Urgent Care
Available for dogs & cats seven days a week!
Monday–Saturday: General Practice Appointments & Urgent Care
Sunday: Urgent Care Only
When possible, please call ahead or schedule through our online portal so we can prepare for your visit and ensure your pet is best served by urgent care rather than emergency care. We accept walk-ins as well.
Urgent care is here to fill the gap between wellness and emergency care situations. With our urgent care services, your pet will be able to receive treatment for an injury or illness that requires prompt medical attention but is not life-threatening. Pets experiencing a life-threatening injury or illness need to be seen at an emergency hospital.
Symptoms Treated at Urgent Care
- Vomiting or Diarrhea
- Minor Wounds
- Pain, Limping, Swelling
- Abscess
- Loss of Appetite
- Constipation
- Dehydration
- Itchy Skin, Rashes, Hives
- Eye & Ear Issues (infections, tearing, redness, discharge)
- Pale Gums
- Runny Nose, Coughing, or Sneezing
- Worms, Fleas, Ticks, or Mites
- Urinary Changes (blood in urine, change in frequency)
If your pet is experiencing an urgent medical condition, please call 949-837-7660 and come in.
If you think your pet has eaten something poisonous:
Call us at 949-837-7660 immediately! If after hours, contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center’s 24-hour hotline at (888) 426-4435. Trained toxicologists will consider the age and health of your pet, what was ingested, and then make a recommendation about what action should be taken.
What Is the Difference Between Pet Urgent Care vs Emergency Care?
One way to quickly determine where you should take your pet is to ask yourself if their condition can wait until their next vet appointment, needs prompt attention, or requires immediate care.
Pets experiencing a life-threatening injury or illness need to be seen at an emergency veterinary hospital. Here, patients will be prioritized and seen based on their condition’s severity. Animals experiencing a time sensitive emergency like cardiac arrest will be seen first. Pets with emergent yet less time-sensitive emergencies will be seen next. This group could apply to situations like allergic reactions.
Conditions Requiring Emergency Care
- Not eating or drinking for more than two days
- Weak or rapid pulse
- Choking
- Bloating
- Difficulty breathing
- Fall from a height
- Difficulty giving birth
- Serious trauma (hit by a car)
- Loss of consciousness
- Repeated seizures
- Paralysis
- Excessive or hard-to-control bleeding
Appointment Scheduling
Urgent Care appointments are not appointments in the traditional sense, but will reserve your pet’s place in order to see the doctor. Due to the nature of urgent care, appointment times are subject to change if another, life-threatening, case comes into the hospital during your scheduled time.
Payment
We accept all major credit cards, debit cards, checks, Care Credit, and Scratch Pay. Please Note: Urgent care visits incur a higher fee than traditional appointments because urgent cases require immediate attention, specialized medical resources, and dedicated staff to ensure your pet receives prompt, high-quality care. If you need a payment plan, we partner with Care Credit and Scratch Pay, both can be applied for online before arriving.
Visit Our Walk-in Pet Urgent Care
If you’ve noticed that something isn’t right with your pet, get them the veterinary care they need as soon as possible by visiting Lake Forest Animal Clinic. To learn more about our urgent care services or for questions, please call 949-837-7660 today.
