Can ChatGPT be trusted for pet health advice? Our veterinarians put it to the test and found some serious risks

Your dog throws up in the middle of the night. Your cat suddenly stops eating. Before you call a vet, there’s a good chance you ask ChatGPT what to do.

For many pet owners, using AI to answer urgent health questions has become commonplace. In fact, nearly half of the estimated 330 million prompts that ChatGPT handles every day from U.S. users are questions.

So our veterinary team put ChatGPT to the test. How would it respond to commonly-searched dog and cat health questions?

What our vets uncovered was concerning: examples of hallucinations, oversimplified advice, and answers that sounded confident even when important information was missing.

We have outlined why this could be harmful, when AI should and shouldn’t be used for pet health advice, and how our veterinarians are using AI safely.

Using the search data tool, AlsoAsked, we identified eight of the most commonly searched pet health questions and asked our veterinarians to complete their analysis while logged out of ChatGPT to reduce personalization bias.

They analyzed how accurate each answer was, but also whether ChatGPT offered appropriate advice for a pet owner making a real-time decision about their pet’s health.

Key risks identified

Across the responses, our veterinarians noticed the same concerns:

• Failure to recognize emergencies: Some answers failed to signal how quickly some conditions can become serious, when additional information is needed, or when pet owners should seek veterinary care right away.
• Assumptions about the problem: ChatGPT frequently treated the owner’s description as accurate, even though many symptoms and behaviors can have very different causes.
• Overconfidence: Even when important information was missing, responses often sounded more complete and certain than they actually were.
• Oversimplification: Some potentially valid medical explanations were simplified to the point that they became misleading or inaccurate.
• Lack of clinical context: Practical-sounding advice was often given without the history, examination, or medical judgment needed to know whether it was actually safe.
• Unreliable source material: AI-generated answers can pull from inaccurate, outdated, or anecdotal information without clearly distinguishing it from real, established veterinary guidance.

1. What is a ball-like lump on a cat?

ChatGPT's answer

The response listed common possibilities for a lump, including a lipoma, abscess, cyst, or tumor. It also advised owners on when to be concerned, such as if the lump is growing quickly, feels hard or fixed, or if the cat seems painful.

Our vets’ analysis

Our veterinarians felt the response relied too heavily on an incomplete description of the lump and the cat itself.

Dr. Jo Myers, a Vetster vet, explains: “In real veterinary medicine, context is important. Details like the cat’s age, weight, medical history, whether they go outdoors, geographic location, how quickly the lump appeared, and even the exact feel and location when examining the bump are critical. Without that, this is just a broad differential list. As an example, I’ve seen cases where the pet came in for ‘a lump’ that turned out to be a bone fracture.”

This is one of the biggest risks with AI-generated medical advice: the answer can sound convincing without actually being a meaningful diagnosis.

2. Why does my dog have a bump that comes and goes?

ChatGPT's answer

ChatGPT listed the likely possibilities for a bump that comes and goes on a dog, including an allergic reaction, insect bites, fluid-filled swelling, cysts or a fatty lump (lipoma). It advised owners to call a veterinarian if the bump keeps returning, is getting bigger, becomes hard or painful, lasts more than a few days and if the dog is itching, lethargic or unwell.

Our vets’ analysis

Our veterinarians felt the response placed too much weight on the fact that the bump “comes and goes.”

Dr. Jo says: “Many different conditions can appear to change in size or seem intermittent to an owner, especially depending on swelling, positioning, fur coat changes, or how closely the area is being monitored. The ‘come and go’ pattern might suggest certain possibilities, but it doesn’t meaningfully rule out other options. Without an exam and history, you cannot narrow things down.”

3. Is it normal for my dog not to sleep?

ChatGPT's answer

ChatGPT stated it isn’t normal for a dog not to sleep, listing common explanations such as environment or routine, stress or anxiety, medical issues or age-related behavior.

It advised owners to call a veterinarian if the dog isn’t resting most of the day or night, seems restless or unable to lie down, and shows other symptoms such as panting or whining.

Our vets’ analysis

Our veterinarians felt the response moved too quickly into listing causes without first clarifying what the owner actually meant by “my dog never sleeps.” A vet would normally ask follow-up questions to understand what could be going on.

Dr. Jo adds: “While stress, anxiety, or environmental changes may contribute to disrupted sleep, potentially serious medical causes must also be considered depending on the clinical picture. If a dog is showing marked restlessness or inability to settle, especially if the behavior is sudden, persistent, or accompanied by signs like panting, pacing, tremors, vomiting, agitation, or an elevated heart rate, it raises concern for medical emergencies.”

In this case, the answer ChatGPT gave sounded complete, but it failed to clarify what the owner actually meant before interpreting the problem.

4. Why does my dog follow me everywhere?

ChatGPT's answer

ChatGPT described this behavior as “super common” and suggested reasons for this that included bonding, the dog reading cues, reinforced behavior, curiosity, or boredom.

It also recommended training and enrichment if the dog showed signs of separation distress, such as panic, whining, destructiveness or being unable to settle.

Our vets’ analysis

This was one of the more reasonable and lower-risk responses because the question focused on a common behavior rather than an urgent medical issue. ChatGPT’s explanations are all things veterinarians or trainers might discuss with owners.

However, our veterinarians felt the answer sounded more certain than it should have.

Dr. Jo notes: “One challenge with AI-generated answers is that they often present subjective or generalized interpretations with a level of confidence that can make them sound more certain than they really are. In this case, the advice was unlikely to cause harm, but pet owners should still understand that an AI system is not actually observing the dog, assessing the home environment, or professionally evaluating the behavior.”

5. Why is my cat or dog vomiting so often?

ChatGPT's answer

We asked separate questions for cats and dogs. In both cases, ChatGPT recommended pausing food, reintroducing bland food, and feeding smaller portions.

It suggested possible causes that included eating too quickly or more serious conditions such as kidney disease, liver disease. With vomiting in cats, it specifically noted hairballs as well as conditions such as hyperthyroidism. For dogs, it mentioned causes such as parasites or pancreatitis.

It also advised owners to call a veterinarian if the animal was vomiting, lethargic, refusing food or water, drinking excessively (for cats), or had abdominal swelling (for dogs).

Our vets’ analysis

Here’s where the responses get more concerning, because they move further into real-time decision making for pet owners. The risks of incomplete or oversimplified information are much higher.

For cats especially, while hair can contribute to vomiting, other medical causes of recurrent vomiting should be considered.

Our veterinarians were also especially concerned about the practical advice given to owners. Dr. Jo explains: “This is where AI-generated advice can become problematic. It often provides actionable recommendations before establishing what problem may actually be occurring. The answer sounds reassuring and complete, but lacks the medical judgment needed to determine which possibilities are most urgent and whether immediate veterinary care may be necessary.”

6. What food can my cat or dog not have?

ChatGPT's answer

For both cats and dogs, ChatGPT grouped foods into categories based on toxicity.

For cats, there were two groups: “Toxic or Dangerous Foods (Avoid Completely)” and ‘Foods to Limit or Avoid (Not Toxic, But Risky).” For dogs, there were four different food groups ranging from “Highly toxic (avoid completely)” to “‘Safe’ human foods—but only in moderation.”

It advised owners to call a veterinarian if the animal showed symptoms such as vomiting, lethargy, tremors or diarrhea. For dogs, it also suggested this if the dog had eaten anything from the toxic list provided, or if an unknown food had been eaten. However, for cats, it recommended some safe alternative treat options.

Our vets’ analysis

Our veterinarians felt these answers were oversimplified in ways that could easily mislead pet owners.

Dr. Jo explains: “Context is critical in toxicology. For example, while chocolate toxicity is a real concern in dogs, the actual danger depends on the type of chocolate and the amount ingested relative to the dog’s size. A small dog eating baking chocolate represents a very different situation from a large dog eating a small amount of milk chocolate.”

The responses also: 

• Lacked important species-specific context: Many food-related toxic exposures are far less common in cats because cats are generally much more selective eaters than dogs.
• Appeared comprehensive even when they are not: Pet owners may wrongly assume that foods not mentioned are safe.

Dr. Jo emphasizes: “When a pet may have eaten something toxic, time can matter. Generalized AI-generated advice should never delay contacting a veterinarian or animal poison control center, especially when the amount ingested or level of risk is uncertain.”

7. My cat stopped eating today. Is that an emergency?

ChatGPT's answer

ChatGPT wrongly assumed the cat was a Bengal and stated the breed is food-motivated. 

It also listed symptoms that could make the situation more urgent, including the cat not eating for more than 24 hours, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, belly pain, or straining to pee.

ChatGPT suggested that if the cat seems normal, the owner should offer a different food (such as plain chicken), warm it up, check their mouth for redness and make sure water intake is normal. Calling a veterinarian was then advised if 24 hours pass and the owner feels something is off.

Our vets’ analysis

Our veterinarians were immediately concerned that ChatGPT hallucinated that the cat was a Bengal and introduced false information about Bengals being food-motivated.

The answer also moved too quickly into giving specific at-home instructions for owners without first understanding why the cat was not eating.

Dr. Jo notes: “A cat not eating for 24 hours could represent anything from mild stress to severe pain, toxin exposure, intestinal obstruction, liver disease, or another potentially life-threatening condition. Consider the risk of spending the next 24 hours trying home suggestions from an AI system, only to later learn that your cat’s underlying condition had progressed to a critical or even fatal stage during that delay.”

This underscores a major issue with AI-generated responses: they can confidently generate answers that seem factual but are completely made-up.

8. Can I give my dog some of my pain reliever? How much to give?

ChatGPT's answer

ChatGPT noted that dogs should generally not be given human pain relief medications, and then grouped the pain relievers into different categories based on how dangerous they are.

It identified ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and naproxen as dangerous medications, while listing veterinary-approved NSAIDs such as carprofen, meloxicam, and deracoxib as pain relief that can be taken safely.

It advised owners to call a veterinarian for dose advice and to call the emergency clinic or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control if accidental ingestion has happened.

Our vets’ analysis

There were several major concerns with ChatGPT's response. It focused on only a small number of human pain relievers and gave an incomplete list of “dangerous” medications. It also implied that acetaminophen (Tylenol) was universally unsafe for dogs, when in some cases, veterinarians sometimes prescribe it under controlled circumstances.

Dr. Jo notes: “The response failed to address the risks associated with combination products. Some human pain medications contain additional ingredients, such as decongestants, narcotics, or artificial sweeteners like xylitol, that may be dangerous for pets even if the primary pain reliever itself is not. The LLM didn’t prompt owners to consider these important details, which could lead to poor decisions.”

Vets discussing pain relief would typically gather more details, like the pet’s species, age, medical history, and suspected source of pain, to make the best recommendations. And that’s the biggest risk with AI-generated medical advice: simplified answers that sound complete while missing key medical context.

Understanding how AI tools like ChatGPT work matters, especially when people are using them to make decisions about their pets’ health. The issue is growing quickly, with a quarter of pet parents trusting AI to diagnose their pets.

Dr. Jo explains: “These systems are designed to keep the conversation going. They don’t truly understand your pet’s situation or think through a medical case the way a veterinarian does. Ultimately, LLMs don’t have accountability or feel any responsibility for the outcome.”

Different AI tools work in different ways, but none have access to your pet’s full medical history, can examine your animal, or apply clinical judgment the way a veterinarian can. They also don't reliably separate evidence-based veterinary guidance from outdated, anecdotal, or inaccurate information online.

This can create real risk when pet owners are looking for urgent health advice.

While AI tools should be used with caution, they may still be useful for pet owners in non-emergency situations, like:

• Learning general background information about a symptom or condition
• Understanding terminology after a veterinary visit
• Organizing what they’re seeing at home so they can describe it more clearly
• Preparing questions ahead of an appointment

Safe AI use in veterinary settings

For veterinarians, AI is currently most effective as a tool to speed up documentation rather than as a replacement for medical judgment.

At Vetster, Dr. Jo says she does not use AI to make medical decisions, but does use it to improve efficiency by:

• Generating a first draft of medical notes after an appointment
• Turning voice notes into polished summaries with clear take-home instructions
• Writing professional emails and other follow-up communications

Veterinarians at Vetster also have access to AI Scribe, an AI-powered documentation tool built directly into the Vetster platform that has helped vets complete their charting in 5 minutes or less.

Using AI as an administrative support plays to its strengths: organizing, summarizing, and generating language based on existing information. This frees veterinarians from record keeping and communications so they can focus their expertise on caring for pets.

Where should veterinary AI use be avoided?

Most veterinarians are not using AI as a replacement for clinical judgment, diagnosis, or medical decision-making. Vets also need to be mindful of privacy, consent, confidentiality, and data handling with the tools they are using.

Veterinary medicine doesn’t always have the same formal structure as human healthcare privacy laws, but the expectation of confidentiality is still very real from both an ethical and regulatory standpoint, including guidance from organizations like the American Veterinary Medical Association.

If you’ve ever been up at night with a sick dog or worried about a new bump on your cat, you know that getting vague answers online isn’t helpful. Real clarity comes from speaking with your vet.

As our veterinarians found throughout this analysis, AI isn’t designed to interpret subtle clinical findings, weigh complex medical context, or safely guide diagnostic and treatment decisions.

The convenience of using AI for pet health advice is understandable, but that’s also where virtual vet care comes in. You can upload photos or have your pet appear on camera, allowing veterinarians to better assess symptoms and help you understand your pet’s condition from home.

Vetster vets are available 24/7 for professional guidance about any pet health questions. Book an online appointment.