Starting a chat takes a minute or two: pick your pet, pick a topic, describe what's going on, and send. Here's every way in.
Jump to:
- Starting from anywhere in the app
- Starting from a specific pet
- Handing over from an AI Vet chat
Starting from anywhere in the app
- Tap the Ask A Vet button in the centre of the tab bar.
- Tap Chat with Vet.
- On Select pet, choose the pet this is about. A banner reminds you: "Select a pet to start your vet consultation."
- On Select topic, pick the area your question falls under.
- On Your question, describe the problem and add photos if you have them.
- Tap Send to Vet.
The progress bar at the top moves through the three steps — 33%, 67%, then 100%.
Please note: if you don't have any pets yet you'll see "No pets yet" and an Add pet button. Add your pet first, then come back.
Starting from a specific pet
- Open the pet's profile and tap Consults, then Chats with Vet.
- Tap Chat with a Vet about \<your pet's name>.
- You go straight to Your question — the topic step is skipped and the chat is filed under General.
Handing over from an AI Vet chat
- While you're talking to AI Vet, tap Chat with a real vet.
- Read the confirmation card: Chat with a real vet? — "We'll send a summary of this conversation to a licensed vet and start your chat. This will end your current AI chat."
- Tap Start chat.
Your AI conversation is summarised and becomes the opening message the vet sees.
Choosing a topic
There are 14 topics: General, Surgery, Medications, Neurology, Dermatology, Oncology, Dentistry, Cardiology, Ophthalmology, Radiology, Rehabilitation, Emergency, Behaviour and Anesthesia / pain. General and Emergency are shown first.
The topic is set when you book and can't be changed afterwards — the vet sees it as the reason for the consultation.
Writing your question
The field is labelled Describe your concern, with the placeholder "Describe what's happening with \<your pet's name>...".
| Rule | What you'll see |
|---|---|
| Minimum 10 characters | The screen shows "Minimum 10 characters." Sending a shorter message gives you the error "Please enter at least 10 characters." |
| Maximum 1000 characters | Once you're within 100 of the limit, a "\<n> characters remaining" counter appears |
Adding photos and sending
- Tap Add photos under Attach photos (optional) to attach up to 5 photos from your photo library — JPG, PNG or HEIC, 10 MB or smaller each.
- Tap Send to Vet. The button changes to Uploading photos while any attachments go up.
- You land on Waiting for a Vet.
Please note: the screen tells you before you send — "Premium includes 2 real-vet chats each month. Starting this chat will use 1 included chat. This chat stays open until you end it, the vet ends it, or no one sends a message for 24 hours." The count is used when you send, not when the vet replies.
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