Pet emergency at night: when to go, and who to call in India

If you see a go-now sign, such as trouble breathing, collapse, a fit that won't stop, poisoning or heavy bleeding, take your pet to a vet that is open now, and call on the way so the team can get ready ¹². In Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Chennai, a government, university or charity hospital says on its own page that it sees emergencies at night (below); for private 24-hour hospitals in more cities, see 24-hour pet hospitals by city. 1962 is the government's mobile vet service for farm animals, not a pet emergency line ³⁰³².

Go now if: Trouble breathing or white or blue gums; collapse; a fit over 2 minutes; poisoning; heavy bleeding; a dog retching with a swollen belly; a cat straining with no pee¹²⁵⁶⁷¹⁰
Open all night: Delhi: Tis Hazari government hospital, Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre. Mumbai: Bombay SPCA, Tata Trusts hospital. Chennai: Madras Veterinary College¹⁷¹⁸²²²⁵²⁶
1962: Mobile vet vans for farmers' livestock. No state page we checked says they come for pet dogs or cats³⁰³²³³
Ate something harmful: Call a vet now, even if your pet seems fine. Don't make your pet vomit unless a vet tells you to¹⁴¹⁵
Human medicines: Never give a painkiller or fever tablet meant for people unless your vet says so¹⁶⁴⁴

Go to a vet now if

Checked against vet sources. Not yet reviewed by a vet.

Your pet is struggling to breathe, or the gums look very pale, white or blue ¹²⁵.
Your pet collapses, can't stand or doesn't respond, or has a fit (seizure) that lasts more than 2 minutes ²⁴⁵⁶.
Your pet ate something that may be poisonous, even if it seems fine. See below ¹¹⁴.
Your dog keeps trying to vomit but nothing comes up, especially with a swollen, tight belly ⁷.
Bleeding is heavy or won't stop, or there is bleeding from the nose, mouth or bottom ¹⁴¹².
Your pet was hit by a vehicle or had a bad fall, even if it seems fine. Some injuries take a day or two to show ³¹¹.
Your pet is overheated: heavy panting, drooling, weak or wobbly. Get it out of the heat and call a vet at once; heatstroke needs cooling, and the vet can tell you how ¹¹³.
Your pet vomits again and again, or there is blood in the vomit or the poo, especially in a puppy or kitten ⁷⁸⁹.
Your pet has an eye injury, or seems to be in severe pain ¹⁵¹¹.
Not sure? Call your vet or a 24-hour hospital and describe what you see ³. For a worry that may not be an emergency, see how to get pet advice at night.

Cats: straining in the litter box

Checked against vet sources. Not yet reviewed by a vet.

Straining in the litter box with little or no pee can be a blocked bladder. It can't wait until tomorrow. Go to a vet now. Not being able to pass urine needs a vet straight away; don't wait to see if your cat gets better, and don't try to treat it at home ¹⁰². Tell the vet what you found in the litter tray, and any crying, vomiting or a swollen tummy ¹⁰. Dogs can get this too ¹⁰.

Who to call, city by city

City	Open at night, as its own page says	Phone
Delhi	Government Veterinary Hospital, Tis Hazari (Delhi government). Open 24x7 on all days, with vets in three shifts. Zorawar Singh Marg, near Pul Mithai, at the end of the lane between Tis Hazari Courts and St. Stephen's Hospital ¹⁷.	24-hour helpline 011-23967555 or 011-20833238 ¹⁷
Delhi	Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre (animal shelter and hospital). Its OPD is a 24-hour service. Raja Garden, near Shivaji College ¹⁸¹⁹.	+91-9560802425 or 8882325407 ¹⁹
Gurugram	CGS Hospital (a unit of CGS Charitable Trust). Emergency 8 pm to 8 am; the hospital is open 8 am to 8 pm. S-25, Site No. 2204, DLF Phase 3 ²¹.	0124-4115580 or +91-931-101-4490 ²¹
Mumbai	Bombay SPCA hospital (Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals), Parel. Emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; OPD 9 am to 2 pm. Dr. S. S. Rao Road, Parel ²².	Hospital enquiry, marked 24 hours: +91 8591659398 ²³
Mumbai	Tata Trusts Small Animal Hospital, Mahalaxmi. Timing 24 x 7. G.B. Sakpal Marg, Saat Rasta, Mahalaxmi ²⁵.	022-6538-3538 ²⁵
Chennai	Madras Veterinary College teaching hospital (TANUVAS, the state vet university), Vepery, near Chennai Central. Emergency care round the clock ²⁶²⁸. Its emergency unit runs 1 pm to 8 am on weekdays, and 11:30 am to 8 am at weekends and on government holidays ²⁷.	Teaching hospital 044-25381366 ²⁹
Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and other cities	We found no government, university or charity hospital whose own page says it is open all night. Private hospitals that say they are open 24 hours are on the 24-hour list.	See that list
Any city, in the day	Government and NGO clinics, city by city: low-cost vets near you.	On each city page

What 1962 covers

1962 is the national toll-free number for the government's Mobile Veterinary Units. The central scheme describes it as vet care at farmers' doorsteps, with vans sent by a state call centre ³⁰³¹.

We looked for official pages from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab on 5 Oct 2026. None of them says its 1962 vans come for pet dogs or cats. Karnataka says its vans treat farmers' livestock from 9 am to 5 pm, though the call line is open 24x7 ³². Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Haryana also describe the service for farmers and livestock owners ³³³⁴³⁵³⁶³⁷.

Gujarat's Karuna Animal Ambulance uses 1962 too. A 2018 district page describes it as free treatment for injured animals and birds that have no owner, from 8 am to 8 pm ³⁸.

So don't count on 1962 for your pet at night. Call one of the hospitals above.

Animal ambulances

Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre, Delhi. Runs a round-the-clock animal ambulance at nominal cost ²⁰. Helpline and ambulance: +91-9560802425 or 8882325407 ¹⁹. Its pages don't say whether the ambulance collects pets from homes, so ask when you call.
Bombay SPCA, Parel, Mumbai. Its ambulance serves injured small and large animals, up to 11 pm ²²²⁴. The page gives no separate ambulance number; the hospital enquiry line is +91 8591659398 ²³.

For street animals · 3

Friendicoes, Delhi. Helpline and ambulances for street animals that need medical help, 9 am to 9 pm. Its night ambulance has been suspended ³⁹.
Blue Cross of India, Chennai. Its rescue service is for sick and injured street animals ⁴⁰.
CUPA, Bengaluru. Its Trauma and Rescue Centre takes reports of injured animals that people find, 10 am to 5 pm every day. +91 9845425678 or 080-22947301 ⁴¹.

If your pet ate something harmful

Checked against vet sources. Not yet reviewed by a vet.

Call a vet now, even if your pet seems fine. Many poisons act later, and are harder to treat once signs show ¹⁴.
If your pet is unconscious, struggling to breathe, bleeding or having a fit, go straight to a clinic ¹⁴.
Take the packet, the wrapper or the tablet strip, or a photo of it. Tell the vet what your pet ate, how much and when ¹¹²¹⁴.
Don't make your pet vomit unless a vet tells you to. Trying it at home can be dangerous ¹⁵.
Never give a painkiller, a fever tablet or any other human medicine unless your vet says so ¹⁶⁴⁴.

On the way

Call the hospital before you set off, and say what happened and when. The vet can tell you what to do on the way, and the team can get ready for you ¹. If you are driving, ask someone else to call ⁴.
A pet in pain may bite or scratch, even its own family. Protect yourself first ¹⁴.
Carry a cat in a carrier or a box. Move a hurt dog on a folded blanket or a firm board, keeping its head and neck still ¹⁴⁵.
Take your pet's vaccination card and any medicines it is on. The vet will ask about past illnesses, medicines and the last vaccinations ².

If a person was bitten

If a bite breaks the skin: wash it under running water with soap for 15 minutes, then see a doctor today about rabies shots. Call your vet about the dog or cat ⁴²⁴³.

Not fully clear yet

Official sources disagree or leave gaps on these. Confirm before you rely on them.

None of these hospitals' pages promises a full team every night of the year. Tis Hazari says it is open on all days ¹⁷, and Madras Veterinary College gives holiday hours for its emergency unit ²⁷. Call before you leave.
We found no official page that describes 1962 in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan or Punjab. Uttar Pradesh's and Gujarat's animal husbandry sites didn't load, Rajasthan's shows its text only with scripts, and the Delhi and Punjab department pages don't mention 1962. The Gujarat page we used is from 2018 ³⁸.
We found no poison helpline for animals in India. Your vet or a 24-hour hospital is the call to make.

Last checked 5 Oct 2026. Facts checked against the official and veterinary sources below by Thapki. Not yet reviewed by a vet. Written with AI help from the sources below and checked against them line by line; the Thapki team reads and approves each page before it goes live.

Spot something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.

Sources

What to do in a dog or cat emergency (pet owner version, reviewed Dec 2025) · Merck Veterinary Manual · seen 5 Oct 2026
Evaluation and initial treatment of dog and cat emergencies (pet owner version, reviewed Dec 2025) · Merck Veterinary Manual · seen 5 Oct 2026
Introduction to emergencies (pet owner version, reviewed Dec 2025) · Merck Veterinary Manual · seen 5 Oct 2026
Emergency care for your pet · ASPCA · seen 5 Oct 2026
First aid for collapsed pets (Mar 2020) · PDSA · seen 5 Oct 2026
Seizures and epilepsy in dogs · PDSA · seen 5 Oct 2026
Vomiting in dogs · PDSA · seen 5 Oct 2026
Vomiting in cats (Dec 2020) · PDSA · seen 5 Oct 2026
Diarrhoea in dogs · PDSA · seen 5 Oct 2026
What to do if your cat or dog can't pee · PDSA · seen 5 Oct 2026
PDSA vet teams reveal six of the most common emergency cases they treat · PDSA · seen 5 Oct 2026
First aid for your dog · RSPCA · seen 5 Oct 2026
Heatstroke in dogs · PDSA · seen 5 Oct 2026
What to do if your pet is poisoned (20 Mar 2019) · ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center · seen 5 Oct 2026
Is it ever safe to induce vomiting? (19 Nov 2019) · ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center · seen 5 Oct 2026
Poisoning from human over-the-counter drugs (pet owner version, updated May 2026) · Merck Veterinary Manual · seen 5 Oct 2026
24 x 7 emergency services, Veterinary Hospital Tis Hazari · Animal Husbandry Unit, Development Department, Government of NCT of Delhi · seen 5 Oct 2026
Services (OPD, IPD, ambulance) · Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre · seen 5 Oct 2026
Contact us · Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre · seen 5 Oct 2026
About us · Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre · seen 5 Oct 2026
CGS Hospital, Gurugram: timings and contact · CGS Hospital (a unit of CGS Charitable Trust) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Services (OPD, emergencies, ambulance) · Bombay SPCA (Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Get in touch (phone lines and their hours) · Bombay SPCA (Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Facilities (animal ambulance) · Bombay SPCA (Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Contact us · Tata Trusts Small Animal Hospital, Mumbai · seen 5 Oct 2026
Directorate of Clinics: teaching hospitals and emergency services · Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Resident Veterinary Services Section: Emergency and Critical Care Unit working hours · Madras Veterinary College, TANUVAS · seen 5 Oct 2026
Madras Veterinary College: introduction · Madras Veterinary College, TANUVAS · seen 5 Oct 2026
Contacts · Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Operational guidelines of the Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme, section 3.3: Mobile Veterinary Units (PDF, May 2025) · Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India · seen 5 Oct 2026
Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme · Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India · seen 5 Oct 2026
AHVS helpline (1962) · Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Karnataka · seen 5 Oct 2026
Chief Minister Animal Health Scheme (1962 call centre) · Animal Husbandry Department, Maharashtra · seen 5 Oct 2026
Animal husbandry: 1962 Mobile Veterinary Clinics · District Nirmal, Government of Telangana · seen 5 Oct 2026
Animal husbandry: mobile veterinary clinics, toll-free 1962 · District SPS Nellore, Government of Andhra Pradesh · seen 5 Oct 2026
Animal husbandry: Animal Mobile Medical Ambulance, 1962 · District Ariyalur, Government of Tamil Nadu · seen 5 Oct 2026
Rate contract for the 1962/112 call centre and 24x7 emergency mobile veterinary services (PDF, 27 Dec 2023) · Directorate of Supplies and Disposals, Haryana, for the Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department · seen 5 Oct 2026
Welcome to Karuna Animal Ambulance-1962 (11 Oct 2018) · District Anand, Government of Gujarat · seen 5 Oct 2026
Helpline and ambulance service · Friendicoes SECA · seen 5 Oct 2026
What we do (rescue) · Blue Cross of India · seen 5 Oct 2026
Contacts (Trauma and Rescue Centre) · Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) · seen 5 Oct 2026
FAQ: first aid in case of animal bite · National Rabies Control Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare · seen 5 Oct 2026
Rabies: fact sheet (17 Sep 2026) · World Health Organization · seen 5 Oct 2026
Disorders of the liver and gallbladder in cats (cat owner version, updated Sep 2024) · Merck Veterinary Manual · seen 5 Oct 2026