- Food and water basics
- The first vet visit and the vaccination schedule
- Clinics in the IAGD directory
