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Quick question about people and vets

Pebblesetc

Mama Doe
Why is it that when a pet is injured some people don't automatically call the vet?
It's practically second nature to me: one of my animals isn't 100% (be it an injury, looking a bit peaky, whatever) the first thing I do is call the vet for advice. My cat once ripped a claw out on a tree, first thing I did was call the vet who told me how to stem the bleeding and bring him in for a pain killer and some abx.
My dog got a cut inside her mouth from one of those rawhide things, called the vet, they told me what to do.

Phone advice is free and it's part of what the vet is there for so for me I don't understand why some people don't automatically call the vet for advice if something happens to one of their animals.

I get some people have a real anxiety issue with using the phone, but not everyone. So why do people who are perfectly able to pick up a phone and call a vet not do it?
 
I only don't call the vet when I am 100% sure how to treat at home.
For example, Charlie had sore hocks and I knew I could use sudocrem so I didn't phone the vet.


Most times though, if I didn't know myself then I would call and ask.
Guess I'm lucky that none of my pets have ever really injured themselves.
 
I only don't call the vet when I am 100% sure how to treat at home.
For example, Charlie had sore hocks and I knew I could use sudocrem so I didn't phone the vet.


Most times though, if I didn't know myself then I would call and ask.
Guess I'm lucky that none of my pets have ever really injured themselves.

I get that, but some people don't call even when they don't know what to do :shock: It's in that situation that I call the vets for advice immediately, I don't sit around umming and ahhing about it.
 
Well, put it this way. If my bunny got injured, I wouldn't sit there loading up my laptop to ask for advice from RU, I'd be on the phone to the vet, or if I thought necessary, straight on the way to the vet!

I only ever ask for advice on here to back up what the vet has said really, or to see other people's experiences with similar problems.
 
Is this aimed at me :roll:

Today I didn't phone the vet automatically because I knew I could clean up the wound with cool boiled water and salt.
I cleaned it with lukewarm water first, then asked RU advice,Then I cleaned it with cool boiled water [something I already knew to do]
If even after I cleaned it, it started to bleed then I would call the vets because there is nothing I can do ?
 
Is this aimed at me :roll:

Today I didn't phone the vet automatically because I knew I could clean up the wound with cool boiled water and salt.
If even after I cleaned it, it started to bleed then I would call the vets because there is nothing I can do ?

No, it's just a general question. I've noticed it a lot that people (not just on here, a lot of people I know) just sit fretting about the situation instead of being proactive and calling the vets.
 
I never knew you could call a vet for free advice :)

I wouldn't always necessarily rush off to the vet though, same way I wouldn't if there was something wrong with a human. You judge the situation.
 
No, it's just a general question. I've noticed it a lot that people (not just on here, a lot of people I know) just sit fretting about the situation instead of being proactive and calling the vets.

Sorry then.

Some people wouldn't want to waste money on something they could've done at home.
 
If it has happened when the vets aren't open then you aren't likely to get good advice. Or if the vet is busy you will only get to talk to the receptionist.

If something happens like a nail breaks or an animal has got a small injury we don't normally call because we already know what to do. But we do call if we don't know what to do, like once our cat ate a maybe poisonous plant and asked the vet what to do.
 
If I am any way concerned I call the vet, we have our own vets on call so I can even call out of hours in needs be. The vets are more than willing to advise over the phone rather than have to go to the surgery/ our house if it isn't needed.
I think most people don't realise its possible to call just for advice, although many people pop in to talk to a vet for a quick word.
 
I really don't understand how people don't go to the vet when the bunny has a serious issue:(

On Yahoo Answers someone had a rabbit whose incisors had been ripped out somehow and it was bleeding, yet they posted on a Q/A site rather than going to the vet :roll::cry:
 
You get through to a receptionist at most vets, who will usually say "bring <insert animals name here> in so we can take a look" or will go and ask a vet what they think ending in the same response.

I think the situation is also relevant. When it's not urgent it's useful to get others opinions and do some research so that a) you find out if the animal actually needs to see a vet and b) if you do need to go to the vet you're more prepared, more likely to fully understand what they're telling you, and more likely to have an idea of what treatment should be given.

I've not had many problems with my animals, but the vet hasn't always been my first port of call.
When lola wasn't eating or moving in the morning the first thing I did was call the vet and try to make an appointment because I know that's an emergency thing in rabbits.
However, when I went back out and she had started eating and binkying I checked with RU as to whether everyone thought she still needed to go rather than calling the vet back.

When my mouse developed a sore eye I looked on the net and posted a thread on a mouse forum asking for opinions before taking her to the vet.
As it was, I wish I'd listened more to what I was told and less to what the vet said; the treatment prescribed when I did take her in made it worse, leading to her being PTS.
When the next mouse had what looked like the same thing I followed advice from forum members and gave it a few days, only taking her to the vet if it looked worse at any point. It all healed up on it's own.
Most vets are clueless about small rodents simply because they never see them, so it can be invaluable to have the opinions of an experienced group of people before you go.
 
I think it can depend on the situation as well.

For example, when snowball had part of his ear bitten off, I straight away rang the out of hours vet who said he would be ok until the morning.
I posted here for advice and ended up feeling like a **** owner for not taking him to the vets.
I spoke to the vet again then rang the other emergency vets. Both times I was told again that he didn't need to be seen that night and he'd be fine til the morning.

I felt like I didn't want to admit to anyone that he wasn't going to the vets, even though I was told by 2 different vets that he needed to be seen.

So sometimes, when people don't go to the vet straight away, I can understand it. Because the immediate reaction on here to most things is "go to the vet" (and i've said go to the vet to people as well)
when sometimes, with what the problem is, a vet isn't really needed
(although i do get that 9 times out of 10, the problems that are posted the animal DOES need to see a vet)
 
I think it all depends on the situation, but 9/10 times my vet would be port of call, not RU
 
You get through to a receptionist at most vets, who will usually say "bring <insert animals name here> in so we can take a look" or will go and ask a vet what they think ending in the same response.

I think the situation is also relevant. When it's not urgent it's useful to get others opinions and do some research so that a) you find out if the animal actually needs to see a vet and b) if you do need to go to the vet you're more prepared, more likely to fully understand what they're telling you, and more likely to have an idea of what treatment should be given.

I've not had many problems with my animals, but the vet hasn't always been my first port of call.
When lola wasn't eating or moving in the morning the first thing I did was call the vet and try to make an appointment because I know that's an emergency thing in rabbits.
However, when I went back out and she had started eating and binkying I checked with RU as to whether everyone thought she still needed to go rather than calling the vet back.

When my mouse developed a sore eye I looked on the net and posted a thread on a mouse forum asking for opinions before taking her to the vet.
As it was, I wish I'd listened more to what I was told and less to what the vet said; the treatment prescribed when I did take her in made it worse, leading to her being PTS.
When the next mouse had what looked like the same thing I followed advice from forum members and gave it a few days, only taking her to the vet if it looked worse at any point. It all healed up on it's own.
Most vets are clueless about small rodents simply because they never see them, so it can be invaluable to have the opinions of an experienced group of people before you go.

Those are some very good points, I 100% agree :thumb: You do have to use your judgement to judge how the situation should be dealt with.
 
I have known of people who will try everything before going to a vet, and who would never take a pet such as a bunny to the vets simply because they do not want to pay for an animal they see as having little value:cry:
 
I always get them to a vet if I feel it is needed...no hesitations....but...two of my dogs end up much more stressed about the actual visit than the ailment. It causes all kinds of nasties and I really do wait until its absolutely necessary. I have people that I trust with lots of experience and knowledge and I usually ask their opinions first.

My vet also knows the pair of them and is great with telephone advice as she would rather they stayed put until really necessary. I think I would be more inclined to get Poppy (rabbit) to the vets immediately though because I have very little rabbit knowledge and experience so dont trust my judgement as much.
 
I never knew you could call a vet for free advice :)

I wouldn't always necessarily rush off to the vet though, same way I wouldn't if there was something wrong with a human. You judge the situation.

My vet doesn't give out free phone advice either. The nurses answer the phone so you can often get some very general advice from them but they can often only say that it's not possible to assess over the phone (just as we can't always assess somebody else's bunny via the forum) and to bring him/her in.

What they can sometimes do is to suggest whether it's something that needs immediate attention or if it can wait till morning for example. That's something that a lot of people can struggle with making a judgement on & I'm probably guilty of that myself sometimes so it's not surprising it's a topic that often comes up.

Sometimes you may think it's blatantly obvious that a vet is needed but very frequently it's not so apparent.
 
I think because people extrapolate from how they would behave if a human was similarly injured.

i.e. - if a human pulled a nail out - you wouldn't go to the doctor, you'd just wait for it to sort itself out. Similarly you wouldn't go to the doctor for a runny nose, although in rabbits a respiratory infection can quickly be fatal.

I think there is a lack of awareness of how serious symptoms are, stemming from a lack of available information.
 
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