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Pet Urgent & Emergency Care

When your pet needs help fast, Porter Square Veterinarian is here. We provide urgent and emergency veterinary care for dogs, cats, and pocket pets in Somerville and the surrounding community, offering a responsive, experienced team when your pet can’t wait for a routine appointment.

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What Is Pet Urgent & Emergency Care?

Pet urgent and emergency care covers a range of situations that fall outside the scope of a scheduled wellness visit—from sudden illness and injury to concerning symptoms that need same-day attention. While a true veterinary emergency involves an immediate threat to your pet’s life, urgent care addresses conditions that are serious enough to require prompt evaluation but may not be immediately life-threatening.

Understanding the difference between an urgent situation and a full emergency can be difficult in the moment. When in doubt, we encourage you to call us. Our team can help you assess your pet’s situation over the phone and guide you on the appropriate next steps, whether that means coming in right away or heading to an after-hours emergency facility.

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When to Seek Urgent or Emergency Care

Knowing when to seek immediate veterinary attention can make a critical difference in your pet’s outcome. Some situations that warrant urgent or emergency care include:

  • Difficulty breathing, persistent coughing, or labored respiration
  • Vomiting or diarrhea accompanied by lethargy, loss of appetite, or blood
  • Suspected ingestion of a toxic substance, foreign object, or medication
  • Trauma, including being struck by a vehicle, a fall from height, or a bite wound
  • Inability to urinate, particularly in male cats
  • Sudden weakness or collapse
  • Pale gums
  • Significant swelling of the abdomen

This list is not exhaustive. If something about your pet’s behavior or condition feels wrong, trust your instincts and reach out to our team.

Same-Day Urgent Care at Porter Square Veterinarian

One of the ways we support our clients is through same-day urgent care for pets who need attention sooner than a routine appointment allows. We understand that health concerns don’t always arise on a predictable schedule, and we do our best to accommodate pets who need to be seen quickly.

If your pet is experiencing a non-life-threatening but time-sensitive issue, call our team as early in the day as possible. We’ll assess the situation and do our best to get your pet in for an evaluation. Having in-house laboratory testing and pet X-rays and ultrasound capabilities means our team can move efficiently from assessment to diagnosis without sending you elsewhere for basic diagnostics.

After-Hours Emergency Resources

Porter Square Veterinarian operates during our standard business hours, and we recognize that pet emergencies don’t always happen at convenient times. If your pet experiences a life-threatening emergency outside of our operating hours, please proceed directly to the nearest 24-hour emergency veterinary facility rather than waiting for our office to open. We maintain an emergency information page on our website with resources to help you find after-hours emergency care in the Somerville area.

We also encourage all pet owners to keep the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center number on hand—(888) 426-4435—as a resource for suspected poisoning situations at any hour.

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How We Handle Urgent Cases

When an urgent or emergency patient arrives at Porter Square Veterinarian, our team prioritizes a rapid but thorough assessment. We’ll begin by evaluating your pet’s vital signs and overall condition to determine the severity of the situation and establish the most pressing concerns. From there, we develop a focused care plan and communicate clearly with you about what we’re doing and why.

Our in-house diagnostic capabilities allow us to run blood work and other laboratory tests quickly, giving our team the information needed to make informed decisions without unnecessary delays. We also perform a range of procedures in-house, from wound care and fluid therapy to more involved interventions, depending on what your pet’s condition requires.

A Responsive Team When Your Pet Needs It Most

Porter Square Veterinarian has been a trusted urgent care vet for the Somerville community for nearly forty years. Our team brings experience, in-house diagnostic capabilities, and a genuine commitment to your pet’s well-being to every urgent situation we encounter. We understand the anxiety that comes with an unwell pet, and we’re here to provide steady, capable care when you need it most.

FAQs About Pet Urgent & Emergency Care

Should I call before coming in for urgent care?

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Yes, calling ahead whenever possible allows our team to prepare for your pet's arrival and give you guidance on how to safely transport your pet if they are injured or in distress. In a true life-threatening emergency, proceed directly to the nearest 24-hour emergency facility if we are closed.

What if my pet needs care outside of your hours?

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We maintain a dedicated emergency information page on our website with resources for after-hours emergency veterinary care in the Somerville area. We recommend bookmarking this page so you have it readily available if you ever need it after hours.

How is urgent care different from an emergency visit?

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Urgent care addresses conditions that need prompt attention but are not immediately life-threatening, such as a pet with persistent vomiting, a minor laceration, or an ear infection causing significant discomfort. Emergency care involves situations where a pet's life may be at immediate risk, such as difficulty breathing, collapse, or suspected poisoning. Both warrant a call to our team as soon as possible.

My pet swallowed something—what should I do?

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Call us immediately and be prepared to describe what your pet ingested, how much, and when. If we are closed, contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 or proceed to the nearest 24-hour emergency veterinary facility. Do not attempt to induce vomiting at home unless directed to do so by a veterinarian or poison control professional.

Do you see pocket pets for urgent care?

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Yes. We provide urgent care for small mammals as well as dogs and cats. If your pocket pet is showing signs of illness or distress, please call our team so we can assess the situation and advise on next steps.

Experienced Care for Life’s Unexpected Moments

Pet emergencies are stressful, unpredictable, and often frightening—but having a knowledgeable, responsive veterinary team on your side makes a meaningful difference. At Porter Square Veterinarian, we’re proud to serve as a trusted resource for pet urgent and emergency care throughout the greater Boston area, bringing nearly four decades of experience to every patient who needs us most.