a real vet, a real answer
Ask a Vet
Ask a question about your pet and get a written answer back from a person, never an algorithm. It is free for pet owners and there is no card required. Answers come from a US-licensed veterinarian, a veterinary student, or the PawsRx team, and every answer says plainly which one wrote it. Whoever it is, it is general guidance to help you decide what to do next, not a diagnosis, and nothing here should be used to change a medication without asking your own vet. If your pet may be in danger right now, contact a local emergency veterinary clinic instead.
before you ask
What to expect from Ask a Vet
Does it cost anything?
- No. There is no charge to pet owners and no card is asked for.
Who answers?
- A US-licensed veterinarian on PawsRx, a veterinary student, or the PawsRx team, and every answer says which. The veterinarians are independent practitioners who chose to be listed here, not employees.
How long does an answer take?
- There is no promised time. You can post at any hour, and a question reaches the licensed veterinarians on PawsRx the moment it is posted. An answer comes when one of them is free, usually in daytime hours, and that can be the same day or several days. If your pet may be in danger now, a 24-hour emergency hospital is the right call, not a written question. Who actually answers at night.
Is the answer a diagnosis?
- No. An answer is general guidance to help you decide what to do next. Nobody here has examined your animal, so it is not a diagnosis, not a prescription, and not a reason to change a medication without your own veterinarian.
Which animals can I ask about?
- Any. Dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, birds, reptiles, fish and horses all come through here. If you need a practice that sees your species, the directory lists more than 24,000 practices and can be searched by species. Search the directory by species.
Is my question public?
- Private, unless you choose to share it in the community. If you share it and a licensed veterinarian answers, the answer is posted on that thread under the veterinarian's name. Answers a veterinarian chooses to publish also appear in the answer library, without your account details.
Can I ask in Spanish?
- Yes. The form opens in Spanish for a Spanish-language browser, and a question written in Spanish is welcome.