8 Health Care Hotlines You Can Call If You Need Help With Your Pet

We miss them when we’re away, take way too many photos to show how cute they are, and engage in meaningful conversation every night. Just so we’re clear, we are talking about non-human family members here! Many of us pet parents whole-heartedly think of our pets as our children, just a little hairier with drool and a knack for getting away with more. We love our furry children so much that when they are not feeling well we drop everything to tend to their needs.

Pets cannot tell us what’s wrong or why they are sick; they fully rely on us, and tryst us, to figure it out. The good news is pet parents are good at following their intuition and know a pet’s normal behavior patterns versus unusual behavior. You know to contact your veterinarian when a pet displays worrisome symptoms such as sudden lethargy and uncontrolled vomiting, or if an older pet becomes unable to eat their food you go to the Internet to find the best food for senior pets.

While many health concerns are minor and others major requiring a vet’s attention, you may simply have a non-emergency question or just wish to be informed in order to better care for your pets. Good news! There are a number of health care hotlines you can call when you need help with your pet. Here, we’ve listed eight pet health care hotlines complete with websites, phone numbers, and hotline hours.

1. Hartz Flea & Tick Control Hotline

About: Hotline for information on flea and tick control

Pets they can help with: dogs, cats, small animals, birds, fish, reptiles

Phone: 1-800-275-1414, optional email form

Hotline hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET

2. Purina Pet Care

About: General questions about pet care and behavior

Pets they can help with: Dogs and cats

Phone: 1-800-551-7392, optional email form

Hotline hours: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT

3. IAMS Pet Nutrition Line

About: Hotline offers free consultation and calls about pet nutrition and care information

Pets they can help with: Dogs and cats

Phone: 1-800-525-4267

Hotline hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

4. ProPlan Pet Nutrition Line

About: Hotline offers pet nutrition help and information

Pets they can help with: Dogs and cats

Phone: 1-800-776-7526

Hotline hours: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

5. Purina Cat Chow Cat Care Hotline

About: A great resource of recorded information to assist cat owners in a variety of ways, includes cat tips

Pets they can help with: Cats (has a separate dog care section on website)

Phone: 1-800-228-2273

Hotline hours: Toll-free, 24-hour

6. Hill’s Pet Nutrition Line

About: Hotline offers free consultation and calls about pet nutrition information

Pets they can help with: Cats (has a separate dog section on website)

Phone: 1-800-445-5777

Hotline hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST

7. Alpo Pet Nutrition Line

About: Hotline offers pet nutrition information

Pets they can help with: Dogs

Phone: 1-800-366-6033

Hotline hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST

8. Camuti Memorial Feline Consultation & Diagnostic Service

About: Help hotline offered by Cornell Feline Health Center, Cornell University. Speak with a veterinarian about feline medical concerns.

Pets they can help with: Cats

Phone: 1-800-548-8937

Hotline hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday (excluding holidays) 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. & 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST

Green Monsters: Do you know of a fantastic pet health care help hotline or run one? Share it with us by submitting it to our Animal Rescue Hotline directory!

Image source: Mike Baird / Flickr