Veterinary Critical Care
Critical Care for Dogs & Cats in Tucson
Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson has a critical care specialist who has advanced training in treating pets experiencing serious illness or injury. When your pet is in our care, they will be continually monitored and we will be there to respond to any rapidly changing conditions.
Our Critical Care Services
If your dog or cat gets injured or falls ill, they may require urgent veterinary care to save their life or ease their discomfort.
Our criticalist, Dr. Jennifer Klaus, receives patients through our Emergency department or as internal transfers from other specialty services. Critical patients may also be referred by primary care veterinarians.
When pets are in our care, they will receive constant and ongoing intensive care from our highly trained staff. We monitor their condition and support their recovery with:
- Continuous and intensive monitoring for pets in critical condition
- Electronic patient monitoring equipment to track your pet's vitals
- Onsite access to state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment options
What is a Board-Certified Veterinary Criticalist?
To become a board-certified veterinary criticalist, a veterinarian must complete extensive specialized training in the field of emergency and critical care. During their residency program, the criticalist is exposed to a wide variety of complex emergency and critical cases which helps them prepare for just about anything that can happen to your pet.
Critical Care Cases in Tucson
Your pet may require urgent care from our criticalist if they have been seriously injured or develops a health issue that requires consistent monitoring, treatment and therapies over an extended period of time – whether that be hours, days or even weeks.
Any health condition that requires extended or complex treatments, drug therapies or continual monitoring will likely fall under the purview of critical care. The following are some examples of health issues that may require care in our ICU:
- Traumas (hit by car, dog fights, burns)
- Difficulty breathing (e.g: oxygen support for congestive heart failure, airway disease)
- Metabolic disturbances (e.g: organ failure, shock, diabetic ketoacidosis)
- Toxicities (e.g: rattlesnake bites, poisoning)
- Not responding well to current treatments or post-anesthesia
FAQs About Veterinary Critical Care
The following are some of the most common questions our veterinary team receives about critical care services at our hospital in Tucson.
- Why would my pet need critical care?
Any pet that is seriously ill or injured would benefit from this type of specialist care.
A pet may experience complications from an injury or illness from physical trauma, poisoning, neurological conditions, or reactions to anesthesia or surgical treatment. Sometimes, patients with injuries can also go into shock or experience organ failure.
Patients requiring frequent blood pressure monitoring, oxygen support, heart monitoring, electrolyte/acid-base blood work monitoring, frequent blood sugar monitoring, intravenous fluids, blood transfusions, etc. are typically ones that may need a specialist.
- What is the difference between veterinary emergency and critical care?
There is some overlap between critical care and emergency services, as both deal with seriously ill or injured animals. However, there are some important key between these two types of veterinary care.
Veterinary emergency services treat pets that are suffering from acute serious illness or injury requiring intensive and immediate care.
While veterinary critical care services also treat serious injury and illness, these veterinarians do so in cases where animals need complex treatments, intensive or continual monitoring and crate rest in a medical environment to help them recover.
So, though patients may be transferred to critical care after triage and treatment in emergency services, not all emergencies will require critical care.
Likewise, in circumstances where a pet has undergone major planned surgery, they will need critical care to remain stable and start their recovery without ever having been a veterinary emergency case.
- What can I expect from the treatment process in intensive care?
Your pet may be transferred from the emergency department, another specialty department at Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson or as a referral from your general practice veterinarian.
After your pet arrives, the criticalist will examine your dog or cat and discuss the most likely causes for your pet's issues before creating a diagnostic and intensive care plan. Your pet will be carefully monitored to allow them the best chance at a full recovery.
The critical care team will communicate extensively with you and the patient’s regular veterinarian to ensure seamless healthcare.
- Can I call the hospital to check up on my pet?
Yes, you absolutely can get in touch with us to check in on your pet's health and status while they are in critical care at our facility.
Rest assured, though, that if there is any problem or change in your pet's condition, we will contact you promptly for information or updates about your dog or cat's health.
- When do your critical care services operate?
Our criticalist is available to receive new patients Tuesday through Friday and is supported by the Emergency Department for 7-day-a-week care. Our Emergency and Critical Care Team works together to provide treatment and attentive monitoring of your pet's health.
- How long will my pet have to remain in critical care?
A critical care unit at a veterinary hospital works somewhat similarly to a human hospital — while we may be able to provide an estimate of your pet's length of stay with us, factors may arise that impact that timeline.
We aren't able to predict if and when your pet's condition will change or a complication will occur, but rest assured we will communicate with you as much as possible about any changes in your dog or cat's condition while in our care and what that means for the duration of their stay.
- Will you keep in touch with our primary care veterinarian?
Yes, we will keep your primary care veterinarian updated on your pet's conditions while they are undergoing critical care.
We will provide your primary care vet with your pet's medical history and files to ensure your pet receives seamless, integrated care when they return home and are seen by your vet for routine care and checkups.