We realize that not all pet problems can be planned. We have a veterinarian on call and available by cell phone at all times. Please call BEFORE driving to the clinic because the on call veterinarian may be out seeing one of our large animal patients or doing errands, etc. Leave a message on our cell phone and we will return your call shortly. To help you to assess whether your situation is truly an emergency, check our Pet Emergency Care Information for some advice about conditions about which we are often called.
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PET EMERGENCY INFORMATION Veterinarian: 715-682-4199 Poison Control: 1- 800 – 222 – 1222 First Aid Kit: (Most human kits are fine if you add something to use as a muzzle.) Gauze sponges, self-adhering bandage (3 or 4 inch), gauze roll, Telfa pads, adhesive tape, eye wash, triple antibiotic ointment, Benadryl (25mg) capsules (antihistamine), Pepto Bismol or Kaopectate tablets, Immodium AD caplets, hydrogen peroxide, and a muzzle. Allergic Reactions: Allergic reactions may occur at any time and we often do not know the cause. These commonly present themselves as difficulty in breathing (asthma), a swollen face, or wheals or hives in various areas. In mild cases where breathing is not an issue, you may try Benadryl at a dose of about 1 to 2 mg per pound every 8 hours (about 8 to 16 mg for an 8 pound cat or about 50 to 100 mg for a 50 pound dog). If there is severe respiratory distress, immediate veterinary care is necessary. If your pet is potentially reacting to something in the environment that is actually on the skin or fur, an immediate bath with a good pet shampoo and careful rinsing with large amounts of water are in order. Birth: Most people have spayed or neutered their pets and avoid this dilemma. Shortly before giving birth, mothers will go through a “nesting” ritual, arranging and rearranging some sort of bedding. They may pant a lot during this time. Once the contractions start, offspring should appear within several hours. You may want to assist by being that the noses of the young are not covered with any membrane that will block breathing and seeing that there is no excessive bleeding from the umbilicus (which could be tied off with a thread if necessary) If the mom has a discharge and does not seem to have contractions or her contractions are not able to expel the fetus within several hours, call your veterinarian for help.Bite Wounds: Approach pet carefully and use muzzle. Clean small wounds with peroxide. In larger wounds, try to stop bleeding by applying pressure until you can see your veterinarian. If bite is from wild animal or stray dog or cat, try to find the animal, calling in help from local law enforcement. Rabies may be a consideration. Most bite wounds will need veterinary care because nearly all of them become infected unless antibiotics are employed. Bleeding: For external bleeding, apply firm direct pressure with gauze or other absorbent material until the bleeding stops. Avoid using a tourniquet for any prolonged period. If bleeding does not stop, continue to apply pressure until you can reach your veterinarian. For internal bleeding (blood from nose or mouth) get veterinary care immediately. Move animal as little as possible. Breathing stopped (CPR): Check airway to see if choking on foreignobject. Place animal on firm surface with left side up. Feel and listen for heartbeat at about where the elbow touches the chest. If you find a heartbeat and no breathing, close your pet’s mouth and breathe directly into his or her nose until you see the chest expand. Repeat 12 to 15 times per minute. At the same time, if there is no pulse, do heart massage. The heart is near the point of the elbow. Support below chest with one hand while compressing gently from the top for larger animals. (Repeat 80 to 120 times per minute.) For cats and other small pets, compress the chest with thumb and forefinger of one hand (between 100 and 150 times per minute). Mix breathing and heart massage to try to achieve the above rates. These techniques are more apt to be successful immediately in drownings and electrical shock victims than in other animals simply found presumably dead.Burns: Electrical, chemical, or heat burns should immediately be flushed with large amounts of cool running water. Then, apply an ice pack wrapped in a towel. Call for veterinary advice if large areas are affected. Choking: If your pet can still breathe, call for immediate veterinary assistance. Remember that animals are apt to bite in this situation. If you can see a foreign object, you may be able to grab it with pliers or fisherman’s clamps. Be careful not to push the object farther into the throat. If you are unable to dislodge item and your pet collapses, put your hands on both sides of the chest and give quick, short compressions. Or, place the animal on its right side and strike the rib cage sharply with the palm of your hand 3 or 4 times. Repeat this procedure until the object is dislodged or you have arrived at the veterinarian’s office.Diarrhea: Pepto Bismol, Kaopectate, or Immodium AD can be used at the dosages listed in the section on vomiting. If the diarrhea has blood mixed in or if your pet seems very depressed, seek veterinary care immediately. Hold back food but not water for the first 12 hours unless your pet is also vomiting. Then, feed a bland diet as in the section on vomiting, gradually adding more and more of your pet’s regular diet. Ear Infections: These can generally be noticed and treated during non-emergency hours. However, in the interest of the comfort of your pet, it may become an emergency on a weekend or holiday. Remember that your animal’s ears should not be red inside. They should not have an unpleasant odor, and they should not have excessive discharge. Your pet may indicate an ear problem with any of the latter or by tilting the head to one side, scratching at the ear, or shaking the head often. You will probably need your veterinarian’s help with this one. Eye Injuries: Eye injuries may be very time sensitive. If your pet is squinting excessively, tearing a lot or rubbing at its eyes, try to see if you can actually see anything wrong. You can consider flushing the eye with eye wash. If you do see something actually in the eye or if the eye does not improve within an hour or two after washing, call your veterinarian because eye injuries generally need to be treated right away. In the occasional case of trauma to the head causing the globe of the eye to actually come out of the socket, keep it moist and rush to the nearest available veterinarian.Fractures (broken bones): You will usually note severe pain and swelling, inability to use limb, or limb at an odd angle. Muzzle your pet for your safety. Do not try to splint. Seek immediate veterinary care. Heatstroke: This can occur in pets left inside cars or houses or in pets forced to stay in the sun, especially without adequate water. Wet animal with cool (not cold) water and place in cool area. Use thermometer. Stop cooling when rectal temperature gets down to 103ºF. Call veterinarian for further advice.Hit By Car: Remember that your pet may be very confused and may not even know you. He or she has just been hurt and may be on the defensive, unable to understand the source of pain. Muzzle first using a belt, a tie, a string, or whatever is at hand. Then, try to carefully remove pet from the danger of the street. Keep pet warm and as immobile as possible. Seek veterinary care immediately if your pet cannot stand, seems dazed, is bleeding from mouth, nose, or rectum, or you have reason to believe that the vehicle actually ran over your pet rather than bumping him or her on the side, seek immediate veterinary care. If your pet seems fine and may only have been bumped, keep him or her quiet, constantly watching for signs of distress such as pale or cool gums, heavy breathing, increasing weakness. Call for advice if you are in doubt. “Hot spots”: These are not life threatening; but they progress so rapidly and are so uncomfortable that your pet would much prefer that they be treated whenever they are found and do not necessarily wait for regular hours. These are very moist, red, and extremely itchy skin lesions which may occur anywhere on your pet. If you catch them very early, you may be able to head them off by clipping away some hair, bathing, and using some sort of cortisone cream. If that does not halt the symptoms, a visit to the clinic will be necessary. “Plugged Cat”: This term indicates a cat, (almost always a male), who cannot pass urine at all or does so with great difficulty. Some cats form crystals that may block the urethra or irritate it enough to make the urine “burn” on the way out. This is a true emergency because as the pressure inside the bladder increases, the kidney tubules may become damaged and the bladder ultimately will rupture. Symptoms indicating that you may need to see your veterinarian right away include frequent trips to the litter box, little urine voided, crying with pain, not eating. Cases that have progressed quite far may actually be unable to walk. Unless your cat is very fat, you should be able to feel the bladder if it is distended. (It will feel like a tennis ball in the abdomen.) Poisoning: Try first to identify what has been eaten or in contact with pet. Have that info in hand when you call poison control or veterinarian. Vomiting IS NOT the answer for all ingested toxins and actually may harmful in some cases. When indicated, induce vomiting by oral hydrogen peroxide at a dose of .5 to 2.5 ml per pound (4 to 20 ml to an 8 pound cat or 1 to 4 ozs. to a 50 pound dog). If available, you may also use syrup of ipecac dosed orally at .5 to 1 ml per pound (4 to 8 ml for an 8 pound cat or 1 to 2 ozs. in a 50 pound dog). Alcohol: Never allow pets to ingest alcohol. They are much more susceptible to its effects than you may be. They are also smaller. Giving ¼ cup of beer to a 20 pound dog would be equivalent to your drinking 2 ½ cups if you weigh 200 pounds. If signs of delerium occur, call poison control or your veterinarian.Antifreeze: The deadly dose is low, about .6 ml per pound in cats (a little less than .2 oz. in an 8 pound cat) and about 3 ml per pound in dogs (about 5 ozs. in a 50 lb. dog). If treatment is within the first 1 to 2 hours after ingestion, immediately induce vomiting. Then, call your veterinarian.Chocolate: Theobromine
and caffeine in chocolate can cause rapidpulse and neurological problems
and even death. A potentially lethal dose of baking chocolate
is .01 oz. of baking chocolate for an 8 pound cat or .4 oz. in a 50 pound
dog. Milk chocolate is less toxic at about 7.5 ozs. in an 8 pound cat and
2.9 pounds for a 50 pound dog. Immediately induce vomiting ONLY if animal
is NOT having seizures. If you suspect that your pet has eaten enough to
cause a problem or your pet shows any signs of depression or seizures,
call your veterinarian.
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