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Pet Emergency Checklist
Knowing What Counts as an Emergency
The hardest part of a pet emergency is deciding whether it is one. Pets cannot tell you where it hurts, and some of the most serious problems look quiet rather than dramatic. The lists below cover the signs that mean your pet needs a vet now rather than tomorrow. If your pet is showing any of them, stop reading and go.
Signs That Mean Go Now
Every sign below means go to a vet now, not in the morning. None of them are worth waiting out.
Struggling to breathe
Stretched-out neck, elbows held away from the body, or gums that look blue, grey or very pale.
Collapse or unable to stand
Including a dog that gets up but keeps going down again, or seems confused after.
A seizure
Go now if it lasts more than a few minutes, or if a second one follows before they fully recover.
Swollen hard belly with retching
A bloated abdomen with repeated attempts to vomit that bring nothing up. This is one of the most time-critical emergencies in dogs.
Overheating
Heavy panting, distress and hot skin after heat or exercise. Move to shade and cool air, and go straight in.
Hit by a vehicle
Go even if your dog seems fine. Bleeding inside the body does not show at first.
Bleeding that will not stop
Press firmly with a clean cloth and keep pressing on the way there. Do not lift it to check.
Straining in labour
Strong straining for a while with no puppy, or long gaps between puppies with obvious effort.
Swallowed something dangerous
Poison, medicine, a toy, or a toxic food. Bring the packet with you.
Cats hide illness until they cannot any more. A cat that clearly looks unwell is usually further along than it appears.
A male cat straining in the litter tray
Going in and out with little or nothing coming, or crying while trying. A blocked bladder becomes life-threatening within hours.
Open-mouth breathing or panting
Cats do not pant like dogs. A panting cat that has not just been playing needs to be seen now.
Sudden back leg weakness
Dragging the back legs, crying in pain, or back paws that feel cold. Go immediately.
Collapse or unresponsiveness
Limp, unable to lift the head, or not reacting to you normally.
Pale, white or blue gums
Healthy gums are pink. Any other colour needs urgent attention.
Contact with a lily
Even pollen groomed off the fur. Go before symptoms start, because waiting removes the best chance of treatment.
Given human painkillers
Paracetamol is dangerous to cats even in small amounts. Never give human medicine, and go immediately if it has happened.
A wound from another cat
Bites look tiny and close over quickly, trapping infection underneath. Same-day attention.
Fallen from a height
Go even if your cat walks away. Chest and jaw injuries are common and easy to miss.
Rabbits and small rodents deteriorate faster than dogs and cats. With these species, hours matter.
Not eating
A rabbit that refuses food for several hours is an emergency, even with nothing else wrong. Do not wait until morning.
No droppings, or much smaller ones
An empty litter tray means the gut has slowed or stopped. This needs treatment, not time.
Sitting hunched and still
Pressed low, unwilling to move, grinding teeth. That is pain, and it is usually the gut.
Head tilted to one side
Tilting, rolling or falling over. Treatable, but the sooner the better.
Maggots or flies around the rear
An emergency in our climate. It develops within hours in a rabbit with a dirty or damp bottom.
Laboured breathing
Nose moving hard, or breathing with the mouth open. Rabbits almost always breathe through the nose.
Overheating
Rabbits cope poorly with heat. Lying flat, panting or wet around the nose after a hot day needs urgent help.
Attacked by another animal
Go even with no visible wound. Shock alone can be fatal in prey species.
Birds mask illness as a survival instinct. By the time a bird looks sick, it usually needs help the same day.
Fluffed up and quiet
Puffed feathers, eyes closing, sitting still for long periods. The most common way a bird shows it is unwell.
Sitting on the cage floor
A bird that has stopped perching is usually very unwell.
Tail bobbing when breathing
The tail pumping with each breath means real effort to breathe.
Any bleeding
Birds have little blood to lose. A broken blood feather or a nail can matter quickly.
A hen straining to lay
Straining, sitting on the floor, or a swelling near the vent. Time-critical.
Caught by a cat or dog
Go even if the wound looks minor. Bacteria from a cat's mouth are dangerous to birds.
Fumes in the room
An overheated non-stick pan, or a bird found unwell after cooking or spraying. Fresh air, then go.
Vomiting or a soiled face
Food stuck to the head or repeated flicking of the head is not normal.
Reptiles decline slowly, so problems look less urgent than they are. Most reptile emergencies have been building for weeks.
Something protruding from the vent
Keep it clean and moist and go immediately. It should never be pushed back in.
Open-mouth breathing or gaping
Along with bubbling at the nose or mouth. Usually a respiratory infection, and it does not resolve alone.
Unable to right itself
Rolling, wobbling, or lying on its back unable to turn over.
Burns from a heat source
Marks on the belly or back from a heat rock, mat or lamp. These are deeper than they look.
A female straining with eggs
Restless, digging, straining without laying. Needs assessment quickly.
Twitching or weak legs
Tremors, a soft or swollen jaw, or difficulty lifting the body. Bone disease is common and treatable early.
Refusing food for a long stretch
Some species pause naturally, but weight loss alongside it is not normal. Have it checked.
Bitten by live prey
Live rodents can injure a reptile badly. Any wound should be seen.
Five Minutes Now Saves You Later
Nobody thinks clearly during an emergency. The families who cope best are the ones who sorted these things out on an ordinary day.
Save two numbers in your phoneOurs and a 24-hour clinic, under names you will actually find while panicking.
Know how long it takes to get thereCheck both routes at night and in traffic, not just on a quiet afternoon.
Keep the carrier within reachSomewhere you can grab it in seconds, not at the back of a storeroom.
Keep a clean towel with itPlus a spare liner. Useful for warmth, grip, and covering a frightened pet.
Write down the details you will be asked forYour pet's weight and any medicines, saved as a note in your phone.
Decide who does whatIf there are two of you, agree now who drives and who holds the pet.
None of this takes long. All of it is difficult to do for the first time while your pet is struggling.
Dr. Asma Fariha
Veterinary Surgeon · MVC Reg. No. 3362
Dr. Asma leads clinical care at ExoCare, treating cats and dogs alongside rabbits, birds, reptiles and other exotic species that most general practices are not equipped for.