When to see a vet
Pick the species, tick what you are seeing, and the checker will sort the situation into urgent, soon, or monitor. It is a safety sort, not a diagnosis and not a triage line staffed by a clinic.
Disclaimer
This tool does not examine your animal and does not create a veterinary-client relationship. If you are unsure, call a clinic. Trouble breathing, collapse, uncontrolled bleeding, seizures that keep going, a male cat who cannot urinate, a tight swelling belly in a dog, or a rabbit or guinea pig who has stopped eating should go to an emergency hospital now.
How the three speeds work
Urgent means leave now for the nearest open veterinary ER. Call them from the car so they can prepare oxygen, a blockage procedure, or decontamination. If the pet was hit by a car, is unconscious, or was in a fight with a wild animal, go even if the list below did not quite match.
Soon means contact your clinic today. If they cannot see a worsening pet, ask which emergency hospital they use. Soon is not "sometime this month."
Monitor means the animal is bright, the change is mild, and you have a plan to call if appetite, breathing, urine, or energy gets worse. Write down the time the sign started.
Poison help
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: (888) 426-4435. Pet Poison Helpline: (855) 764-7661. Both may charge a consultation fee. Bring the package. Do not induce vomiting unless a poison specialist or veterinarian tells you to. Some substances burn on the way back up.
Read the matching guide after you have a speed: dog vomiting, dog diarrhea, dog limping, dog itching, cat not eating, cat vomiting, cat urinary, quiet bird, reptile not eating, fish gasping, small mammal not eating.