One of my cats recently started sneezing. Badly.

He’s never been a sneezer before. Not even occasionally. We were worried, so off to the vet we went.

But first we had to catch him. And get him in the cat bag. And drive the 20 minutes to the vet with him making a racket from the passenger seat.

Then parking, feeding the meter, the wait at the vet, and, when all was said and done, a bill for nearly $100 to be told he probably had a cold and to give him a sneeze suppressant.

A telemedicine visit would have been so much easier, and less traumatic for both of us.

We do it all the time for our own doctors’ appointments nowadays. Why not our fur babies?

Two companies are racing to fill the need for veterinary telemedicine services. Here’s everything you need to know about them.

JustAnswer

JustAnswer is one of the leading online expert help platforms. Its experts have answers more than 16 million questions across several fields since the service began in 2003.

Its veterinary services provide 24/7 expert answers from qualified veterinarians specializing in dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, fish, and large animals.

To use JustAnswer, you’ll need to purchase a membership. All memberships start with a $1 seven-day trial, after which the cost is about $35/month for unlimited questions. You can cancel your membership at any time if you’re not satisfied.

With JustAnswer, you can get responses to questions such as:

• I think my hamster has stomach tumors. Can you help me?
• My dog ate a baby diaper!
• How long do bearded dragons lives?
• My dog is throwing up yellow liquid. What should I do?
• Are there any home remedies for a cat sneezing?
• What is this black spot, like a mole on our six-month-old 6 month female Syrian hamster? There’s no fur loss, but the fur is parted in a circle around the spot.  

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Pawp

Another company offering membership-based Ask a Veterinarian services is the startup company Pawp, which offers unlimited monthly and yearly subscriptions starting at $10/month.

You get 24/7 access to the company’s team of experienced vets and unlimited questions.

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Keeping It Pawsome gets a small commission if you purchase a membership from either of these companies.

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