Emergency versus Urgent Care

Dealing with a sick pet can be stressful. It may be hard to decide whether your pet has an illness that he can get over in a short time, or whether it’s serious enough to get urgent care or emergency pet care. Here is how to differentiate between emergency pet care and urgent care:

• Emergency Pet Care. Emergency pet care is to address life-threatening matters. Some conditions are easily identified as emergency cases: Collapse, unconsciousness, broken bones, severe wounds, profuse bleeding, and signs of poisoning are a few.
• Urgent Care for Your Pet.  Issues which are not as serious as those that fall under emergency pet care, but that you deem in need of urgent care. Not eating or drinking, difficulty urinating or defecating, minor cuts are some examples.  If you are still in doubt, you can always call our Island Lake Veterinary Clinic office to get the advice of our team.

Why Would A Pet Visit A Vet? 

Here are 10 of the most common reasons that vets see pets:

• Soft tissue injury (bruises and contusions)
• Skin allergy or infection
• Skin mass/tag
• Ear infection
• Dental disease 
• Urinary tract infection/kidney disease
• Diabetes 
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea 
• Not eating or drinking
• Arthritis 

Symptoms to Watch For

Like babies, pets can’t tell us where they hurt or that they just aren’t feeling well. You just have to know your pet’s normal behavior, take notice when you see changes, and get to your vet quickly if necessary. Watch out for these 5 symptoms:

• Vomiting or diarrhea. All pets may eat too fast or play too hard after eating, leading to a vomiting episode. However, if the vomiting persists for several episodes over the course of a 24-hour period, you should visit our vet. An occasional episode of diarrhea isn’t serious, but if it persists for several episodes, it could indicate gastrointestinal disease that requires seeing a vet.
• Not eating. Skipping a meal isn’t a big concern, but more than that may need attention.
• Lethargy. 
• Hair loss, itchy skin, rash. 
• Excessive urination, urination in unusual places.

Relationships with Veterinary Specialists Can Help Your Pet

Our team strives to ensure that every need your pet has is met with the compassionate services of our veterinarians and the state-of-the-art technology we utilize at our animal hospital. We have the technology and tools in our office for your pet’s needs, and we have partnerships with area specialists who can assist with more advanced testing  or more advanced treatment options. Rest assured, our team will make the necessary arrangements to ensure that all of your best friend’s needs are met.

If you have questions about your pet’s condition, diagnostic testing processes, or test results, please don’t hesitate to contact us at our Island Lake veterinary clinic. We are always available to answer your questions and talk you through your concerns. After all, we are your partners in your pet’s ongoing health. That’s what we’re here for!