Emergencies

Fighting cats

As a very small team of just 1 vet and 2 nurses with no reception staff, our focus has to be on providing high quality routine and preventative care. Therefore, there may occasionally be times that your cat needs to be seen when we are not available. But don’t worry, thanks to our network of other local friendly vets, we’ve got you covered!

Provision of urgent care during normal daytime hours:

If your cat is unwell and you’re not sure if it is an emergency or not, please give us a ring on 07961 154886 and we will do our best to advise and assist if possible. We are often either driving or with a patient and unable to answer the phone, so if you are very concerned about your cat, please ring back straight away which will alert us to the urgency of your call. Don’t delay if you can’t get a hold of us though – if your cat needs urgent care, please contact your local clinic ASAP and they will provide treatment as necessary.

All clients of The Cat Doctor must be dual-registered with a local clinic, to provide care when we are not able to do so. This is essential, as not all clinics will see patients that are not already registered with their practice, so please register with a local clinic now if you have not already done so. The four 24-hour veterinary hospitals listed below have agreed to see our patients in an emergency:

NOTE – if we are ever unavailable during the day (due to staff illness or holiday) and your cat needs veterinary care at home, you are welcome to contact Veteris, who are able to provide home visits 24/7 on our behalf. Their phone number is 0203 808 0100 and their website is www.veteris.co.uk. They are based in London and travel times can be significant so if your cat needs care quickly and they aren’t able to attend in time, please ring one of the above clinics instead.

Finally, we understand how important end-of life care is to you and your cat, so we do our very best to provide this care ourselves. However, should your cat require at-home euthanasia urgently and we are not available, you may contact Cloud 9 Vets (cloud9vets.co.uk, 08000 354 999) or Veteris (see above) for assistance.

If ever your cat does go to the clinic for urgent care, please remind them to forward us a copy of their records so we can incorporate that information into their ongoing treatment plan.

What is considered urgent care?

Urgent care is required when a health concern can’t wait until we (your cat’s GP) are next available or perhaps requires more care than can sensibly be provided at home. Please feel free to ring us first but if you cannot get a hold of us, don’t delay, contact your local veterinary hospital for care (like A&E for humans). This includes:

Serious injury with bleeding that won’t stop*Ingestion of a poison or dangerous object*
Seizures (that won’t stop) or collapse*Hit by a car*
Non- or minimally-responsive to stimulus*Rapid deterioration in quality of life (end of life)
Sudden, severe vomiting or diarrhoeaSevere, sudden lameness or pain
Not eating for more than 24 hoursUnproductive straining to urinate or defecate
Listless or hiding awaySudden breathing difficulties
Eye injuriesBites, stings or allergic reactions

* These situations are better dealt with in a fully-equipped clinic so do not wait for us to ring you back, contact your local clinic immediately. For the others, we will do our best to assist if we are available.

Out of Hours Emergencies:

Should you have an emergency overnight or over the weekend, please ring your local veterinary hospital as normal and their voicemail should advise the best course of action. If you’re not sure if it is an emergency, ring them anyway and they can advise, or Vets Now has a separate service for emergency video consultations: www.vets-now.com/videovet. Alternatively, here is a list of local emergency clinics that you are welcome to use:

Finally, we understand how important end-of life care is to you and your cat, so we do our very best to provide this care ourselves. However, should your cat require at-home euthanasia urgently and we are not available, you may contact Cloud 9 Vets (cloud9vets.co.uk, 08000 354 999) or Veteris or Emergency Home Vet (see above) out of hours for assistance.

Transportation:

If your cat needs to go to the clinic and you do not have your own transportation, many taxi companies will take cats in baskets (call ahead of time to make sure) or you can ring a special pet taxi, of which there are at least 2 in our area. The pet taxi driver will usually be able to help you put your cat into their carrier if needed, and you may be able to ride with them – please discuss your requirements when you ring:

If you have any questions about what to do in an emergency, please speak with us now so we can come up with a plan together. We recommend keeping a cat carrier ready to go at all times just in case you need it at short notice. It is always best to be prepared!