What to do in an emergency
None of the signs below can wait until morning. Our clinic is open at any hour. Call before you set off: if we know what is coming, we can prepare while you travel.
These signs cannot wait
If you see any of these, bring your animal straight away. If you are not sure, call anyway. Arriving unnecessarily is better than arriving late.
Difficulty breathing
Open mouth breathing, using the belly to breathe, standing with the neck stretched out and elbows held away from the body, blue or grey gums or tongue. In cats, open mouth breathing is almost always an emergency: unlike dogs, healthy cats do not pant.
A male cat unable to pass urine
Going in and out of the litter tray with nothing produced, straining, crying out, licking the belly. It is often mistaken for constipation. A blocked urethra leads to kidney failure and death within hours. This is not something to watch overnight.
Swallowing poison or medication
If you know what was eaten, bring the box or packaging. Note how much and when. Do not try to make the animal vomit unless you are told to: with corrosive substances, vomiting burns the oesophagus a second time.
Seizures
Do not put your hand or any object into the mouth; the animal will not swallow its tongue, but you will be bitten. Move hard objects away, lower the light and noise, and time the seizure. If it lasts more than five minutes or repeats, come immediately.
Road accident or a fall from height
Looking fine does not mean being fine. Internal bleeding, a torn diaphragm and lung bruising may show nothing in the first hours. Any animal involved in an accident should be examined, even if it is walking.
A swollen abdomen with unproductive retching
In deep chested large breed dogs, a tight swollen belly, restlessness and retching without bringing anything up suggests gastric torsion. There are no minutes to spare in this picture.
Labour that is not progressing
Strong contractions for half an hour with no offspring, more than two hours between offspring, or dark green discharge with no birth all need help.
Bleeding that will not stop
Apply firm, continuous pressure with a clean cloth or towel. Do not lift the cloth to check, as this breaks the clot. Do not apply a tourniquet.
Heatstroke
An animal left in a car or in heat, panting hard, drooling, unsteady. Wet the coat with room temperature water and move it somewhere cool. Do not use ice or iced water: it constricts vessels and traps heat inside.
Sudden swelling or an allergic reaction
Swelling of the face, eyelids or muzzle, raised lumps in the skin, collapse after a bee sting. Come before breathing is affected.
Gum colour is a fast, physical measure
Healthy gums are pink and moist, and the colour returns within two seconds after you press and release. Pale, white, blue, yellow or brick red gums do not wait. The chart below shows what each colour means.
Lift the lip gently and look at the gum above the canine tooth. Press with a fingertip and release: the colour should return within two seconds.
- Pink and moistNormal
- Pale or whiteBlood loss, shock or severe anaemia
- Blue or purpleNot enough oxygen
- YellowJaundice: liver or red cell breakdown
- Brick redHeatstroke, sepsis or poisoning
Anything but pink needs seeing the same day, often the same hour. Do not put your hand in the mouth of an animal that cannot swallow or may bite.
Never do these
These few well meant actions are the most common source of additional harm we see in animals arriving at the clinic.
Never give human painkillers
Paracetamol kills cats, and a single tablet can be enough: cats lack the enzyme needed to clear it. Ibuprofen and aspirin cause stomach bleeding and kidney failure in both cats and dogs. Never reach for the painkillers in your cupboard.
Do not induce vomiting on your own
Salt, olive oil and finger down the throat all cause harm. With caustic substances such as bleach or thinner, vomiting burns the oesophagus on the way back up.
Do not give milk
The belief that milk binds poison is widespread and wrong. Most adult cats and dogs cannot digest lactose, so you add diarrhoea to the problem.
Do not try to straighten a broken limb
Attempting to set a fracture damages vessels and nerves. Leave the limb as it is and move the animal as little as possible.
Never use dog products on a cat
Spot on parasite treatments containing permethrin, made for dogs, cause tremors, seizures and death in cats. Always check which species a spot on is intended for.
Before you set off
- Call and describe the situation briefly.
- If poison is involved, bring the box, the packaging or a piece of the plant.
- Bring the names of any medication and the vaccination record.
- If there has been vomiting or diarrhoea, bring a sample if you can.
- If someone can come with you, bring them: one person holds the animal, one drives.
How to transport
- Put cats in a closed carrier or box. Carrying a frightened cat in your arms is risky for both of you.
- Move an injured dog on a blanket or a firm surface, disturbing it as little as possible.
- An animal in pain may bite even its owner. But never tie the mouth shut if it is vomiting, struggling to breathe or unconscious.
- Cover the animal and keep it warm. Body temperature falls quickly in shock.
- Secure the animal in the car. Sudden braking worsens fractures and wounds.
Common household poisons
These are the most frequent causes of poisoning in cats and dogs. If you suspect any of them was swallowed, do not wait for symptoms. Call.
Paracetamol and ibuprofen
Even very small amounts are fatal to cats.
Chocolate
The higher the cocoa content the greater the danger; dark chocolate is the riskiest.
Xylitol
Found in sugar free gum and some diet products. It crashes blood sugar and destroys the liver in dogs.
Grapes and raisins
Can cause kidney failure in dogs. There is no known safe amount.
Onion and garlic
Destroys red blood cells, raw or cooked.
Lilies
In cats even the leaves, the pollen and the vase water cause kidney failure.
Antifreeze
Tastes sweet, so animals drink it. It acts very fast and needs treatment within hours.
Rat poison
Stops blood clotting. Signs may appear days later.
Permethrin dog spot ons
Cause seizures and death in cats.
This page is general information and does not replace an examination by a veterinarian. If you are worried about your animal, contact the clinic.