How will I know if my cat can be seen right away in an emergency?

That depends on the hospital. It's best to call, and you can call when you're on the way in a true emergency. That way the clinic can let you know if they have the staff available to best care for your pet. Sometimes we have five emergencies at one time, and while we'd like to be able to help everyone, it may be best for your pet to go elsewhere to get care because we just can't handle that many at one time. So if we do send you somewhere, there is a reason for doing that.