When Should You Take Your Pet to Emergency: Advice from Dr. Monica Clare


Dr. Monica ClareThere are many situations that  require emergency care for our pets. GP asked Dr. Monica Clare, a veterinarian at the highly-regarded Animal Surgical & Emergency Center in Los Angeles, to list just some of them. Again, this is NOT a comprehensive list. When in doubt, always seek immediate medical care for your pet.

15 SITUATIONS WHEN YOUR PET NEEDS EMERGENCY VETERINARY CARE

1. If your pet is vomiting repeatedly.

2. If your pet is coughing frequently and seems distressed.

3. If your pet’s respiratory rate while resting is greater than 60 breaths per minute or if a cat is open-mouthed breathing (panting).

4. If your pet has a seizure. If your pet already has a diagnosed seizure condition, they do not have to be brought in for a single seizure. If they have multiple seizures in a row (cluster seizures) or if the seizure lasts for more than a few minutes (status epilepticus) they should be taken to an emergency hospital immediately.

5. If your pet seems lethargic or has pale gums.

6. In general, diarrhea is not an emergency. If your pet develops bloody diarrhea, however, they might have a more serious condition and should be evaluated immediately.

7. If your pet becomes suddenly weak on their hind legs, starts knuckling on their paws, or appears to become paralyzed on their hind and/or front legs.

8. If your pet has any type of eye injury.

9. If your pet has been bitten by a snake or poisonous spider.

10. If your pet is bleeding from a wound or laceration.

11. If your pet has been bitten by another animal.

12. If your pet appears to be having an allergic reaction, and has signs such as swelling or rash.

13. If your pet has experienced any type of trauma, such as being hit by a car.

14. If your pet is suffering from thermal stress such as exposure to extreme heat or cold.

15. If you suspect that your pet has ingested any type of poison.

Dr. Clare was one of the veterinarians who helped save my cat, Zach, when he experienced an unusual episode of renal failure and needed emergency care. Looking back I have to wonder if it was related to the food recall.(See Letter from the Editor, Zach’s Nine Lives.)

Dr. Clare is a graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed an internship at the Animal Medial Center in New York, and then completed a residency in emergency and critical care at the University of California, Davis and at ACCIM in Tustin, California. She achieved board certification in the American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care in 2005. She is interested in all aspects of critical patient care, and has published journal articles as well as a textbook chapter on mechanical ventilation.

ASEC is one of the largest referral and specialty hospitals in the United States, it's Department of Emergency and Critical Care is equipped to handle all types of emergencies including trauma, bite wound injuries, respiratory impairment, cardiac disease, gastrointestinal emergencies, endocrine disorders, and ophthalmologic conditions.