How do I choose a good vet?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Choose a registered veterinary practitioner close to home, with a clean clinic and staff who handle your pet gently, explain the options and likely costs before treatment, and keep proper records. Ask before you need it where they send emergencies at night. In India, only a vet on a veterinary register may practise veterinary medicine.
Register with a vet soon after you get a pet, not in the middle of a crisis, and stay with one practice so your pet's history is in one place. Save the number of the nearest 24-hour vet in your phone today.
Who is allowed to treat my pet in India?
A registered veterinary practitioner. Check that first, then everything else.
Section 30 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984 says no person other than a registered veterinary practitioner shall practise veterinary medicine in any State. A State Government may let certain diploma or certificate holders give minor veterinary services, such as vaccination, castration and dressing wounds, but only under the supervision of a registered vet.
The Act sets up a State Veterinary Register in each state and the Indian Veterinary Practitioners' Register, which lists people with recognised veterinary qualifications. Registered vets are entitled to a certificate of registration under section 25. Section 56 makes it an offence for an unregistered person to take or use the description of a veterinary practitioner. Asking a new clinic for the vet's registration with the State Veterinary Council is a reasonable question, and a good clinic will not mind it.
What should I look for in a vet clinic?
Cats Protection's guide for owners lists what to weigh up. It is written for cats, and holds for dogs too.
- Location: near enough to reach quickly in an emergency, in Indian traffic. Cats Protection
- A caring, approachable vet you can ask questions of and trust. Cats Protection
- Facilities: diagnostic equipment such as ultrasound, X-ray and a laboratory, a clean operating theatre, and quiet, suitable wards. Cats Protection
- Cleanliness and hygiene in the reception area and on uniforms. Cats Protection
- Opening hours and the chance of an appointment at short notice for urgent problems. Cats Protection
- Further qualifications that matter for your pet, and clinics for older pets or behaviour. Cats Protection
- For cats: separate waiting areas or times, and cat-only or cat-friendly wards, which make visits less stressful. Cats Protection
- Parking and convenience, and whether home visits are offered, if you need them. Cats Protection
What should I ask on the first visit?
Short questions that tell you how the clinic works before you need it.
- After hours
- What happens at night and on holidays, and the number to call. Some practices run their own night service; others refer to another clinic. Cats Protection
- Costs
- Practices set their own fees and can give their charges for consultations and routine procedures on request. Before tests or treatment, the vet should explain the options and the likely cost so you can give informed consent. Cats Protection
- Referrals
- Where they send cases that need a specialist or equipment they lack, and that they will send your pet's history with the referral. Cats Protection
- Records
- Whether they keep clinical records and will share them if you move. Using many vets without telling them can be dangerous, because allergies and drug reactions get missed. Cats Protection
- Registration
- The vet's registration with the State Veterinary Council under the Indian Veterinary Council Act. Department of Animal Husbandry, Government of Punjab
What kinds of vet hospitals are there in Indian cities?
Most owners use a private clinic for routine care. Know the public and charitable options too, especially for nights.
Public
Government veterinary hospitals
Run by state animal husbandry departments. In Delhi, the government hospital at Tis Hazari says it has run 24x7 on all days since July 2018. Development Department (Animal Husbandry Unit), Government of NCT of Delhi
University
Veterinary college hospitals
Teaching hospitals of the state veterinary universities. The Madras Veterinary College hospital of TANUVAS in Chennai states round-the-clock emergency services. TANUVAS, Madras Veterinary College
Trust or SPCA
Charitable hospitals
Run by trusts and welfare societies. Mumbai's Bombay SPCA hospital in Parel says it serves emergency cases 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals (Bombay SPCA)
Private
Private clinics and hospitals
The usual first choice for routine care. Hours, facilities and emergency cover vary widely, so ask each one directly.
What if I need a vet tonight and do not have one?
If Your pet cannot breathe properly, has collapsed, is bleeding heavily, or has eaten poison
Go to the nearest 24-hour vet now and phone on the way. Our city vet lists show which hospitals say they open round the clock. PDSA
If You are not sure whether it can wait until morning
Call the 24-hour clinic and describe the signs; our guide to the signs that need a vet now helps you decide. PDSA
If A sitter is caring for your pet
Write your vet's number and the nearest 24-hour vet on the care sheet before you leave. RSPCA (England and Wales)
Should I stay with one vet?
Where you can, yes. Cats Protection advises registering with a vet as soon as possible after getting a pet, certainly before one is needed in an emergency, and warns that using more than one practice, or changing often, can be risky because a new vet may not know about allergies, drug reactions or current treatment. If you change vets, the new practice can usually ask the old one for your pet's clinical history.
A second opinion is a different matter: it is reasonable for a serious diagnosis or a costly operation. Ask your own vet to refer you and send the records, so the second vet works from the full picture.
Petym sitters will each name a 24-hour vet within reach before they host any pet, and in an emergency the sitter calls you and takes your pet to the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list. Petym is not taking bookings yet.
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
Questions owners ask
How do I check if a vet is registered in India?
- Under the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984, every practising vet must be on a State Veterinary Register, and registered vets are entitled to a certificate of registration. Ask the clinic for the vet's registration number with the State Veterinary Council; your state council can confirm it.
Can a compounder or assistant treat my pet?
- Only within limits. Section 30 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act lets a State Government allow certain diploma or certificate holders to give minor services, such as vaccination, castration and dressing wounds, under a registered vet's supervision. Diagnosis and treatment are for a registered vet.
Do I need a 24-hour vet near me?
- You need to know where one is. Many clinics close at night. Ask your vet where they send emergencies, and save that number. Petym's city vet lists show hospitals that say they run round the clock, such as Delhi's government hospital at Tis Hazari.
Is it fine to see a different vet every time?
- It is better not to. Cats Protection warns that using several practices can be dangerous, because a new vet may not know about allergies, drug reactions or current treatment. Stay with one practice, and ask for your pet's records to be sent when you change or seek a second opinion.
Should my vet tell me the cost before treatment?
- Yes. Cats Protection says the vet should explain the options and the likely cost before tests or treatment, so you can give informed consent, and that practices can supply their charges for consultations and routine procedures on request. Extra charges can arise if complications occur.
Keep reading
- Find a vet in your city24-hour, government and charitable hospitals by city.
- Signs your pet needs a vet nowWhen it cannot wait until morning.
- Pet first aid basicsWhat to do on the way to the vet.
- How do I choose a dog walker?The same care in choosing a walker.
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Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- Department of Animal Husbandry, Government of Punjab: The Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984 (full text) (opens in a new tab)
- Cats Protection: You and your vet (Veterinary Guide 19, PDF; file dated January 2016) (opens in a new tab)
- Development Department (Animal Husbandry Unit), Government of NCT of Delhi: 24 x 7 emergency services veterinary hospital, Tis Hazari (opens in a new tab)
- TANUVAS, Madras Veterinary College: Madras Veterinary College clinics (opens in a new tab)
- Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals (Bombay SPCA): Hospital services (opens in a new tab)
- PDSA: Emergency care for pets (opens in a new tab)
- RSPCA (England and Wales): Pet sitting (opens in a new tab)