Inpatient Care
Post-operative care, intravenous fluids and medication, and close monitoring for patients who cannot be looked after at home.
Some patients cannot go home. If an animal needs intravenous fluids, medication at set intervals, or observation hour by hour, it stays with us.
When admission is needed
The first hours after surgery, particularly abdominal procedures and older patients. Severe vomiting and diarrhoea where fluid losses must be replaced intravenously. Poisoning. Rapidly progressing infectious disease such as parvovirus and panleukopenia. The initial stabilisation of diabetes. Serious trauma and fractures. Difficult labour.
How admission works
Your animal is placed in an area suited to its condition. Patients with infectious disease are kept separate.
Temperature, pulse, breathing, appetite, vomiting and toileting are recorded. The treatment plan can change during the day on the basis of those records, and if the course is not what we expected we tell you.
Pain is tracked separately. Cats and dogs do not announce pain loudly; hunching, remaining curled up, reacting to touch and refusing food are the signs.
Discharge
When your animal goes home you receive written instructions: medication times, feeding, restriction of activity, wound checks and the date of the follow up appointment. The same sheet lists the signs that mean you should call without waiting.
Frequently asked
Can I visit my animal?
Yes. We agree a visiting time when your animal is admitted. A familiar smell settles an animal, so you are welcome to bring a blanket or a toy from home.
Will I get updates?
We update you daily on your animal's condition. If anything changes unexpectedly, we call you rather than waiting for the usual time.
Will my cat be kept with dogs?
No. Cats and dogs are housed in separate areas. Keeping cats away from the sound and smell of dogs reduces their stress markedly.