Takurua Vets provides on-site urgent care and after-hours emergency veterinary care for dogs and cats in Christchurch.
If your pet is unwell, injured, in pain, or you are unsure whether it can wait, call us first so the team can triage the situation and arrange the safest next step.
For urgent and emergency care please call-first rather than walk-in. This helps us understand what is happening, prepare for your arrival when in-clinic care is needed, and reduce delays for pets that need prompt assessment.
If your pet becomes unwell outside normal clinic hours, the most important first step is to stay calm and call. You will speak with a nurse or a vet from our after-hours team, who can talk through what is happening, help decide how urgent the situation is, and arrange the next step if your pet needs to be seen.
Our after-hours service operates on an on-call basis rather than as a walk-in service. This means we assess each situation by phone first, then prepare for your arrival if in-clinic care is needed. That helps reduce delays and allows care to begin more promptly when you get here.
Call straight away if your pet is having trouble breathing, has collapsed, is having a seizure, is straining to urinate, has been hit by a car, has swallowed something they should not have, may have been poisoned, has a swollen or painful abdomen, cannot stop vomiting, is bleeding heavily, or seems to be in severe pain or distress.
You do not need to be certain before calling. If something feels wrong and you are worried, it is appropriate to get advice.
Use this when a dog or cat may have eaten medication, bait, toxic food, plants, household chemicals or an unknown substance.
A broader guide to red flags and what to have ready when you call.
Breathing difficulty is one of the clearest reasons to seek urgent advice.
Straining with little or no urine can be life-threatening.
Fast triage for possible toxin exposure.
When vomiting needs emergency attention.
Pale gums, collapse or severe weakness should be triaged urgently.
Eye pain, squinting or sudden cloudiness should not be watched for days.
What to do during and after seizure activity.
Bloat and unproductive retching are emergency signs.
After-hours emergencies often need more than a consult alone. Depending on what is happening, care may involve imaging, blood testing, pain relief, stabilisation, monitoring, urgent surgery, referral discussion or a careful plan for what to do next.
Learn how tests are used to answer urgent questions rather than simply collect information.
Use this when an emergency may involve wounds, obstruction, bladder stones, abdominal concerns or other surgical problems.
Helpful when you want to understand how stabilisation, imaging, surgery, monitoring and referral decisions fit together.
Learn what signs and findings can make surgery the safest or most urgent next step.
Learn how calm handling, pain management and thoughtful clinical care continue to matter in urgent situations.
You are welcome to use our after-hours service even if you have not been to our clinic before. In urgent situations, please call us first so we can help you decide how quickly your pet needs to be seen and what to do next.
If things are quiet and you simply want to prepare ahead, you can contact the clinic with any questions about using our emergency service.
Because our after-hours service operates on an on-call basis, we arrange to meet you at the clinic when your pet needs to be seen. This means the clinic may not look like a normal walk-in service after hours, but our team will already have context from the phone call and be prepared for your arrival.
The goal is to reduce delays, improve handover, and make the visit as clear and efficient as possible when time matters.
If your pet needs diagnostics, treatment, or admission, we will talk you through what we are concerned about, what the next step is, and what decisions need to be made at that stage.
If you’d like to familiarise yourself with the layout and atmosphere of Takurua Vets before your first visit, you can take a short walkthrough video tour of the clinic. It shows the spaces you’ll move through on the day - from reception and consult rooms to our surgery and imaging areas - so you know exactly what to expect when you arrive.
Urgent signs are easier to act on when the next step is clear. This guide brings together the emergency symptoms we do not want families to wait on, including seizures, bloat, blocked bladders, poisoning, vomiting, painful abdomens and swallowed objects.
Use it when you are deciding whether to call now, what information to have ready, and which Takurua emergency articles or videos match the concern you are seeing.
If your pet is unwell, injured, in pain, or you are not sure whether the situation is urgent, call and speak with a member of our after-hours team.
If it is urgent, do not wait for symptoms to become more obvious before getting advice.
