General Practice, Urgent Care, or Emergency Clinic: What’s The Difference And Where Should You Go?

Note: If your pet is experiencing a medical emergency outside of our normal business hours, please contact your nearest emergency veterinary clinic! You can reference our website for a comprehensive list of Portland-area ER hospitals.

When your pet needs care, choosing where to go can feel overwhelming. It’s especially stressful if you don’t know how urgent the situation is. This blog will help you make informed decisions about where to seek care!

What Can Mountainside Veterinary Hospital Do For Your Pets?

Not all veterinary clinics are the same. Just like human medicine has different clinics for different services, there are important distinctions between emergency, urgent care, and general practice hospitals. When in doubt, call your vet!
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Mountainside Veterinary Hospital is a general practice, which makes us your pet’s primary care provider. We see pets by appointment for preventative care such as wellness exams, vaccine updates, routine diagnostics, and chronic condition management.

As a full-service hospital, we also have the ability to see same-day and urgent appointments! This could include everything from minor illnesses to more urgent situations. When your pet is sick or injured, our team can triage and provide supportive care, making sure they get the very best care possible.
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Our services include:

• Continuous, personalized care for your pet’s entire lifetime
• Preventative medicine (ex. vaccines and parasite prevention)
• Advanced diagnostics and disease detection
• Chronic condition management
• General and laparoscopic surgeries

What if my pet needs to be seen urgently?

Whether it’s your first visit or you’re a long-standing client, your pets’ well-being comes first! When you call with an urgent medical concern, we do our best to facilitate same-day or next-day appointments. Urgent health concerns might include:

• Abscesses and wounds
• Sudden onset of limping
• Hot spots, rashes, and other skin conditions
• Frequent vomiting or diarrhea
• Straining to urinate
• Allergic reactions
• Seizures or collapse
• Difficulty breathing or a sudden onset of cough

For urgent appointments, our certified veterinary technicians use over-the-phone triage to make sure we’re prepared to give your pet the best care possible. When you arrive, we’ll get your pet into the treatment room quickly for hands-on assessment and stabilization as needed. While each urgent case is different, you can always expect clear communication from our doctors and support staff as we care for your pet.

What if my pet is experiencing a medical emergency?

When your pet is experiencing a life-threatening emergency, every minute counts! We recommend taking pets to your closest veterinary hospital during a medical emergency. Emergency visits to Mountainside Veterinary Hospital receive the same level of care and attention that urgent visits do. Examples of emergencies include:

• Difficulty breathing or gasping
• Seizure, shock, or unconsciousness
• Collapse or sudden inability to walk
• Severe trauma (ex. hit by a car, serious fall, animal attack)
• Uncontrolled bleeding from a wound or any orifice
• Poison/toxin ingestion
• Urinary blockage in male cats
• Heatstroke or hypothermia from cold exposure

When you arrive, our first priority is getting your pet stabilized and on necessary supportive care. That may mean taking your pet straight to the treatment room for assessment and life-saving interventions.
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Next steps will depend on your pet’s injury or condition. In our hospital, we can provide supportive care and treatments and perform advanced diagnostics—x-ray, ultrasound, and labs. While we are not a 24/7 facility, we can coordinate transfer to an emergency hospital if your pet requires overnight hospitalization and monitoring.

When To Go To Urgent Care

​Urgent care clinics have extended weekday hours and weekend appointments. If your pet is experiencing an urgent medical concern outside of your regular vet’s business hours, an urgent care clinic should be able to see your pet quickly!

Most urgent care clinics do not offer overnight care, but can help coordinate transferring your pet to an emergency clinic if needed.​ After an urgent care visit, your general practice vet will receive medical records for follow-up care.

Benefits of urgent care clinics:

• Extended/weekend hours
• Bridge the gap between general practice and emergency clinics
• Partner with general practices for record transfer and ongoing care

When To Go To An Emergency Hospital

Emergency veterinary hospitals have 24/7 staffing and the ability to hospitalize patients who need hands-on, continuous care overnight.

Emergency hospitals treat life-threatening cases first. Less urgent cases may wait longer. For non-emergencies, urgent care is often quicker and more affordable.

Deciding Where To Go

So, how do you decide where to go when your pet isn’t feeling well? Start by asking yourself:

• Is my pet conscious and responsive?
• Are my pet’s symptoms mild, moderate, or getting worse rapidly?
• Has my pet been eating and drinking water normally?
• Is my pet able to urinate and defecate normally?

If your pet is unconscious, non-responsive, or has rapidly worsening symptoms, head to your nearest hospital. For new but mild-to-moderate symptoms, you may want to call your general practice for help determining urgency. In ALL cases, you should trust your instincts! If something feels truly wrong, it’s important to seek veterinary care and advice as soon as possible.

Your Veterinary Team In Every Situation

We’re here to support you and your pets through stressful medical situations, and we do our best to facilitate same-day appointments. In the rare event that we’re unable to see your pet, our team can help triage their condition over the phone and coordinate referral to a local urgent care or emergency clinic.

When your pet isn’t feeling their best, it’s normal to feel uncertain about what to do. The good news is that you don’t have to navigate those decisions on your own! Whether your pet needs same-day care, guidance on whether a concern is urgent, or a referral to an emergency hospital, our team is here to help you understand your options and take the next best step.

When in doubt, reach out—early intervention can make all the difference in getting your pet the care they need, when they need it most.
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