Veterinary Emergencies

Veterinary Emergencies covers the services that take in animals in a critical state outside normal hours: at night, at weekends and on public holidays. A veterinary emergency service treats road accidents, breathing difficulty, poisoning, gastric torsion, urinary blockage, haemorrhage, prolonged seizures, difficult births, heatstroke, and any sudden deterioration in an unwell animal. It has a team ready for rapid stabilisation, oxygen, fluids, immediate tests and, where needed, emergency surgery.

Recognising a real emergency matters. Go immediately, without waiting, if the animal is struggling to breathe or has a bluish tongue, if its abdomen is suddenly swollen and it tries to vomit without success, if it cannot urinate, if it has been hit by a car even if it seems fine, if it has swallowed a toxic substance or a human medicine, if it has a seizure that will not stop, or if bleeding does not stop with pressure.

When you identify an emergency service, save its address and phone number now, not during a crisis, check the exact hours it operates, whether a vet is physically present or only on call, whether you can phone ahead to say you are coming, and how payment works in an emergency. A good service tells you on the phone what to do on the way and is ready for you when you arrive.

On the way, transport the animal in a carrier or wrapped in a blanket, drive carefully, do not give water, food or medicine without instruction, and bring the packaging of the substance if it is a poisoning. Call while you are on the way.

If you are not sure whether it is an emergency, call anyway: the staff can help you assess the situation on the phone and tell you whether you can wait until morning or need to leave at once. Keep ready, somewhere the whole family knows, a note with the address, phone number and hours of the nearest emergency service.

Use this directory to find veterinary emergency services in your area, compare hours and reviews, and open each one's page for contact details and a map, then save the details for a possible emergency.