Came back to a conversation and found it closed? Don't worry — nothing has been lost. Vet chats close themselves after a quiet day, and your summary and files are all still there.
Why this happens
A vet chat closes automatically after 24 hours with no messages from either side.
The clock is reset by every real message — yours or your vet's. So a conversation can run for days as long as somebody is talking; it's only 24 hours of complete silence that ends it. Automatic notes in the conversation, like "\<Dr. Vet> has joined the chat.", don't count and don't reset the clock.
The app reminds you while you're chatting, with the banner "Chats automatically close after 24 hours with no messages."
Please note: we check for quiet chats regularly, so a chat may close a few minutes after the 24-hour mark rather than exactly on it.
What you'll see
| Where | What it says |
|---|---|
| Inside the conversation | "This chat has automatically expired after 24 hours." |
| Opening it from your list | The Chat summary screen, headed Vet chat closed — "Closed automatically after 24 hours with no messages" |
| Banner on that screen | "This vet chat is closed. To ask a new question, start a new vet chat. Starting a new vet chat will use another included chat if you have one remaining." |
| The row in your Vet Chats list | "This chat expired after 24 hours" |
You may also get an email letting you know the chat has closed.
Nothing is lost
- The written conversation summary is saved on the Summary tab, with Copy and Share
- Chat details still shows the duration, the total messages and the attachments
- Every photo and file you exchanged is still in your pet's document library
How to avoid it
Reply within 24 hours. Any message from either of you restarts the clock, so if you're waiting on test results or watching a symptom, a quick "still monitoring, will update tomorrow" keeps the conversation open.
What to do next
Closed chats are read-only and can't be reopened, so start a new vet chat for that pet. Because the old one is closed, the one-open-chat-per-pet rule no longer blocks you — but the new chat uses another one of your included chats.
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