I am sitting on the third floor balcony at home. Although it is heavily barred, the bars are not close together enough that a cat could not squeeze between them. Therefore, Persi is looking through the window with his big blue Persian sad eyes, wanting to come out with me. Would a cat ever want to jump that far? I am too scared to even think of it. But it just occurred to me that if something were to happen to one of my cats and needed immediate attention, where could I take them? Do you have a vet that is available 24/7? I sure don't. Even the Animal Hospital located close to here has definate hours posted with no provisions for emergency calls.

Surely in a city the size of Dallas such a place exists, but I have not located it yet. Do you know where you could take your cat at 1 a.m. in the morning and know you could get immediate attention? In the past few weeks I have been to the ER twice, located only six blocks from here. I know where it is. Now I am feeling very guilty that I do not know where an ER for cats (animals) exists.

yes, i found one when Mouse was sick. it's a ways away - about 30 minutes from me. but i live in a small town, so that's the closest i could find.
nice to know it's there - altho it's REALLY pricey! but you get what you pay for - i was very pleased w/the treatment they gave Mouse.

this is the one closest to me: denton e-vet (http://www.dcaer.com/)
i found these links which might help you - the grapevine one should be pretty close!
e-vet listings for lewisville (http://www.hollis.yellowpagecity.com/US/TX/Lewisville/Veterinary+Emergency+Services)
grapevine e-vet (http://www.aehnt.com/)
vet listings for dallas (http://tx.allpages.com/dallas/health-medical/health-and-medical-centers/hospitals/animal-hospitals/) - [this is where i located the denton one]

yes, i found one when Mouse was sick. it's a ways away - about 30 minutes from me. but i live in a small town, so that's the closest i could find.
nice to know it's there - altho it's REALLY pricey! but you get what you pay for - i was very pleased w/the treatment they gave Mouse.

Since you do not live that far from me and since I am right by LBJ and the tollway and can get to most places around here in a hurry, please give me the info on where you took Mouse. :bigthumb: I have always heard of Sanger but don't know exactly where it is. (Like most of us big city folk.) Anyway, I can use that as a base and then try to find one closer. Thank you, Laureen.:)

There's 2 near me - one is an emergency vet that is only open after hours - from 6pm to about 8am from Monday to Friday, and then on Friday it stays open from 6pm all weekend until Monday morning.

There is also a vet hospital nearby that has staff available 24/7. They're both about the same distance away, but I guess I'd go to the vet hospital since they have better facilities.

I pray to never need to go where the er for cats is, but I do know its one city over. Don't know where exactly, and I've been meaning to look it up. Thans for bringing that up as I am going away for a few days, and the cat sitter will need that info.

Since you do not live that far from me and since I am right by LBJ and the tollway and can get to most places around here in a hurry, please give me the info on where you took Mouse. :bigthumb: I have always heard of Sanger but don't know exactly where it is. (Like most of us big city folk.) Anyway, I can use that as a base and then try to find one closer. Thank you, Laureen.:):lol2: just look direcly above your last post!

Lee, could you use some transparent fishnet inside the bars to secure the balcony, or isn't that permitted? Chicken wire would work as well, but might be too obvious.

We don't have a 24/7 emergency vet hospital around here, but we do have two county vets on call. Area vets used to rotate every week, until these two vets decided to semi-retire, and just be on "stand-by" nights and weekends.

If I were a vet, I'd get with a group of other vets, maybe 10 or 12, and either set up a small office we could all use and staff, or set up an answering service that would direct an owner to whatever office was currently staffed.

If I were a vet, I'd get with a group of other vets, maybe 10 or 12, and either set up a small office we could all use and staff, or set up an answering service that would direct an owner to whatever office was currently staffed.good idea! i'd like that!

When i moved house i rang around the vets in my area to check them out, and one of the questions i asked was where their 24 hour hospital was located incase of an emergency, fortunately 2 of the vets i rang said their hospitals were only a 10-15 minute drive from me :)

Lee, could you use some transparent fishnet inside the bars to secure the balcony, or isn't that permitted? Chicken wire would work as well, but might be too obvious.

You must live in a very restricted environment like I do, Tricia! Yes, in this townhome environment they have very strict rules that everybody must follow or I would have already put up the chicken wire. Transparent fishnet on the other hand is something I never thought of. I bet the "everybody look alike police" couldn't spot that up here on the third floor!:bigthumb:

Unfortunately, I know where my e-vet is, Pebbles spent the majority of two weekends there, and we had to go in Feb with our mum cat - just what you want at 6.30 on a Sun evening.

this is the one closest to me: denton e-vet (http://www.dcaer.com/)
i found these links which might help you - the grapevine one should be pretty close!
e-vet listings for lewisville (http://www.hollis.yellowpagecity.com/US/TX/Lewisville/Veterinary+Emergency+Services)
grapevine e-vet (http://www.aehnt.com/)
vet listings for dallas (http://tx.allpages.com/dallas/health-medical/health-and-medical-centers/hospitals/animal-hospitals/) - [this is where i located the denton one]


It is quite amazing that Denton county would have something like this and Dallas does not. But in going through the links you provided me I did come up with a most amazing place located very near Dallas that some of our Dallas members may be highly interested in. I certainly am. A place that only takes care of CATS: A hospital for only CATS! I could get up and dance! And they DO handle emergencies. Thanks Laureen, I had to go through about 50 URLs but I found what I wanted and even more so. My God, I never could have imagined a hospital just for cats! From right here, I can get there in twenty minutes (or if I take my Porsche and there are no police around, ten.):kisskiss: The person in the middle is you and the kissers are Persi & Alley.
http://www.cathospitaloflascolinas.com/

It is quite amazing that Denton county would have something like this and Dallas does not. But in going through the links you provided me I did come up with a most amazing place located very near Dallas that some of our Dallas members may be highly interested in. I certainly am. A place that only takes care of CATS: A hospital for only CATS! I could get up and dance! And they DO handle emergencies. Thanks Laureen, I had to go through about 50 URLs but I found what I wanted and even more so. My God, I never could have imagined a hospital just for cats! From right here, I can get there in twenty minutes (or if I take my Porsche and there are no police around, ten.):kisskiss: The person in the middle is you and the kissers are Persi & Alley.
http://www.cathospitaloflascolinas.com/awww... :blush2: aren't they sweet!

...or set up an answering service that would direct an owner to whatever office was currently staffed.
That's how it works here. You dial a county-wide area code, plus "tiernot" (animal emergency), and are connected with whoever is on call.
You must live in a very restricted environment like I do, Tricia! Yes, in this townhome environment they have very strict rules that everybody must follow or I would have already put up the chicken wire. Transparent fishnet on the other hand is something I never thought of. I bet the "everybody look alike police" couldn't spot that up here on the third floor!:bigthumb: Around here, people object to front balconies being "secured", but you can get away with secured back balconies. We have upstairs balconies both front and back, and have the latter secured with "cat net".
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/jcatpics/8cc52357.jpg

Jamie loves it, because he can see what's going on in our backyard, the neighbors' backyards, at a tile company with a lot of custom, and can see part of Main Street.

it's quite a bit further for me - Sanger is north of Denton, so it'd probably take me about an hour to get there, barring traffic & obeying speed laws.
if there's a race at the time, multiply that time by 3 :(

btw, there's also one that's probably even closer to you: Cross Timbers Animal Medical Center (http://www.aladdinanimalhospital.vetsuite.com/Templates/peek.aspx). they have an AAFP vet there, too!

Lee, the easiest thing to do is call the vet clinic near you. They can give you info on the nearest 24 hr clinic. (Pssst! Shoulda stayed in Plano ;) )

There is one on Bush, between Custer and Alma, on the south side of the highway. Exit Custer.

When i moved house i rang around the vets in my area to check them out

That's what I did too. I have a regular hours vet 2 minutes up the road in one direction, and an emergency clinic 2 minutes down the other way.

My usual vet is now 45 minutes away, so I wanted to check out the facilities close to me in case I ever need them. For annual check ups and non emergencies I will still use my usual vet.

The Er Vet here is closer then my Vet and I had to use it a few weeks ago because Coco was in the pan screaming with another Bladder Infection. Our Vet owns the Er Vet also. The old Er Vet where I used to live was about 12 Miles from me and Lucy died in the Truck going there. Both Ers are only open 8Pm-8Am Monday-Fridays and all day Satand Sun and Holidays.

Lee, the easiest thing to do is call the vet clinic near you. They can give you info on the nearest 24 hr clinic. (Pssst! Shoulda stayed in Plano ;) )

There is one on Bush, between Custer and Alma, on the south side of the highway. Exit Custer.
Hmmm, what's it's name? I can still get there fairly quickly. The bottom line with this CATS ONLY place is I have been wanting to find such a place. When in Plano I was using the BIRD AND ANIMAL clinic on Parker. I cannot figure out what the sign means but I can tell you when I would take one of my cats in and sit and wait and wait and wait, I would be waiting with people with snakes, rabbits, dogs of course, parrots and other birds, ferrets, etc.; on and on. I just could not feel that they could possibly understand cats like a place that ONLY handles cats. It may be a bit farther, but I am going to feel a lot better about a place dealing only in cats. I also called them and they said the on call vet is right by the hospital and can be at the hospital in five minutes which is faster than I can get there even in my Porsche. I now have their phone and address posted on my garage door.:nod:

I have 3 E-vets with in 30-45 mins of my house. They are emergency hospitals with full service which is very nice. I can tell you from experience though when driving 30mins with a cat having a asthma attack it is the longest 30 mins you will ever have.

http://www.emergencyanimalclinicdallas.com/

Lee, hope you never need it, but the best surgical group in Dallas (IMO) is on Trinity Mills, just west of the Tollway. In fact, the whole building is full of specialty vets services (opthamology, dermatology, internal medicine, surgery, physical therapy). You have to have a referral from your vet, it isn't cheap, but it is an outstanding place.
When they did surgery on my golden, they used all sorts of techniques/equipment/procedures/monitoring that you would expect to see used in a human hospital. Pain patches, heplocks (part of IV tubing), scheduled visitation times (they work the pain med schedule so your pet is alert when you come in - yet still comfortable).

I'm very lucky. There's a good vet hospital in my city, with a 24/7 emergency room. We've only had to use it once, thank goodness. It certainly wasn't cheap, but I was pleased with their service. I often think that if I ever decide to move, having a good vet service nearby would be something to keep in mind.

I have a 24 hour emergency vet within walking distance of me. I was very happy when they opened last fall. :)

We have an e-vet open after the other vet's regular hours, as well as a 24/7 vet both fairly central in the (small compared to Dallas) city. My vet has taken calls from me before and I have the numbers of some of the local vets in case there is a shelter emergency too.

The two open after hours are further than my vet but both within a 15 minute drive.

I have 3 ERs in my town. Two are 24/7 and one is 6PM to 6AM. The hospital is fantastic. They do all sorts of outreach. They will do free care for a sick stray or feral. They saved Mary and Seldon's lives. It is state of the art and is in a beautiful new building. They even have ambulances.
My vet is 10 minutes away at the most. The ER is 5. Another ER is 15 and the last one is in the suburbs 30 minutes away.
We do have cat only vets but I am happy with the vet I have.

There is a 24 hour E-vet about 5 minutes from me, which is great. Parking is a huge problem though since its street parking only in a very busy area.

http://www.emergencyanimalclinicdallas.com/

Lee, hope you never need it, but the best surgical group in Dallas (IMO) is on Trinity Mills, just west of the Tollway. In fact, the whole building is full of specialty vets services (opthamology, dermatology, internal medicine, surgery, physical therapy). You have to have a referral from your vet, it isn't cheap, but it is an outstanding place.
When they did surgery on my golden, they used all sorts of techniques/equipment/procedures/monitoring that you would expect to see used in a human hospital. Pain patches, heplocks (part of IV tubing), scheduled visitation times (they work the pain med schedule so your pet is alert when you come in - yet still comfortable).
Well, thanks! I never came across this place in my (I thought) extensive search. Living near the freeways, I can get there quite fast despite the distance.:wavey:

There are several animal emergency clinics in my area. The closest one is about 10 minutes from my house, and I've had to go there several times although thankfully only once for something life-threatening (when my dog bloated.)

My e-vet is a little over a half hour away, I (luckily) have not been there in over a year, but like Meowmy Aprile said, that half hour can be the longest drive in the world when: your cat is having a seizure or just chewed on an electrical wire and fried herself :cringe:

glad you found somewhere you are excited about!

I have several pet ERs in my area as well, the closest one about 15 minutes away. I have never had to take a kitty there (knock on wood), but I did go there with a dog about 7 years ago. I have called them on a couple occasions on weekends for reassurance that my pet could wait to see my regular vet on Monday. ;)

My emergency vet is the same as my regular vet. Here, all vets are legally required to provide 24 hour cover. They don't actually have to provide out of hours cover themselves, but they have to arrange for someone to cover when they are closed. Of course, that does have disadvantages in that you pretty much have to go to the out of hours vet that covers your practice and can't pick and choose. I'm lucky in that my vets provide their own out of hours cover and are just a 10 minute drive away.

My cat knocked the screen off the window and snuck out. She was attacked by a dog and managed to sneak back in at about 11 at night.. I took her to an emergency vet clinic in Bedford it is pretty nice. But be prepared it is pricey. My bill ended up being just under 1000. THe office visit alone was 60.

I don't know about in the US, but here in South America almost ALL vets have emergency phone numbers you can call whenever. You do have to wait about a half our or so for the vet to show up, but you CAN call whenever.

We had to do this once with our kitten in Peru. Luckily the vet happened to live upstairs from the vet's office.