Veterinary care is of a high standard in Switzerland. Many vets speak good English. If you specifically need an English-speaking vet your best resource for recommendations is likely to be other expats.

If your animal requires emergency medical care out of hours you can use the university veterinary teaching hospital (Tierspital) in your city. You can find these located in both Zurich and Bern, with an emergency veterinary service accessible by phone in the Geneva area. The teaching hospital may also be your best point of call if you are likely to have genuine difficulties paying vets bills.

For neutering or spaying of your pet, on average allow for CHF 300-400 for a male dog, in the region of CHF 700-800 for a female. You will pay less for cats, typically CHF 100-200. Annually, allow for CHF 100-150 annually for vaccinations and worming treatments for cats and dogs. A microchip will cost around CHF 80 and is mandatory for dogs. You will also need to visit a vet if you need a pet passport. For a dog allow for around CHF 50, for a cat around CHF 25, but expect individual veterinary practices to vary.

Some routine pet medicines such as deworming treatments will be available via Swiss pharmacies.

The national association for veterinary professionals is the Society of Swiss Veterinarians (G: Gesellschaft Schweizer Tierärztinnen und Tierärzte GST, F: Société des Vétérinaires Suisses). You can find homoeopathic vets using the directory listed on the website Society of Swiss Veterinarians for Acupuncture and Homoeopathy (G: Schweizerische Tierärztliche Vereinigung für Akupunktur und Homöopathie STVAH, F: Association vétérinaire suisse pour l'acupuncture et l'homéopathie AVSAH). Physiotherapy is also available for animal patients and the professional body for this is the Swiss Association of Animal Physiotherapy (G: Schweizerischer Verband für Tierphysiotherapie SVTPT, F: Fédération Suisse de Physiothérapie pour Animaux FSPA).

Useful Resources

Society of Swiss Veterinarians
http://www.gstsvs.ch/
Gesellschaft Schweizer Tierärztinnen und Tierärzte, Brunnmattstrasse 13, Postfach 45, CH 3174 Thörishaus
Tel: +41 (0)31 307 35 35
Email: info@gstsvs.ch

Society of Swiss Veterinarians for Acupuncture and Homeopathy
http://www.stvah.ch/
No contact details available

Swiss Association of Animal Physiotherapy
http://www.svtpt.ch/
SVTPT, Postfach, CH 8162 Steinmaur
Email: info@svtpt.ch

Klinik für Kleintiermedizin
Teaching hospital with a small animal clinic (Zurich)
http://www.kltmed.uzh.ch/index.html
Vetsuisse-Fakultät, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 260, CH 8057 Zürich
Tel: +41 (0)44 635 81 12
Email: msekey@vetclinics.uzh.ch

Service d'urgence officiel de la Société genevoise des vétérinaires
Emergency service for small animals (Geneva canton)
http://www.sgv.name/
Helpline: 0900 83 83 43