Pet Help in the Knoxville Area
In Knoxville and need help now? For an emergency, go to a 24-hour hospital below and tell them if cost is a barrier. To lower costs, start with the spay/neuter programs and low-cost clinics. For a bill you can’t cover, get a free funding plan.
Want what’s closest to you? Search by ZIP code or your location. Nearby: Chattanooga. Nashville.
Emergencies and 24-hour hospitals
- VEG ER for Pets - Knoxville 24 hours
6739 Kingston Pike, Suite A, Knoxville, TN 37919 · (865) 261-2563
24-hour emergency-only walk-in vet clinic for dogs, cats, ferrets, hedgehogs, birds, snakes and other exotic pets in and around Knox County. You can stay with your pet the whole time.
Spay, neuter and vouchers
- Feral Feline Friends of East Tennessee
Knoxville area and surrounding counties · (865) 919-2287
All-volunteer nonprofit working to reduce the outdoor cat population in the Knoxville area and surrounding counties through Trap-Neuter-Return. Provides TNR support where resources allow, mentors residents in trapping, loans traps for neutering community cats, shares no-cost and low-cost neuter resources, and adopts out tame cats and kittens through foster homes and Scruffy's Cafe in downtown Knoxville. Does not remove feral cats or take owner surrenders.
Low-cost clinics and vaccines
- Young-Williams Animal Center - Low-Cost Care Clinic and Spay/Neuter Solutions
6400 Kingston Pike · (865) 265-1470
Low-cost full-service clinic opened in 2025 for preventive, wellness and essential medical care (not emergencies), plus low-cost spay/neuter for cats and dogs; Knox County residents on government assistance should call for extra help.
Veterinary hospitals and clinics
- University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine - Veterinary Medical Center
2407 River Drive · (865) 974-8387
Full-service teaching hospital for small and large animals open to the public; it does not offer free or reduced-cost care, but accepts CareCredit and lets owners decline or limit recommended treatment.
Pet food
- Young-Williams Animal Center - Pet Resource Center and Pet Food Pantry
6400 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919 · 865.433.9922
Pet food for owners in need, plus a Pet Resource Center that helps people find solutions so they can keep their pets. The pantry supplements and is not meant to be a pet's only food source.
Keeping your pet, end-of-life care and pet loss
- Anderson County Animal Care & Control and Animal Shelter
1480 Blockhouse Valley Road, Clinton, TN 37716 · (865) 264-6315
County animal care and control officers handle routine and emergency calls involving pets and wild animals, investigate bites (with rabies quarantine), cruelty, abuse, abandonment and nuisance complaints, rescue injured or sick animals and control strays. Animals go to the Anderson County Animal Shelter, where owners can reclaim them. - UT Center for Veterinary Social Work - Pet Loss and Grief Support
Statewide · (865) 755-8839
Free pet loss support group and memorial events open to anyone, plus up to 6 free individual, couple or family grief sessions for Tennessee residents. - Young-Williams Animal Center
3201 Division Street, Knoxville, TN 37919 · 865.433.9922
Animal shelter for the City of Knoxville and Knox County. Dog, cat and other pet adoption, foster and volunteer programs, lost and found help, and owner surrender with resources to help people keep their pets first. - Young-Williams Animal Center - End of Life Services
3201 Division Street, Knoxville, TN 37919 · 865.265.1456
Owner-requested euthanasia offered three ways: drop-off with the intake team, a Shelter Clinic appointment where you can stay with your pet (one pet per day, often booked weeks ahead), or through the Care Clinic for its established patients. - Young-Williams Animal Services (Animal Control)
City of Knoxville and Knox County · 865.407.2229
Animal control for the City of Knoxville and Knox County. Officers reconnect lost pets with owners, share resources with pet owners, and respond to animal bites, safety concerns, cruelty and welfare reports. - Blount County Animal Center
233 Currie Avenue, Maryville, TN 37804 · (865) 980-6244
County animal shelter serving Blount County since 2009. County residents can surrender animals; strays are held at least three days (five days with tags) before becoming available for adoption. Adoptions include spay or neuter, annual shots and rabies shots. Walk-ins are welcome, though appointments are preferred. - Oak Ridge Animal Shelter
395 Belgrade Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 · (865) 425-3423
No-kill city shelter offering dog and cat adoptions, pet registration, microchipping for the public by appointment, and lost and found help. Found strays are scanned for a microchip and posted online. Oak Ridge residents can surrender pets by appointment through a waiting list. The shelter does not offer public spay/neuter services.
Paying for a bigger bill
Ask any hospital about payment plans, CareCredit or Scratchpay, and apply to more than one assistance program. Ways to pay a vet bill in Tennessee lists the programs that are open now, and a free funding plan puts them together for your pet, with a free fundraiser page if you want one.