Not every animal hospital offers 24-hour emergency vet services. Because, like their human counterparts, dogs and cats may require emergency care, it’s smart to find one that does. Here’s information about common pet emergencies as well as signs your animal friend needs immediate attention.

What Makes Emergency Vet Services So Essential?

Types of Pet Emergencies

Pets, especially dogs who chew on bones, may get foreign objects lodged in their throats and intestines. An intestinal blockage in a dog from a large bone, for example, may have fatal consequences without emergency surgery.

Dogs and cats can also suffer injuries from attacks from other animals, including wildlife that may carry the rabies virus. Any severe injury or laceration requires emergency vet services. If a raccoon bites your dog or cat, rabies testing is necessary to assess exposure.

Other types of pet emergencies include seizures, or when electrical activities in the brain become temporarily abnormal. Toxicity from ingesting human foods should also be treated as an emergency. Many foods that people eat are toxic to cats and dogs, including garlic, chocolate, grapes, and raisins. Allergic reactions, blood clots, urinary tract infections, and trauma also fall into the emergency vet service category.

Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore

Although dogs and cats may hide their pain, numerous symptoms may indicate an emergency. Excessive vomiting and diarrhea, for example, typically signal a toxic reaction to food. Listlessness, difficulty urinating, a change in eating and drinking habits, breathing difficulties, and a weak pulse are all cause for concern. Body temperature changes, problems standing, paralysis, pale gums, loss of consciousness, and serious bleeding also require emergency care. Your veterinarian will determine the cause of your pet’s symptoms and provide services to keep your four-legged friend happy and healthy for many more years.

If you reside in Granville, Reynoldsburg, Pataskala, or elsewhere in Fairfield, Perry, or Licking County, OH, trust the veterinarians at PetPlex Animal Hospital. Providing 24-hour emergency vet services as well as senior pet care and mobile vet services, this full-service hospital always puts patient health first. Call (740) 929-3300 today to schedule an appointment, or learn more about emergency care online. For additional insights about their approach to pet health, connect with them on Facebook.