Subcutaneous fluid therapy
Fluids under the skin for pets on regular therapy, most often cats with kidney disease. A calm, practised setup makes it quick.
🕘 Plan for about 30 minutes. PetHour keeps 15 minutes between a caregiver's visits for travel and handoff.
Before the booking
- Show the full setup: bag height, needle size, the volume, and where on the body you give fluids. A marker line on the bag helps.
- Write down your vet's instructions: the medication or treatment, the dose, the timing, how to give it, and what to do if a dose is missed or refused.
- Leave medication in its original labelled packaging, enough for the whole booking plus a spare day, and show how it's stored.
- Show the caregiver how you give it — in person if you can. Every pet has its own way of taking (or dodging) medicine.
- Add your vet and the nearest emergency clinic to the booking, and tell your vet a caregiver is helping.
What usually goes wrong
- A fluid pocket under the skin
- A soft lump that shrinks over a few hours is normal. Swelling that spreads down the legs, or doesn't go down, should be reported.
- A dose is missed or late
- Follow the vet's written plan for missed doses. Never double up without asking the owner or the vet.
- The pet spits it out or refuses
- Use the method the owner showed you. Only hide medication in food if the vet says that's fine for that drug, and tell the owner the same day.
- Wrong dose or wrong pet
- Check label, pet and amount every single time. If you think a mistake happened, call the vet or a pet poison helpline at once, then tell the owner.
If this happens
- The pet seems worse
- Don't change the treatment yourself. Call the owner, and the vet if you can't reach them or the signs are serious.
- Medication or supplies are running low
- Tell the owner immediately — refills can take a day or more.
🚨 Call a vet now if…
- Wet-sounding or laboured breathing after fluids — call the vet.
- Trouble breathing, collapse, seizures, severe vomiting or diarrhoea, or a possible overdose — call the vet or emergency clinic now.
- Facial swelling, hives or sudden vomiting soon after a medication — a possible allergic reaction.
In an emergency, call the vet or emergency clinic first, then the owner — the vet details are on the booking (ToS §4.8).
⚕️ Follow your veterinarian's written instructions — they always come before anything here. PetHour isn't a vet practice: no exams, diagnosis or prescribing are booked here, and caregivers follow your vet's instructions rather than decide treatment (ToS §14).
These are general tips to help you prepare — not rules for how a caregiver must work, and not veterinary advice. Agree the details for each booking in the booking chat, so you both have them in writing.