Trouble breathing, collapse, a seizure, a male cat straining with no urine, a swollen belly with retching, heavy bleeding and any known poison need a vet tonight. One vomit in a bright animal, a mild limp, an itchy ear or a single soft stool can wait for a morning appointment.
Everything between those two lists is a phone call. The Petflix line, 055 620 4085, is answered 24 hours, and a nurse will sort it with you in a couple of minutes.
Signs that cannot wait until morning
Any one of these is enough. You do not need two.
- Breathing. Open-mouth breathing in a cat. Loud, fast or heaving breaths at rest in a dog. Blue, grey or white gums.
- Collapse. He cannot stand, faints, or is too weak to lift his head.
- Seizures. One that lasts more than five minutes, or more than one in a day.
- A male cat in and out of the litter tray who passes no urine or only drops, often crying as he tries.
- A tight, swollen belly in a large dog that retches and brings nothing up.
- Bleeding that does not stop after five minutes of firm pressure.
The second group is equally urgent, even when the animal looks fine at first.
- Hit by a car, or a fall from a balcony or window. Internal injuries show late.
- A known poison. Rat bait, human painkillers, chocolate in quantity, grapes or raisins, lilies for cats, antifreeze, xylitol sweetener.
- Overheating after a walk or a drive, with heavy panting that does not settle indoors.
- Vomiting and bloody diarrhoea in a puppy, above all an unvaccinated one. Read about parvovirus in puppies.
- An eye that is suddenly closed, bulging, or cloudy blue.
- An unspayed female who is dull, drinking heavily and has discharge from the vulva. A womb infection presents this way.
A female who strains hard for more than half an hour with no kitten or puppy also needs a vet tonight.
Signs that can usually wait for a morning appointment
These are safe to watch overnight if your animal is otherwise bright, responsive and drinking. Book the first slot you can.
- One or two vomits, then normal behaviour and interest in food.
- One soft stool with no blood, in an adult.
- A limp where he still puts weight on the leg.
- Scratching an ear or shaking the head.
- A small cut that has stopped bleeding.
- A skipped dinner in an adult dog who is otherwise himself.
Watching overnight means checking. Look at him before you sleep and once in the night. Count his breaths while he sleeps. Under 30 a minute is normal for a resting cat or dog. If anything on the first list appears, the plan changes.
The grey zone
Some signs are not dramatic and still should not drift. These are the ones owners most often regret leaving.
- A cat that has not eaten for 24 hours. Cats develop liver problems when they stop eating, and overweight cats develop them faster.
- Vomiting more than three times in an evening, or any vomiting with a dull, flat animal.
- A dog that may have swallowed a toy, sock, bone or corn cob. He can look normal for a day. See what happens with a swallowed object.
- Not putting a leg down at all.
- A very young, very old or diabetic animal with any of the mild signs above. They have less reserve.
Phone for these. The nurse will ask about gums, breathing, water intake and energy, then tell you tonight or tomorrow.
Why the answer changes in a Dubai summer
Heat takes away the margin. A dog with mild diarrhoea loses more water when the evening air is still 38°C and he has been panting on a balcony. A flat-faced dog or a Persian cat with a slightly blocked nose copes badly in humid air.
From June to September, move borderline cases one step up. If you would normally watch until morning, phone. If you would normally phone, come in. Keep the animal in an air-conditioned room while you decide, and offer water.
The same applies after a long drive, a power cut, or a day when the air conditioning failed.
How late-evening care and the 24-hour phone line fit together
Petflix is open 8 AM to 12 AM every day. Most owners in Dubai get home after 7 PM and notice the problem after that. A Ramadan evening runs later still, with meals and visitors until well after ten.
Until midnight you can walk in with no appointment. The vet, the x-ray room, the ultrasound and the in-house laboratory are all working. An urgent case is seen ahead of routine ones.
The phone is answered 24 hours. After midnight the line is triage only. The nurse will tell you what to do at home, and if your animal needs a vet before 8 AM she will direct you to the nearest hospital that is open. We say this plainly because driving to a closed door wastes the minutes that matter.
If you live in Ras Al Khor, International City, Nad Al Sheba, Meydan or Silicon Oasis, the drive to us in the late evening is short because the roads are clear.
What does an evening visit involve?
The vet examines your animal and tells you the likely causes. If tests are needed, you get a written estimate first. Blood results from the in-house laboratory come back the same evening. X-rays are read on the spot.
Some animals go home with treatment and a recheck time. Some stay on a drip in the inpatient ward. The consultation fee and common test prices are listed on the Petflix price page.
When to call
Call 055 620 4085 if you have read both lists and still cannot place what you are seeing. Say what he is doing, how long it has gone on and what colour his gums are.
If the nurse says come in, urgent care at Petflix takes walk-ins until 12 AM. If she says morning, she will tell you what to watch for overnight.