Why squinting, cloudiness, eye injury or a closed eye should be checked quickly.
A painful eye should be taken seriously. Squinting, holding the eye closed, cloudiness, sudden redness, rubbing, discharge or vision change can all indicate pain or risk to the eye surface.
Eye problems can worsen quickly, and old drops can be unsafe for the wrong condition. A steroid-containing drop, for example, may be harmful if an ulcer is present.
Emergency signs are not always tidy. A pet may have one obvious problem, but the risk often depends on the whole picture: breathing, gum colour, pain, alertness, recent trauma, toxin exposure, appetite, hydration and toileting.
Prevent rubbing if possible, do not use old eye medication unless directed, and call for advice. A photo can help if it does not delay care.
Keep the handling simple and calm. If your pet is painful, frightened, weak or struggling to breathe, repeated checking can make things worse. Phone early so the team can help you decide how to move them safely.
We may stain the eye for ulcers, check pressure, examine eyelids and the cornea, provide pain relief or medication, and decide whether close recheck or referral is needed.
Urgent care begins with the problems that threaten life or comfort first. Once the patient is safer, we can make better decisions about imaging, blood tests, medication, observation, surgery or referral.
A pet who holds an eye closed, blinks repeatedly or rubs the face is often painful, even if the eye does not look dramatic to the family.
Eye pain can come from ulcers, scratches, foreign material, inflammation, glaucoma, dry eye, trauma or eyelid problems, and the treatments are not interchangeable.
Do not use leftover eye medication unless a vet has told you it is suitable for this problem. Some drops can worsen ulcers or delay healing when the diagnosis is wrong.
The safest step is an eye check, especially when the eye is cloudy, closed, injured, swollen or suddenly red.
Fluorescein stain can show corneal ulcers. Pressure testing can help identify high or low pressure problems. Examination of the lids, cornea, pupil and surrounding tissue helps narrow the cause.
These tests are usually quick, but they can change the treatment completely.
Eye surfaces can change quickly. A recheck may confirm an ulcer is healing, that pressure is controlled, or that medication needs changing.
Stopping early because the eye looks less red can allow a deeper problem to continue.
When you call, start with the most urgent-looking sign, then give the timing. For example: trouble breathing for ten minutes, vomiting six times since breakfast, no urine since last night, hit by a car one hour ago, or possible toxin exposure at noon.
It also helps to say whether your pet is bright or flat, eating or refusing food, walking or unable to stand, breathing normally or with effort, and whether the gums look pink, pale, grey or blue.
If the signs sound unstable, we may recommend urgent assessment even before every detail is known. That is because some problems can only be made safer with oxygen, pain relief, fluids, monitoring, imaging or hands-on examination.
Coming in quickly does not mean every outcome is already decided. It means the patient needs a safer place for the next decision to be made.
With eyes, waiting for tomorrow can sometimes cost comfort or vision. The surrounding signs, timing and your pet's comfort decide how urgently we should act.
A change that is still treatable can become more difficult once shock, dehydration, pain or organ stress develops. That is why the safest advice is often to call before the situation becomes clearer.
A closed eye, severe squinting, cloudiness, injury, chemical exposure, sudden blindness, eye swelling or a painful red eye should be treated promptly.
If you are unsure whether the sign is serious enough, call. A short triage conversation is usually safer than sitting with a worsening pet while trying to decide from a webpage.
Tell us what happened, when it started, what your pet weighs if you know, whether medication or toxins are involved, and whether breathing, gum colour, urination, appetite or alertness has changed.
Photos, product packets, videos or previous medical history can help when they are easy to gather. They should never delay leaving if your pet is collapsing, breathless, bleeding heavily or unable to urinate.
Use the main emergency page for after-hours contact details and arrival information.
How to respond when breathing looks fast, effortful or different at rest.
Why open-mouth breathing in cats should be treated as urgent.
Why straining or inability to pass urine needs urgent veterinary advice.
Emergency pages are only a starting point. If your pet is struggling, deteriorating or showing one of the warning signs above, contact us or the after-hours service so the next step can be triaged.
When in doubt, call earlier. Early advice can prevent unsafe home treatment and helps us prepare before you arrive.
Return to the main emergency page for contact and arrival information.
Urgent guidance for possible toxin or unsafe food exposure.
How tests help guide urgent and unwell-pet care.
How calm handling and pain awareness support urgent patients too.
