How to Prepare for a Vet Consultation with Your Pet

With pet ownership comes responsibilities. You will be responsible for providing food, water, a safe sleeping/living area and lots of love. You’ll also be responsible for finding a veterinarian to handle your pet’s routine medical care and emergencies should they arise. When you’re planning a consultation with a vet, there are certain preparations you can make that will be helpful to you and the vet.

How to Prepare for a Vet Consultation with Your Pet

Discussing a New Pet

When planning a consultation with a vet regarding a new pet, you should bring all the information you have regarding the pet. If it’s a rescue animal, bring whatever information you received from the organization you adopted the pet from. If you purchased the animal from a pet store or breeder, ask them to provide as much information as they can on the pet. Take this to the vet on your first visit. You should also take a list of questions you have about how to care for your new pet. Also, take a list of observations you may be concerned about such as eating habits or behavior issues.

Consulting with a Veterinary Specialist

If the times comes that you need to take your pet to a specialist, preparedness can be extremely helpful. You should either take your pet’s previous vet records with you or have your regular vet fax the records to the specialist. When you make the call to set up the appointment, you should inquire about the cost of a consultation so that you will be financially prepared. This would be the time to discuss what type of payment plan they have. It’s also the time to find out if they will assist you in filling out insurance forms if you have pet insurance.

Basic Information

It can be helpful to the specialist if you’ve made a list of your pet’s eating habits. That means writing down specific measurements such as one cup of food instead saying a ½ bowl of food. You should arrive at the pet consultation with your pet’s medicine in hand or a list of the medicine your pet takes. There is often a connection between a pet’s illness and a change in their behavior. It would be helpful if you made a list of your pet’s typical behavior and their recent change in behavior.

Online Forms

Some veterinarians have online forms you can fill out prior to your scheduled appointment. If you have this option, you should fill the forms out as meticulously as possible. The more information you can give the vet about your pet, the better insight they have as to how to help them.

Going to the vet can be stressful for both pet and owner. This is especially true in the case of an emergency or serious illness. Keeping pet records in a folder where you can easily grab them can be helpful in an emergency situation. It’s also a good idea to keep updated notes concerning your pet’s personality, diet and behavior in the folder with its vet records.