Emergency Care
Emergency Care 7 Days a Week
Urgent and emergency care for dogs, cats, and exotics, with in-house diagnostics and an ICU.
Emergency Care in Cedar Springs, MI
When your pet is hurt or suddenly sick, you need a team that picks up the phone, tells you what to do next, and is ready when you walk through the door. Cedar Animal Hospital provides urgent and emergency care seven days a week for dogs, cats, and exotic pets from Cedar Springs and all over West Michigan.
Understanding Emergency Care
Emergency care is treatment for illness or injury that can’t wait for a routine appointment. Some emergencies are obvious, like a car accident, a bite wound, or a pet that has collapsed. Others are quieter but just as serious, such as a dog straining to urinate, a cat hiding and refusing food, or a rabbit that has stopped eating. Our emergency team is trained to assess these situations quickly and decide what your pet needs first.
Our emergency wing was built for this work. It includes a comfortable family waiting room with a digital patient queue so you can follow your pet’s progress, private exam rooms, a dedicated exotics space, self-contained isolation rooms, and a large dog space. Because wellness, urgent, emergency, and exotics care all happen in one building, your pet can move from diagnosis to treatment, surgery, or intensive care without being sent somewhere else. We also work closely with your primary veterinarian so they stay informed about your pet’s visit and follow-up care.
What to Expect During an Emergency Visit
An emergency is stressful for everyone. Knowing how a visit works can make the drive in a little easier.
1. Call Us First
Please call before you leave home whenever you can. A member of our team will ask about your pet’s condition, give you any first-aid directions that may help on the way, and let our staff prepare for your arrival. We offer same-day emergency appointments whenever possible.
2. Triage on Arrival
When you arrive, a team member assesses your pet’s condition right away. Critical patients are seen immediately. Pets with less urgent problems are seen in order of medical need, which means wait times can change as new emergencies come in. You can watch your pet’s place in line on the digital queue in our waiting room.
3. Exam and In-House Diagnostics
A veterinarian performs a thorough exam and explains what may be going on. If tests are needed, we can usually run them on site, including bloodwork, urine testing, digital radiographs, ultrasound, and CT scans. Having results in the building helps us make decisions quickly.
4. Treatment Plan and Ongoing Care
We walk you through the treatment options and an estimate before we begin, so you can make an informed choice. Treatment may include medication, wound care, fluids, surgery in one of our surgical suites, or a stay in our in-house ICU with 24/7 nursing care. We keep you updated while your pet is with us.
Why Fast Emergency Care Matters
With many emergencies, the time between the first sign of trouble and the start of treatment affects how well a pet recovers.
Quicker Answers
Our in-house laboratory and imaging mean we can often find the cause of a problem the same day, without referring your pet to another location for testing.
Care Under One Roof
From triage to surgery to overnight monitoring in our ICU, your pet stays with one team that already knows their case.
Care for Exotic Pets Too
Birds, reptiles, and small mammals can hide illness until it is advanced. Our dedicated exotics space and veterinarians with exotics training, including Dr. Courtlandt Lyons, whose focus is exotics emergency medicine, help these patients get the right care quickly.
Signs Your Pet Needs Emergency Care
Call us right away if you notice any of the following:
- Trouble breathing, choking, or constant coughing
- Bleeding that won’t stop, bite wounds, or other trauma
- Seizures, collapse, or sudden weakness
- Straining or being unable to urinate or pass stool
- Repeated vomiting or diarrhea, or a swollen, painful belly
- Possible poisoning, or swallowing a toy, bone, or other object
- Difficulty giving birth
- Sudden limping or refusing to put weight on a leg
If you’re not sure whether something is an emergency, call. Our team will help you decide what to do next.
Our Emergency Hours
Urgent and emergency care is available seven days a week: Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 10 PM, and Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. You don’t need to be an existing client to be seen. If your regular veterinarian is unavailable, we’re glad to help and can send records of the visit to them.
Practice Highlights
- Seven-Day Emergency Care: Urgent and emergency appointments every day of the week
- In-House ICU: 24/7 nursing care for hospitalized patients
- Advanced In-Clinic Diagnostics: Full laboratory, digital radiography, ultrasound, and CT scan
- AAHA-Accredited: Meeting the American Animal Hospital Association’s standards for quality care
- Serving Pets Since 1993: Caring for West Michigan pets for more than three decades
Schedule Your Pet's Emergency Care Today
If your pet is having an emergency, call Cedar Animal Hospital right away at (616) 696-1212 so our team can tell you what to do and get ready for your arrival. We’re at 3705 Gentle Way, Cedar Springs, MI 49319, across the street from Meijer and behind Aldi.
Emergency Care: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an appointment for an emergency?
We ask that you call ahead whenever possible. Our team can give you directions over the phone and prepare for your pet before you arrive. Call (616) 696-1212 and we’ll let you know what to do next. Same-day emergency appointments are available whenever possible.
What are your emergency hours?
Urgent and emergency care is available seven days a week: Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 10 PM, and Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. Pets who need to stay with us can be cared for in our in-house ICU, which has 24/7 nursing care.
Can you see my pet if we aren’t regular clients?
Yes. We see emergency patients whether or not they are established with us. Let our team know who your primary veterinarian is and we’ll send them the records from your pet’s visit so they stay informed.
Why might another pet be seen before mine?
Emergency patients are seen in order of medical need, not arrival time. A pet with a life-threatening problem will be treated first. Every patient is checked on arrival, and our digital patient queue lets you follow your pet’s progress from the waiting room.
How much does an emergency visit cost?
The cost depends on your pet’s condition and the tests or treatment needed. We’ll go over a treatment plan and estimate with you before we begin. We accept cash, check, major credit cards, CareCredit, and Scratchpay. For questions, call (616) 696-1212.
