Most worries about a pet fall into one of three groups: go immediately, come in today, or book an appointment. Knowing which is which saves money on the small things and saves lives on the large ones. The hardest cases are the quiet ones, because pets hide illness and cats hide it best of all.
The question every owner asks at nine in the evening
Something is not right with your dog or cat. It is late, you are tired, and you are weighing a real worry against the possibility of feeling foolish. Most people resolve that by waiting until morning, and most of the time that turns out fine.
The trouble is the exceptions. A handful of conditions get dramatically worse over a few hours, and for those the overnight wait is the whole problem. So rather than trying to diagnose anything from the sofa, it helps to have the signs sorted in advance into three groups, decided when you are calm instead of when you are not.
One rule underneath all of it: when you are unsure, phone. A phone call costs nothing, it takes two minutes, and it is what we are here for. Nobody at this clinic has ever thought less of an owner for calling.
Group one: go now, do not wait for morning
These are the ones where hours matter. If your pet has any of these, leave straight away and call on the way so we know you are coming:
- Any difficulty breathing. Open-mouth breathing in a cat at rest, stretching the neck out to breathe, belly heaving with each breath, or noisy breathing that is new. This is the single most urgent thing on this page.
- Gums that are white, pale, grey or blue. Lift the lip and look. Learn what your pet’s gums look like on a normal day so this means something to you.
- Collapse, or an inability to stand.
- A seizure, especially a first one, one lasting more than a couple of minutes, or several in a row.
- A swollen, hard belly with unproductive retching, particularly in a large or deep-chested dog. This can be life-threatening within hours.
- A male cat straining in the litter box and producing little or nothing. This is a blockage until proven otherwise, and it is measured in hours, not days.
- Anything swallowed that should not have been: rodent bait, antifreeze, human products of any kind, chocolate, grapes or raisins, sugar-free gum, edibles, cleaning products, or an unknown plant. Bring the packaging.
- Hit by a vehicle, even if they got up and walked away. Serious internal injury often leaves no outward mark.
- Bleeding that does not stop with five minutes of firm pressure.
- A rapidly swelling face or muzzle, or hives spreading quickly.
- Severe pain: crying out, unable to settle, or aggressive when touched by someone they trust.
- A dog or cat overheated in a vehicle or after exertion, especially a flat-faced breed.
- Trouble giving birth. Twenty to thirty minutes of hard straining with nothing produced, a puppy or kitten stuck partway out, more than two hours between deliveries, or green, black or heavy red discharge before anything has been born.
- An eye out of its socket, or a chemical splash to the eye.
Group two: come in today
Not a middle-of-the-night emergency, but not something to leave for a week either. Call us in the morning and we will fit you in.
- Repeated vomiting or diarrhea over a day, or either one containing blood.
- Not eating at all for twenty-four hours, or a cat who has not eaten for even a day, since cats become unwell faster when they stop.
- Drinking or urinating noticeably more than usual.
- A limp where the leg is not being used at all, or a limb at an odd angle.
- A squinting, red, cloudy or weeping eye. Eyes change quickly and rarely improve on their own.
- Head shaking, a smelly ear, or a new head tilt.
- A wound, a bite from another animal, or a swelling that has appeared quickly.
- Blood in the urine, or straining in a female cat or a dog of either sex.
- A pet who is flat, hiding, or behaving unlike themselves with no obvious reason.
- A cut pad, or limping after a walk with something possibly lodged in the foot.
Group three: book an appointment
Real problems that deserve attention, but on a scheduled visit rather than an urgent one.
- Bad breath, visible tartar, or a red line along the gums.
- A lump that has been there a while and is not changing. Measure it and note the date, and mention it at the visit.
- Gradual weight gain or loss.
- Mild intermittent itching, or a bit of flaking.
- Stiffness getting up that has crept in over months.
- Nail trims, grooming questions, diet advice, and anything preventive.
- A single vomit in a pet who is otherwise entirely themselves, eating and bright.
Cats need a lower threshold than you think
Everything above applies to both species, but cats need their own warning, because the instinct to conceal illness is far stronger in them.
A cat who is unwell does not usually cry or limp visibly. They go quiet. They sleep somewhere new, often somewhere hard to reach. They stop jumping onto the usual spot, stop grooming so their coat looks slightly unkempt, sit hunched with their feet tucked, or simply become less present in the household. Owners describe it afterwards as the cat being a bit off for a week or two.
So with cats, lower the bar. A cat not eating for a day, hiding for a day, or breathing with an open mouth at any point is worth a call. Open-mouth breathing in a cat is never normal and is never something to watch overnight.
What to do in the ten minutes before you leave
Call us first. It lets us prepare, tell you what to bring, and occasionally tell you that you do not need to come at all.
Then gather what we will ask for, because these are the questions that are hardest to answer under pressure:
- When it started, and whether it is getting worse, staying level or improving.
- What they ate or got into, with the packaging if there is any, and roughly how much.
- Their rough weight, and anything they are currently given.
- A short video if the sign comes and goes. A limp, a cough, a tremor or an odd breathing pattern is far easier to assess on video than described, and it may have stopped by the time you arrive.
- A carrier for a cat, and a leash or slip lead for a dog. A frightened animal in pain may bolt or bite, including with people they love.
Do not give anything by mouth, and in particular nothing from your own cabinet. Products made for people cause serious harm to dogs and cats, and cats are affected by very small amounts. An empty stomach also makes everything we may need to do safer.
What happens when you arrive
Urgent cases are assessed in order of how sick the animal is rather than who arrived first, so a quiet waiting room does not always mean a short wait, and a busy one does not always mean a long one. If your pet is the sickest animal in the building, you will not be waiting.
Most urgent visits start with an examination and a conversation, then imaging or bloodwork where it will change the decision. Our pet diagnostics run on site, which is the difference between an answer today and an answer later in the week, and our pet diagnostics page covers what we can run. Same-day problems come in through our urgent care, and our urgent care page explains how that works and what to expect. Where something ongoing turns up, our medical services team picks it up from there, and you can read about that at medical services. Anything routine that surfaces along the way can be folded into a wellness program visit later rather than handled in a rush.
Our hours, and what to do outside them
We are open Monday to Saturday from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Those are long days, and they cover the large majority of when these situations actually arise, including evenings after work when most of them get noticed.
We are not open overnight. If something in group one happens after we close, between 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM, or after 6:00 PM on a Sunday, do not wait for us to open. Go directly to an open twenty-four hour emergency veterinary hospital and call them while you travel so they are ready. For anything in group two or three, we will see you when we open.
Common questions
I do not want to waste your time over nothing. How do I judge?
Phone and describe it. That is not wasting anyone’s time, it is the cheapest and fastest step available, and it is a normal part of our day. The genuinely costly version is the owner who did not want to be a nuisance and waited through the night with a problem from group one.
My dog ate something an hour ago but seems completely fine.
Call now anyway. Many toxic substances have a delay of hours before anything shows, and the window where help is most straightforward is usually early, before your pet looks unwell. Waiting for symptoms is waiting for the worst moment to act. Keep the packaging.
How do I check gum colour, and what am I looking for?
Lift the upper lip and look above a canine tooth. Most pets have pink gums, though some have patches of natural dark pigment, which is why checking on a healthy day matters. White, pale, grey or blue is urgent. You can also press a pink area until it blanches and let go; colour should return in under two seconds, and longer than that is abnormal.
Is a single vomit worth a visit?
Usually not, if your pet is otherwise bright, eating and behaving normally. It moves up the list if it repeats, if there is blood, if they are also flat or not eating, if they are very young or very old, or if they might have swallowed something. Repeated unproductive retching with a swollen belly is group one.
Can I just come in without phoning?
You can, and for a genuine emergency you should simply leave straight away. But calling first, even from the car with somebody else driving, means we know what is coming and can have what we need ready before you walk through the door.
What if it happens on a Sunday evening?
We close at 6:00 PM on Sunday, and that evening is the longest closed stretch in our week. For group one, go to an open twenty-four hour emergency hospital rather than waiting for Monday. For anything less urgent, call us first thing and we will sort it out.
Speak to the team at City Petcare Hospital and Urgent Care
If something is not right and you are weighing it up, call us and describe what you are seeing. We would far rather talk it through than have you wait. Outside our hours, anything in group one should go straight to an open emergency veterinary hospital, with a call ahead while you travel.
Published by the team at City Petcare Hospital and Urgent Care.
This article is educational in nature and is not a replacement for hands-on assessment of your own pet by a veterinarian.
City Petcare Hospital and Urgent Care
7218 King George Blvd, Suite 120, Surrey, BC V3W 5A5
Phone: (604) 501-0077
Email: citypetcareanimalhospital@gmail.com
Hours: Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM; Sunday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM