When do I need Urgent Care for my Pet?

If you have an issue with your pet, we always recommend giving us a call. We should be able to give you some good advice on the phone about what to do in every situation. However, sometimes, you may be asking yourself, should I do something before calling? Should I just wait until tomorrow?
This month’s blog will hopefully be a good guide to Medical Emergencies and aid in keeping a clear head.

Bleeding:

We often see patients with cuts, bite wounds, nail injuries, bleeding skin tumors, etc. At home, before being seen by the veterinarian, it helps to be able to put pressure on these types of injuries. Try to find a clean gauze or dry, clean towel or washcloth and apply pressure. Most the time, the blood looks like a lot more than it is but time should be of the essence to get your pet in to be seen.

If your pet’s wound is from a bite, it will be infected. Even if not bleeding a lot, these should be seen. Antibiotics should be started. The earlier, the better. We do not recommend cleaning at home with peroxide as this can damage tissue.

Try to keep your pet from licking or chewing on the wound until you get to the clinic.

Occasionally, patients may be bleeding secondary to ingestion of a poison or lack of natural clotting mechanisms. Blood may be coming from the gums or nose or in urine or in the stools. If this is the case, please seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Fracture/ Trauma:

It is a very scary time when your beloved pet has an accident and has sustained injuries. Always be careful that you do not get injured by your pet when they are in pain.

Fracture If you notice that a limb is at an unusual angle, try to keep the patient from moving it. Excessive movement can cause shearing injury to blood vessels and nerves near the fracture. This will delay healing and can cause permanent nerve damage.

Internal injury Trauma may be internal. Monitor your pet closely for breathing issues. If your pet is open mouthed breathing or in distress, please try to be seen on Emergency. Occasionally, patients which have undergone trauma look uninjured on the outside but have serious internal injuries. I recommend having any patient which is hit by a vehicle be examined by a veterinarian.

Pain Pets do not usually cry in pain. If they do, the pain level is very high. More often they simply will be reluctant to move or exhibit lameness. Sometimes they simply are lethargic and not “ acting themselves”. Pets experience pain just like us. It is important to recognize this so we treat painful conditions as soon as possible.

Acute Vomiting:

Acute vomiting should be defined as sudden onset of vomiting which usually is limited to 24 – 48 hours. Pet owners are often in a dilemma whether the vomiting is something that should be seen right away or can it wait.

Is the episode truly vomiting or is it regurgitation?
Does your pet still have an appetite?
Is your pet also lethargic or depressed and not acting right?
Is there blood in the vomitus? Or coffee ground like material (which is digested blood)
Does your pet tend to eat things like socks, strings, toys, bones?

If your patient has vomited and you are concerned that your pet should be seen urgently, give us a call. We can make recommendations.

Bloat/GDV is a medical emergency. Most dogs with GDV are large breed and many have deep chests. Symptoms include nonproductive retching as opposed to vomiting. The patients try to swallow saliva but it will not go down and they regurgitate. Patients with this symptom should be seen.

If you think your dog is bright and alert and vomited once, you may withhold food for 6–8 hours and start them back on a bland diet. If they continue to vomit with or without eating, they likely should be seen.

Acute Diarrhea

Diarrhea without vomiting occurs often with dogs. We do not always know what they have eaten outside. Initially, at home, I recommend resting from food for 6–8 hours . Follow with a bland homemade diet in small meals several times per day. If your pet has no appetite and is lethargic, they should be seen. If they develop bloody stools, they should be seen.

Recipe for BLAND DIET: 

Carbohydrate (cooked) : Protein Ratio = 3 parts : 1 part
Carbohydrate: cooked white rice or boiled potatoes
Protein: boiled skinned turkey/chicken breast
Amount: Feed approximately 1 cup of this mixture per 10 lbs of body weight per day, divide this amount into small frequent feedings.

For the first day, feed small frequent meals and monitor for vomiting. If no vomiting, you may feed normal meals/amounts of a bland diet on Day 2. Some soft stools are expected during the transition from a bland diet to normal diet, however he should not have loose or liquid diarrhea.

A plan is outlined below:

Day 1: bland diet only, small frequent meals
Day 2-5: bland diet only, normal meal size
Day 6-7: 1/4 normal diet, 3/4 bland diet
Day 8-9: 1/2 normal diet, 1/2 bland diet
Day 10-11: 3/4 normal diet, 1/4 bland diet

Seizures

Seizure patients should be seen on emergency if they have more than 2 seizures in a 24 hour period or the single seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes.

Urinary Issues

Urinary issues can be very painful and medical emergencies for our 4-legged family members.

Cats as well as dogs can have urinary obstructions which make them unable to urinate. This leads to toxin build up and eventually kidney failure and death if not treated. This problem occurs mostly in male cats or male dogs. However, rarely females may not be able to urinate.

Symptoms include straining to urinate, vomiting, lethargy, inappetence, and yowling or crying.

This is a medical emergency. When you arrive at urgent care, your patient may be rushed quickly to the back in order to try to alleviate the pain and assess the situation quickly.

If you are concerned that your pet is having trouble urinating, please call as soon as possible.

Skin Issues

Although skin issues are rarely an emergency, they do constitute frequent visits to urgent care. Skin issues may not be life threatening but they can be very painful or uncomfortable. If you cannot get in to the vet right away and you do not see any lesions such as cuts or wounds, sometimes a soothing bath with an oatmeal shampoo can provide relief at home until you can be seen by a veterinarian.

Urgent care is perfect for the uncomfortable pet due to a skin issue. Keep the area that is affected clean and dry. It is best to keep our 4 legged friends from licking themselves. If you have an Elizabethan collar, that is a great place to start in order to keep them from worsening the situation. We sometimes recommend a t–shirt or something similar to keep the pet from bothering a lesion on the trunk. We can usually work your pet in during urgent care hours Monday through Friday.

Eye issues

Eyes are one thing we do not want to put off. Eye issues can escalate quickly and they can be painful and can sometimes lead to blindness. It is much safer to have an appointment and it be nothing than let an eye issue go on too long.

Once again prior to your appointment, try to keep your pet from scratching the eye. This is very important as this can lead to much worse conditions than the initial insult to the eye.

Once at the clinic, we will discuss further testing which may need to be performed on your pet’s eye to determine the best way forward. This includes a Fluorescein dye test to evaluate for corneal injuries. Tonometry, which helps us rule out Glaucoma and a Schirmer tear test to see if your pet is producing enough tears to properly lubricate the eye.

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Somerset Urgent Care is open Monday through Friday until 10pm for any of your urgent care needs. Please call ahead so we can help make your visit run more smoothly and be ready for your arrival.

Call (515) 292-0400