If you’re a proud pet parent, one of your worst nightmares most likely includes something bad happening to your pet. Unfortunately, accidents and illnesses aren’t always avoidable and bad things can happen to the most beloved pets, but this is why emergency animal hospitals exist. Veterinarians and technician staff are always available and ready to help you and your pet if need be. Yet, having something bad happen to your pet can leave you feeling frantic and scared. Because of this, this two-part series will cover a few important things you should know if you ever have to visit an emergency animal hospital.

In this first part, we will discuss what should be done before taking your pet to the hospital.

The most important thing you should know are the signs your pet is experiencing a medical emergency in the first place.

Let’s use a real world example: Let’s say you’re one of the 38,900,000 households who have a cat as a pet. You suddenly notice your pet limping and seemingly in a lot of pain. Is this an emergency?

Just like parents to human children, pet parents can be overprotective and become worrisome at the first sign that something may be wrong. It’s important to remember that it’s okay to call your veterinarian if you’re worried about your pet. Trust your gut; if you feel like something is wrong, then you’re probably right. However, there are a few instances where you should not hesitate to bring your pet in for emergency services. These include:

  • Your pet isn’t breathing
  • Your pet is unconscious
  • There is blood in your pet’s urine or feces
  • Your pet may have ingested something toxic
  • Your pet suddenly collapses and can’t stand
  • Your pet has experienced some kind of trauma
  • You suspect broken bones

If your pet is having a medical emergency, try calling your veterinary first.

If your veterinary does not have 24 hour services, contact the closest 24-hour animal hospital near you.

When calling the animal hospital, have a pen and paper ready to write down any instructions they may give you. The veterinary staff on duty will provide you any guidelines over the phone they need to be done right away.

Calling ahead allows the veterinary staff to prepare for the arrival of your pet. Additionally, it’s important to bring any medical records and medication information. This will allow the veterinary staff to properly care for your pet.

And lastly, get help with transporting your pet to the emergency animal hospital.

If something bad has happened to your pet, you may not be in the best condition to drive. This can only lead to further accidents, so always ask for help driving your pet to the veterinary.

Hopefully, this part of the series provided some helpful information regarding how to prepare for visiting an emergency animal hospital. In the next part of this series, we’ll talk about what exactly goes on when you visit an animal hospital.