What are the opening hours?

Monday 8:30am - 5pm Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm Thursday 8:30am - 5pm Friday 8:30am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 12pm

http://www.towcester-vets.co.uk/

Towcester Vets, Burcote Road, Towcester (2025)

10/12/2025

🌟 What We Do Wednesday! 🌟

🚨 Emergency and Critical Care 🚨

🐾 As a twenty-four hour hospital, our Towcester clinic is well set up to provide care in emergency situations and hospitalise patients in a critical condition.

🐾 There is always a qualified Veterinary Nurse in the building at all times with a Veterinary Surgeon either working alongside them or on-call and available if needed. Our staff sacrifice family time at Christmas, New Year, weekends and bank holidays to ensure any patients needing care receive it.

🐾 We have two Veterinary Surgeons who hold advanced certificates in medicine, and a vast array of experience throughout the team in caring for our critical patients.

🐾 From initial telephone triage, primary assessment and diagnostics to procedures, surgery, medications and hospitalisation, our staff can guide you through your pets condition and the care required.

🐾 We know when an emergency befalls your pet it is a hugely stressful time for the family and hope that knowing that familiar staff in a familiar place are available at all times to provide help is reassuring.

🐾 As always, if you are concerned about your pet please do call us. We are happy to provide advice about when to attend the clinics and what to try in the meantime.

09/12/2025

🎩 Tip Tip Tuesday! 🎩

🌟 Rescuing Animals from Abroad 🌟

🐾There are many conflicting opinions about whether we should be importing animals from abroad and the specific rules that should be applied.

🐾 Some people feel that the UK already has a huge number of animals in the care of rescues and shelters throughout the UK and our efforts should be focused on helping them. Others argue that the welfare standards in some other countries fall so far below those in the UK that it is essential to help as many suffering animals as we can.

🐾 Critics of importing stress that improving support structures and campaigning for tougher laws and better procedures abroad will have a bigger impact on animal welfare than importing a few lucky individuals, while owners of those individuals believe that even improving the life of a few is worth it.

🐾 The strict rehoming criteria often imposed by UK rescues is often criticised for encouraging potential owners to adopt from abroad instead, but conversely there are concerns that pets are imported without due consideration of whether they are a suitable fit and sometimes without considering the health implications.

🐾 If you are considering rescuing from abroad or rehoming a previously imported animal please consider the following points:

🔻 Is the import legal? As discussed yesterday a new Bill has become law tightening the rules.

🔻 Is the rescue or breeder ethical and legitimate?: ask lots of questions! You should be able to have the same conversations and see the same situations as you would in the UK, just virtually.

🔻 Are the rescue involved in improving the situation in the animal’s home country? Look for evidence of neutering programs, veterinary care programs and education. Sadly criminals have realised that ‘rescue’ puppies can bring in funds and so some unscrupulous criminals are puppy farming under the guise of rescue.

🔻 Will the rescue provide back up if the adoption encounters difficulties? Be specific about what ‘rescue back-up’ means to them. Will they pay medical bills you encounter? Take the animal back if needed? Provide qualified behaviourists support?

🔻 What health checks and vaccinations have been performed? Research what diseases are endemic in the country of origin and check that they have been tested for and vaccinated against where possible. Forged certificates are unfortunately common so be suspicious and investigate well.

🔻 Make enquiries regarding insurance before committing. Some companies won't insure rescue dogs from abroad and some will charge higher premiums or set exclusions.

🔻 Is the animal a good match for your family? For every happy ending story of a street dog becoming a perfect pet, there is a devastating story of dogs bolting in fear, owners unable to handle for months, animals ending up in UK rescues again. Like with feral cats, dogs that have spent years fending for themselves often find restrictions very difficult to cope with. They often require incredible dedication and patience.

🐾 If you have questions regarding adoption in theory or a specific case please feel free to make an appointment and our staff will be happy to provide some advice.

08/12/2025

🌟 🧾 Animal Welfare Bill 🧾 🌟

🐾 You may have seen this week that a new Bill has become law. The new Animal Welfare Bill is focused on ensuring the welfare of animals imported into the UK but perhaps surprisingly it is proving controversial.

🐾 Although the intention is to make it harder for puppy smugglers or those who legally or illegally perform mutilations such as tail docking or ear cropping abroad to fulfil a desire in the UK, there are concerns with the impact it might have on charities.

🐾 Some key points:

🔻 The minimum age of importation is increasing from 15 weeks until 6 months. This is to make it easier for animals who are too young to be transported to be spotted. A 10 week old puppy could potentially pass for a 15 week old one with forged paperwork, but not 6 months old.

🔻 It has become illegal to import animals who have been mutilated, for example those who have had tails docked, ears cropped or been declawed. This is to try to close the loophole that prevented people from performing the procedures in this country but still allowing them to obtain the look they desired from elsewhere.

🔻 It is illegal to transport more than 5 animals per vehicle into the UK without a commercial license or exception, reducing the risk of overcrowding.

🔻 Pregnant dogs and cats can not be brought into the UK after the 42nd day of pregnancy (in the last trimester) for their welfare.

🐾 Supporters of charities who import dogs into the UK to be rehomed are concerned about the impact on their work however.

🐾 Puppies are generally easier to re-home than older animals and transportation vehicles holding many crates can help keep costs down. Mutilations, often as a result of animal cruelty rather than aesthetics can often be found in rescue populations and charity supporters are worried that this bill may be condemning them to a life in rescue.

🐾 Importing animals from abroad is a complex and emotive topic, with many viewpoints to consider. The government and their advisers have deemed the new laws necessary to tighten up loopholes that allow criminals to profit at the cost of animal welfare.

07/12/2025

🐾 Staff Pet Sunday! 🐾

😺 This cute girl is domestic shorthair Tipsy owned by student veterinary nurse Laraugh and her family.

😺 Tipsy was adopted by the family when a family member was having a difficult time and has soon established herself as part of the family.

😺 Laraugh loves her, but even with lots of bribery with Dreamies Tipsy has made it clear that she isn't convinced! She adores Laraugh's mum however!

😺 Tipsy is very grateful to have been taken it, but unfortunately choses to show this with gifts of voles despite plenty of toys to direct her hunting behaviour!

06/12/2025

🤕🤢 Symptom Saturday! 🤧🤒

🔵 Cyanosis 🔵

🐾 Cyanosis is a blue/purple appearance of body tissues. It is most evident on the tongue or gums.

🐾 Cyanosis can also be seen on pink paw pads, pink noses or around the muzzle of neonatal (newborn) animals.

🐾 Cyanosis indicates that red blood cells are not obtaining sufficient oxygen. This is typically due to disorders of respiration or circulation which can be chronic disease or acute problems such as heat stroke or drowning.

🐾 The presence of cyanosis is ALWAYS urgent. It is important to both provide additional oxygen as discussed last week and to investigate why oxygenation is compromised.

🐾 Cyanosis only occurs once the red blood cells have a 20% oxygen deficit, so although it's presence indicates a significant issue, it's absence does not unfortunately confirm that breathing or circulation are not compromised. Other symptoms such as difficulty breathing, collapse or exercise intolerance should still be investigated urgently even if gums remain pink.

🐾 Certain breeds such as Chow Chows are slightly more complicated as a blueish colouration in the mouth is normal for them! Other pets with very pigmented mucus membranes may be trickier to assess although most tongues have pink areas normally. Other clinical signs have to guide us in these cases.

🐾 If you feel your pet is cyanotic, even if only mildly please call us immediately while making preparations to bring them in to us ☎️

05/12/2025

🐾 Pet of the Week! 🐾

🐈‍⬛ This week's Pet of the Week has already featured on this page as one of our staff pets!

🐈‍⬛ Back at the start of October Veterinary Nurse Jen’s 13 year old cat Dizzy came home with a sore front leg. He had had what looked like a bite wound on the leg a couple of weeks before but it had appeared to be healing well but now the tissues of the leg were very swollen and sore. Vet Sarah M started him on antibiotics and painkillers and it was hoped that they would solve the problem.

🐈‍⬛ Initially Dizzy improved, but a few days later the lymph node in his axilla (armpit) had increased in size and his whole leg was hugely swollen. A few smaller wounds over his body also seemed to be very reactive. Vet Cat anaesthetised him for x-rays to rule out any involvement of the bones and started him on intravenous antibiotics.

🐈‍⬛ Dizzy was a little dull and sad, but continued to eat and purr! After a few days of intravenous antibiotics the swelling was much the same, but more little wounds were appearing all over his head and body, raising the suspicion of cowpox!

🐈‍⬛ Similar to chicken pox in people, cowpox is a viral disease causing system illness and malaise as well as skin pustules. It is rare in the UK. In cats it tends to be transmitted by rodent bites. Cow pox can be caught by people too (a zoonosis).

🐈‍⬛ Jen removed some scabs from Dizzy and submitted them to the external Lab who confirmed a high positive for pox virus. Thankfully, as with chicken pox, the virus tends to be self-limiting with symptoms resolving in a few weeks. The initial leg wound, likely a rodent bite in hindsight, had been exacerbated by the swelling and virus and a large patch of skin had become non-viable. Dizzy needed to be kept on antibiotics to prevent secondary infections while all his pustules and the large wound healed. He also needed a lampshade-style collar to prevent him traumatising the wounds.

🐈‍⬛ The dead section of skin eventually sloughed off, leaving a large area to heal. It was a slow process, but wound spray and keeping it clean allowed Dizzy’s body to heal itself. Last week it was finally healed enough to take the collar off and let Dizzy back outside! He was going stir crazy on room rest and so was thrilled to be able to come and go as he pleased!

🐈‍⬛ It was a slow recovery, requiring time and patience, but we are so pleased this lovely boy is feeling much better! 🥰

05/12/2025

‼️Phone Issues! ‼️

🐾 We are having a few problems with our phones this morning unfortunately

🐾 Please could we ask that non-urgent calls can wait for now to allow those with poorly or injured animals get through on the remaining line

🐾 We are working hard to get back up and running, but we will be keeping a close eye on our WhatsApp in the meantime, our WhatsApp number is 07893952368

🐾 Remember for appointments we now have on-line booking available via our website

🐾 Thank you for your patience!

04/12/2025

🌟 Hunter Update! 🌟

🐾 Thank you so much to everyone who shared our posts about stray Sprocker Hunter or offered a potential home.

🐾 Hunter fell into a slightly grey area: he wasn't truly a stray as he had a keeper registered to his microchip meaning the council representatives (dog warden equivalent), although aware of him, did not feel he was under their jurisdiction. However the registered keeper had rehomed him and was not in a position to have him back. Thankfully we have amazing staff at Towcester Vets who are willing to open their hearts and homes to animals in need.

🐾 Sadly, despite best efforts and sharing him far and wide no owner was forthcoming. Following guidance from dog wardens Hunter remained as a foster dog for 28 days before one of his fosterers, Equine receptionist Holly adopted him permanently! ❤️

🐾 Hunter has settled brilliantly with new siblings Millie And Roxie and has definitely found his happy ending 🥰

04/12/2025

🌟 Hunter Update! 🌟

🐾 Thank you so much to everyone who shared our posts about stray Sprocker Hunter or offered a potential home.

🐾 Hunter fell into a slightly grey area: he wasn't truly a stray as he had a keeper registered to his microchip meaning the council representatives (dog warden equivalent), although aware of him, did not feel he was under their jurisdiction. However the registered keeper had rehomed him and was not in a position to have him back. Thankfully we have amazing staff at Towcester Vets who are willing to open their hearts and homes to animals in need.

🐾 Sadly, despite best efforts and sharing him far and wide no owner was forthcoming. Following guidance from dog wardens Hunter remained as a foster dog for 28 days before one of his fosterers, Equine receptionist Holly adopted him permanently! ❤️

🐾 Hunter has settled brilliantly with new siblings Millie And Roxie and has definitely found his happy ending 🥰

03/12/2025

🌟 What We Do Wednesday! 🌟

♻️ Practice Sustainably ♻️

🐾 We are always looking for ways in which we can ensure we are working in sustainable ways, reducing environmental impact.

🔻 We recycle all waste that we are able to at all of our clinics and ensure that any waste requiring incineration is handled by licenced contractors.

🔻 We use scrub hats which can be laundered to prevent single use disposables being required.

🔻 Where possible we are reducing the need for paper documents: booster reminders, newsletters and invoices are currently sent via email and we are hoping to introduce digital consent forms shortly.

🔻 Servicing and monitoring regimes are implemented to ensure anaesthetic devices are safe.

🔻 Multimodal analgesia is utilised in order to reduce the amount of gaseous anaesthetic agents required.

🔻 Various sterilisation methods are available to allow equipment to be reused without compromising patient safety. Loads are run only once full wherever possible.

🔻 Unused or out of date medications can be returned to us for free-of-charge safe disposal by incineration, preventing the contamination of water sources from home refuge collection.

🔻 We have replaced standard lightbulbs with LED alternatives where possible.

🔻 We use energy efficient electrical equipment where possible and ensure servicing and maintenance schedules are followed.

🔻 We have solar energy panels in place where possible.

🐾 We know there is still more we can do, and are constantly trying to improve. We understand how important it is for us to provide excellent veterinary care while minimising our impact on the wider world too.

02/12/2025

Just a reminder to all our lovely clients, we have VETS ON CALL over the festive period 24/7 if you should need us for any emergencies.

From all the team at Towcester Vets we wish you and your pets a wonderful Christmas and a very happy, healthy New Year!

Please share our festive opening hours with your friends in the area, many thanks 🐾

02/12/2025

🎩 Tip Tip Tuesday! 🎩

🌟🥜 Peanut Butter Trick? 🥜🌟

🐾 You may have seen some videos circulating on sites such as Tiktok and Instagram showing people wrapping cling film around their heads before smearing peanut butter on their foreheads in order to distract their dog before clipping their claws.

🐾 Is this a good idea? Frankly…no! Although the clips seem to show everything going well, it could easily go very wrong!

🐾 While peanut butter can be a really useful distraction to our pets, in this case if something shocks or hurts the animal, which is easily possible while clipping claws, their teeth are in very close proximity to your face! Even a warning snap if it connects could end up with devastating consequences.

🐾 Peanut butter applied to a licky mat, kong, bath wall or muzzle can help keep pets still during bathing, grooming or injections, but without the same risk of injury.

🐾 Peanut butter distraction can be useful to prevent self-trauma to wounds, sore skin or broken claws but we would always advise applying it to something that won't get hurt!

🐾 If you need some help with clipping your pets claws feel free to call us for advice or to make an appointment with a nurse to have them clipped for you ☎️

Towcester Vets

10/12/2025

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08/12/2025

07/12/2025

06/12/2025

05/12/2025

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Monday	8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5pm
Friday	8:30am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 12pm