Zekios Panteli — Κτηνιατρικό Κέντρο Πύργου
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Emergency — 24/7

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698 1010 706
— Emergency care

What to do
if...

A short guide to recognize an emergency and know exactly what to do in the first 5 minutes.

When in doubt — call. Every minute counts.

— Is it urgent?

First question before doing anything.

Critical · Call now
  • · Respiratory distress
  • · Ongoing seizures
  • · Uncontrolled bleeding
  • · Poisoning
  • · Loss of consciousness
  • · Swollen abdomen with unproductive retching
  • · Male cat straining to urinate without result
698 1010 706
Urgent · Same-day appointment
  • · Vomiting/diarrhea > 24h
  • · Severe swelling
  • · Persistent pain
  • · Eye injury
  • · Refusing food > 24h
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Monitor
  • · Lethargy 1 day
  • · Mild cough/sneeze
  • · Slight loss of appetite
  • · Itching without wound

Monitor for 24h. If worsens — call.

— Scenarios

Common emergencies.

Not sure if it is urgent? Answer a few questions

Call now

Twisted stomach (GDV)

Signs
  • · Swollen abdomen
  • · Unproductive retching, heavy drooling
  • · Restlessness, difficulty breathing
Do NOW
  • · Call us and set off for the clinic immediately
  • · Move the dog calmly, with as little movement as possible
Avoid
  • · Don't give food or water
  • · Don't wait for it to pass: it is a matter of hours
Call now

Male cat unable to urinate

Signs
  • · Keeps going to the litter box and passes no urine
  • · Cries, licks himself, is lethargic
  • · Vomiting, hiding
Do NOW
  • · Call us at once: a complete blockage causes dangerous arrhythmias and kidney damage
Avoid
  • · Don't wait to see if he urinates by tomorrow
  • · Don't squeeze his abdomen
Call now

Poisoning

Signs
  • · Vomiting, drooling, tremors, seizures, weakness
  • · Known ingestion of chocolate, grapes, a plant, medicine or poison
Do NOW
  • · Call us at once, before signs appear
  • · Bring the packaging or the plant and note the amount and the time
Avoid
  • · Don't induce vomiting without a vet's instruction
  • · Don't give milk or home «antidotes»
Dangerous foods and plants
Call now

Heatstroke

Signs
  • · Heavy panting and a lot of drooling
  • · Red or dark gums, hot body
  • · Weakness, confusion, collapse
Do NOW
  • · Move to shade and a cool place, use cool (not ice-cold) water and air flow
  • · Call us and set off for the clinic immediately
Avoid
  • · Never leave a pet in a car
  • · Even if it seems to recover, it must be examined
Heatstroke: full instructions
Call now

Difficult birth (dystocia)

Signs
  • · Green or black discharge before the first baby is born
  • · The mother looks ill or exhausted
  • · Labour lasts more than 24 hours, or 68 days have passed since mating
Do NOW
  • · Call us at once and get ready to travel
  • · Keep the babies already born warm
Avoid
  • · Don't pull a stuck baby
  • · Don't wait for her to «manage alone» if you see these signs
Call now

Difficulty breathing

Signs
  • · Open-mouth breathing (especially in a cat)
  • · Blue or pale gums
  • · Heavy effort with chest and abdomen
Do NOW
  • · Call us and set off immediately
  • · Keep the pet calm, in a cool, ventilated place
Avoid
  • · Don't stress or squeeze it
  • · Don't wait for improvement
Monitor

Cat refusing food

Signs
  • · Has not eaten for more than 24 hours
  • · Especially if overweight
Do NOW
  • · Call us after 24 hours, and certainly before 48: a cat that does not eat risks hepatic lipidosis
Avoid
  • · Don't force-feed
  • · Don't wait more than 1–2 days
Call now

Snake bite (viper)

Signs
  • · Two small puncture marks with sudden swelling and pain at the site (often a leg or the muzzle)
  • · Restlessness, panting, drooling, weakness
  • · Bruising or bleeding around the bite, vomiting, collapse
  • · Signs can take hours to appear
Do NOW
  • · Call us and set off for the clinic immediately
  • · Keep the pet quiet and still: if you can, carry it in your arms or on a blanket
  • · If the bite is on a leg, try to keep that leg as still as possible
  • · If it is safe, note the time and remember what the snake looked like
Avoid
  • · Don't apply a tourniquet or ice, and don't cut or suck the bite
  • · Don't give medicine or home «antidotes»
  • · Don't wait for symptoms and don't waste time trying to catch the snake
Monitor

Tick on the skin

Signs
  • · A tick attached to the skin (often around the ears, neck, between the toes, in the armpits)
  • · Days or weeks later: fever, lethargy, reduced appetite
  • · Pale gums or dark urine
Do NOW
  • · Remove it as soon as possible: grasp it close to the skin with fine-pointed tweezers or a tick remover and pull it out gently
  • · Wash the area with soap and water
  • · Watch the pet for several weeks: call us if fever, lethargy or refusal to eat appears
Avoid
  • · Don't put petroleum jelly, oil or a hot object on the tick: it doesn't detach it and prolongs feeding
  • · Don't crush it and don't yank it
  • · Don't assume it's over once the tick is out: tick-borne diseases show up later
Tick and flea prevention
Call now

Bee or wasp sting, swollen face

Signs
  • · Sudden swelling of the face, lips or eyes, after a sting or with no obvious cause
  • · Pawing at the face, itching, redness, drooling
  • · Vomiting or diarrhea, restlessness
  • · Noisy or difficult breathing, weakness, collapse
Do NOW
  • · Call us at once and set off for the clinic, even if it looks mild: it can worsen within a few hours
  • · If you see a stinger in the skin (bee), remove it quickly by scraping with a card or with tweezers
  • · Keep the pet calm and still on the way
Avoid
  • · Don't give antihistamines or other human medicine without a vet's instruction
  • · Don't wait to see whether it goes down
  • · Don't put creams or home remedies on the swelling: they delay proper care
Call now

Hit by a car, a fall or a hard blow

Signs
  • · The pet was hit by a car, fell from a height or took a heavy blow, even if it walks and seems fine
  • · Limping, pain, a deformed limb or refusing to bear weight
  • · Pale gums, fast or difficult breathing, cold limbs, weakness
  • · A painful or swollen abdomen, blood in the urine or mouth
Do NOW
  • · Call us and set off for the clinic immediately: internal injuries and internal bleeding may not show on the outside
  • · Be careful: a pet in pain can bite or scratch, even its favorite person
  • · Move it with care, on a blanket or a firm surface, without twisting the body or neck
  • · Keep it warm under a blanket and as still as possible while someone else drives
Avoid
  • · Don't let it walk or jump «to see if it's okay»
  • · Don't give food, water or human painkillers
  • · Don't try to straighten a broken limb
  • · Don't wait because it «looks fine»: shock and internal bleeding hide
Call now

Seizure (fit)

Signs
  • · Sudden collapse, stiffness or rhythmic movements of the limbs
  • · Drooling, paddling movements, involuntary urine or stool
  • · Loss of awareness of the surroundings
  • · Afterwards: confusion, wobbliness, temporary blindness
Do NOW
  • · Stay calm and move children, other pets, stairs and sharp objects away
  • · Note the time it started and how long it lasts (film it if you can)
  • · Call us at once: if it lasts over 5 minutes or starts again, set off for the clinic immediately
  • · When it ends, keep the pet quiet in low light and bring it in to be examined
Avoid
  • · Don't put your hands or an object in its mouth: it can't swallow its tongue and you will get bitten
  • · Don't hold it tightly and don't move it unless it is in danger
  • · Don't give food or water until it has fully recovered
  • · Don't assume it «passed» and needs no check-up
Call now

Bleeding wound

Signs
  • · Blood flowing continuously or spurting in pulses
  • · A deep wound or bite, a cut from glass or metal, a torn paw pad
  • · Pale gums, weakness, fast breathing
Do NOW
  • · Press directly on the wound with sterile gauze or a clean folded cloth for 5–10 minutes, without lifting it to look
  • · If the cloth soaks through, add another on top and keep pressing
  • · Secure it with a bandage, snug but not too tight, especially on a limb: the leg below the bandage must not swell or turn cold
  • · Call us and set off for the clinic: even small deep wounds and bites need to be examined
Avoid
  • · Don't apply a tourniquet unless the vet tells you to
  • · Don't pour hydrogen peroxide, alcohol or iodine on a fresh wound
  • · Don't wipe or rinse a wound that has stopped bleeding: you will dislodge the clot
  • · Don't pull out an object that is stuck in the body
Call now

Eye injury or sudden red, painful eye

Signs
  • · The eye is shut or squeezed and watering heavily
  • · Redness, cloudiness or a visible scratch or wound
  • · The pet rubs the eye with a paw or on the floor
  • · The eye bulges out of its socket
Do NOW
  • · Call us and come in at once: delay can damage sight
  • · Stop it rubbing: use a protective cone if you have one, otherwise keep the pet still on the way
  • · If a chemical got in (e.g. detergent), flush immediately with plenty of clean water or saline and set off
  • · If the eye bulges out, cover it with gauze soaked in saline and go without delay
Avoid
  • · Don't use human drops or ointments, or leftovers from an old treatment: they can make the damage worse
  • · Don't try to pull out an object that is stuck in the eye
  • · Don't wait for it to «pass on its own»
Call now

Choking or something stuck in the throat

Signs
  • · Intense coughing or gagging, retching that brings nothing up
  • · Drooling, pawing at the mouth, mouth open
  • · Difficulty breathing, blue or pale gums, panic
  • · Fainting or collapse
Do NOW
  • · Call us and set off for the clinic immediately, even if the pet seems to have eased
  • · Keep it as calm as you can: panic and squeezing make things worse
  • · If it loses consciousness, open the mouth and carefully remove whatever you can see, without pushing it deeper, and continue to the clinic
Avoid
  • · Don't try to open the mouth of a panicking pet: you risk a bite and the object may lodge deeper
  • · Don't push your fingers deep into the throat
  • · Don't give water or food to «wash it down»
  • · Don't wait for improvement
Call now

Burn or scald

Signs
  • · Reddened, blistered, or white and hard skin
  • · Hair that comes out easily, singed fur or whiskers
  • · Pain, licking, restlessness (deep burns may not hurt at all)
  • · Burns in the mouth or on the lips after biting a cable
Do NOW
  • · If an electric cable is the cause, switch off the power before touching the pet
  • · Cool the area with cool (not ice-cold) water or cool damp compresses
  • · Cover loosely with clean damp gauze and call us: most burns need to be examined
  • · Set off for the clinic, keeping the pet calm, warm and still
Avoid
  • · Don't apply butter, oil, toothpaste or any greasy ointment
  • · Don't put ice on the burn
  • · Don't break blisters and don't pull off anything stuck to the skin
  • · Don't assume a burn is mild because it doesn't hurt

Pet first-aid kit

Get it ready before you need it, keep it in a box in a fixed place and print the list. The supplies help you stabilize the pet until you reach the clinic; they do not replace an examination.

  • Saline or clean water
    For rinsing wounds and eyes
  • Sterile gauze
    For pressing on bleeding and covering a wound
  • Non-stick pads
    So the dressing does not stick to the wound
  • Self-adhesive elastic bandage
    Holds the dressing without sticking to the fur
  • Blunt-tipped scissors
    For cutting bandage or fur around a wound
  • Digital rectal thermometer and lubricant
    To take the temperature before you call
  • Tweezers or a tick remover
    To remove a tick safely
  • Towel or blanket
    For carrying, warming and restraining
  • Soft cloth or muzzle
    To prevent bites from a pet in pain (not if it has trouble breathing or is vomiting)
  • Protective cone
    So it does not lick or rub a wound or an eye
  • Carrier or a sturdy leash
    For safe transport to the clinic
  • Flashlight and disposable gloves
    To check the mouth, eyes and wounds
  • Clinic phone numbers: 26210 20908 · 698 101 0706
    Written on paper in the box and saved on your phone
  • A copy of the vaccination record and medical history
    So we know at once what has been done

Do not keep human medicine in the box to give to the pet: many are dangerous. Check the kit every 6 months and replace anything expired.

— 24/7 ON CALL

In doubt? Call.

We're on call 24/7 for emergencies in Ilias and the wider region. Better that we tell you 'it's not serious' than for you to delay.

698 1010 706