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If your pet experiences a veterinary emergency, you need to act quickly to ensure they receive the care they need as soon as possible to help improve their prognosis. However, while some emergency situations are apparent, others are not obvious, so keep reading to learn signs that indicate your pet needs emergency veterinary care.

Your pet is bleeding excessively

Why: Significant blood loss can lead to shock and potentially death. If your pet is bleeding excessively, or the bleeding doesn’t stop after applying pressure for five minutes, your pet needs emergency care.

What you should do: If your pet is bleeding, apply clean towels or cloths to the area and apply pressure for five minutes. If the blood soaks through the material, add more padding rather than removing the blood soaked material and replacing them with clean cloths, which helps prevent disrupting any forming blood clots. If your pet has a limb wound, apply a tourniquet (e.g., a belt) between the wound and your pet’s body to help staunch the bleeding until you can get to a veterinary emergency hospital.

Your pet experiences a significant trauma

Why: Any significant trauma, such as being hit by a car or falling from an elevated height, can result in serious injury. Your pet may seem OK, but they must still be evaluated by a veterinarian to check for internal bleeding or other potential problems.

What you should do: If your pet can move, quickly take them to the nearest veterinary emergency hospital. If your pet is immobile, use a towel or blanket to gently carry them to your car and keep them as warm and still as possible on the way to the veterinarian.

You know or suspect your pet was poisoned

Why: Many foods, medications, household items, and plants are toxic to pets, and exposure can result in serious pet health consequences, such as kidney or liver failure, heart complications, and seizures. Toxin exposure is always considered a veterinary emergency.

What you should do: If you know or suspect your pet ingested a toxin, first aid steps include:

• Remove the toxin — Remove the item so your pet can’t ingest more toxin.
• Call for help — Call the Pet Poison Helpline or Animal Poison Control for expert advice on caring for your pet.
• Be prepared — Be prepared with information abouts your pet’s breed, age, and weight, the toxin exposed, how much toxin they ingested, the toxic ingredient’s concentration, and the time of toxin exposure.
• Take the label — If possible, take the product label and some of your pet’s vomit to the veterinary emergency hospital.

Your pet experiences heatstroke

Why: Heatstroke is a life-threatening condition that can cause your pet body-wide complications. All pets are susceptible to heatstroke, but those at highest risk include overweight pets, brachycephalic breeds (e.g., bulldogs, pugs, Boston terriers), senior pets, and pets with a heart or respiratory condition. Signs include lethargy, excessive panting, thick, ropey drool, and red mucous membranes.

What you should do: If your cat is exhibiting urethral obstruction signs, don’t hesitate to take them for emergency veterinary care. If your pet overheats, first aid steps include:

• Move your pet — Move your pet to a cool, well-ventilated area.
• Offer your pet water — Offer them water, but never force them to drink or pour the water in their mouth.
• Take your pet’s temperature — If possible, take your pet’s temperature with a rectal thermometer and monitor their progress to pass on to the veterinarian.
• Cool your pet — Pour lukewarm water over your pet to start bringing their body temperature down. Continue cooling them on the way to the veterinarian emergency hospital.
• Avoid ice — Avoid using ice or ice-cold water to cool your pet, which can lead to systemic shock.

Your pet is unable to urinate

Why: If your cat is exhibiting urethral obstruction signs, don’t hesitate to take them for emergency veterinary care. Urethral obstruction most commonly affects male cats. A complete blockage can cause a urine back-up, damage the lower urinary tract, and lead to kidney failure. Signs include vocalization at the litter box, frequent litter box visits, straining in the litter box, and licking their hind end.

What you should do: If your cat is exhibiting urethral obstruction signs, don’t hesitate to take them for emergency veterinary care.

Your pet has a seizure

Why: Watching your pet have a seizure is scary. Worse, a seizure can indicate a serious medical condition, such as head trauma, toxin exposure, brain tumor, or epilepsy.

What you should do: If your pet has a seizure, first aid steps include:

• Move your pet to safety — Move your pet to a clear area where they can’t injure themselves on furniture or other surfaces.
• Time the seizure — Note the time, so you can tell the veterinarian how long the seizure lasted.
• Video the seizure — If possible, record the seizure for the veterinarian to witness.
• Avoid your pet’s mouth — Keep your hands away from your pet’s mouth to avoid being bitten.
• Call your veterinarian — When the seizure stops, call your veterinarian for their advice on next steps.
• Seek emergency veterinary care — Prolonged seizures can lead to hyperthermia. If your pet’s seizure lasts longer than five minutes, take them to the nearest emergency veterinary hospital.

The ability to recognize a pet emergency and the knowledge to provide first-aid care are important to improve your pet’s prognosis. Contact Animal Emergency & Referral Associates if your pet experiences a veterinary emergency.