10 Signs Your Pet Needs to See a Vet

Dogs, cats, and rabbits often mask illness until they are quite unwell. Ancestral survival instincts mean your pet may eat slightly less, hide under the bed, or seem 'a bit quiet' while a significant problem develops. Knowing which changes are minor and which demand veterinary attention can save money, suffering, and sometimes your pet's life. Use this guide as a practical UK-focused checklist — when in doubt, phone your practice. Reception teams are trained to triage and would rather you call than wait too long.

Loss of appetite or thirst

Skipping one meal after a hot day or a stressful car journey may be insignificant. Refusing food for twenty-four hours, especially alongside lethargy or vomiting, warrants a vet visit the same day or next morning. Increased thirst and urination in cats can signal kidney disease, diabetes, or hyperthyroidism — all manageable when caught early, all harmful when ignored. Rabbits who stop eating are in a different category entirely: see the rabbit section below; gut stasis can become critical within hours.

Vomiting and diarrhoea

A single vomit after scavenging something unsuitable on a walk is common in dogs. Repeated vomiting, blood in vomit, or diarrhoea lasting more than twenty-four hours needs assessment. Puppies and kittens dehydrate quickly. In summer, watch for vomiting combined with heavy panting — heatstroke is an emergency. Foreign bodies — swallowed toys, bones, or corn cobs — cause intermittent vomiting and loss of appetite; do not wait a week hoping it passes.

Lethargy, pain, and mobility changes

If your usually lively spaniel will not get off the sofa, or your curious cat ignores dinner and stays flat in a cupboard, treat that as a red flag. Lethargy plus pale gums, rapid breathing, or a distended abdomen escalates urgency. Sudden aggression when touched can indicate pain rather than bad behaviour — especially in older cats with arthritis or dental disease. Video your pet's behaviour if symptoms are intermittent; it helps the vet enormously during a short consultation.

Mild limping after vigorous play may resolve with twenty-four hours' rest. Persistent lameness, a non-weight-bearing leg, swelling, or crying when jumping onto furniture needs examination. Sudden inability to use back legs in long-backed dogs such as dachshunds can indicate intervertebral disc disease — treat as urgent. Cats who hide and refuse stairs often have pain that is easy to miss until it becomes chronic. Watch for lip licking, flattened ears, reluctance to be picked up, or a hunched posture — pets rarely whimper constantly, but these signs still mean pain.

Breathing difficulties

Laboured breathing, noisy wheezing, open-mouth breathing in cats at rest, or a blue-tinged tongue are emergencies. Brachycephalic breeds — bulldogs, pugs, Persians — overheat and struggle with airways more readily. Do not attempt home remedies; go to your nearest open vet, which may be an out-of-hours provider linked to your daytime practice. Phone ahead so the team can prepare and direct you to the correct entrance if applicable.

Urinary and toileting changes

Straining to urinate with little output — especially in male cats — is a blocked bladder emergency. Blood in urine, accidents in previously housetrained pets, and frequent squatting with no result all need prompt checks. UTIs, stones, and stress-related cystitis are treatable; complete obstruction is life-threatening within a day. Increased urination and drinking, as noted above, also deserve blood and urine tests rather than assuming 'old age'.

Skin, ears, and eyes

Persistent scratching, hair loss, head shaking, or smelly ears suggest allergies, parasites, or infection — uncomfortable and unlikely to self-resolve. Red, cloudy, or squinting eyes may indicate ulcers or glaucoma; eye problems can deteriorate overnight. Wounds that swell, smell, or ooze pus after a fight or snagged walk need antibiotics and possibly drainage. Check between toes after woodland walks for grass seeds, common in summer across the UK.

Rabbits: higher stakes, faster action

Rabbits are prey animals who hide illness expertly. A rabbit eating no hay for twelve hours, producing smaller or no droppings, or sitting hunched and grinding teeth is a same-day emergency — likely gastrointestinal stasis. Flystrike in warm weather kills quickly; check rear ends twice daily in summer. Respiratory snuffles, head tilt, and sudden hind leg weakness also need rabbit-savvy vets, not a wait-and-see approach borrowed from dog ownership.

Emergencies, toxins, and being prepared

Chocolate, grapes, raisins, xylitol sweetener, lilies (even pollen on a cat's coat), antifreeze, slug pellets, and human painkillers are frequent poisoning cases in British practices. If you suspect ingestion, call your vet immediately with the product name and approximate amount — do not wait for symptoms. Inducing vomiting at home is dangerous unless a professional advises it. Keep the Animal PoisonLine or VPIS number handy, but your vet will coordinate treatment.

Register with a local practice before you need one at midnight. Save daytime and out-of-hours numbers in your phone. Know where your nearest 24-hour centre is if you travel with your pet. Pet insurance and a small emergency savings pot reduce the temptation to delay care when bills feel daunting. You know your pet's normal habits best — trusting your instinct when something is 'not quite right' and acting within hours, not weeks, is one of the most valuable health decisions you can make.