Who makes Pativo, and how do we check what it says?
Pativo is made by Ali Mert Güleç, an independent developer, as an app for owners who want a calm, honest answer about their pet's health. The app's safety rules and this site's guides are written from published veterinary sources, which are cited on each page. Pativo is not a veterinary practice, it never diagnoses, and its AI answers are always labelled as AI.
Who is behind Pativo?
Pativo is built and published by Ali Mert Güleç, an independent developer who is responsible for the app and for this site. It carries no advertising and has no pet-food, pharmaceutical or insurance partner. The app is paid for by people who choose Premium, and the promises on the pricing section are written so that they can be held to.
What is Pativo for?
Pativo exists for the moment between noticing something and deciding what to do about it. Owners in that moment tend to find two kinds of help: a search engine that lists every frightening possibility, or a service that answers every question with "see your vet". Pativo tries to do better than both: read the case against what is normal for this particular animal, say how soon a vet is needed, explain what to do until then, and be firm when it cannot wait.
How is the medical content written and checked?
Every guide on this site follows the same process:
- Start from the app's own rules. The toxin guide only covers substances on the app's poison list, and the emergency signs page is built from the same red-flag rules the app runs. The site cannot promise more than the app does.
- Write from primary veterinary sources. Signs, timings and amounts come from sources such as the Merck Veterinary Manual, VCA Animal Hospitals, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center and Pet Poison Helpline. Each page lists the sources it used, with links.
- Prefer the conservative figure. Where sources disagree on an amount or a timing, the page uses the more cautious one or says that they disagree.
- Never give a drug or a dose. Neither the app nor this site recommends a medicine or a dose, or tells you to make a pet vomit. That decision belongs to a vet who can examine the animal.
- Date every change. Each page shows when it was last updated. A date only changes when the content does.
Veterinary review: Not yet reviewed by a veterinarian; written from the sources cited.
How does Pativo use AI, and where doesn't it?
Pativo uses a large language model from OpenAI for three things: reading a symptom check, answering a question about your pet, and saying what a photo shows. It is never used to write this site's guides without a person checking every line against the sources, and it is never the last word on safety.
Three parts of the app deliberately do not depend on the AI:
| Part | How it works | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency safety rules | Fixed rules run after the AI and can only raise its answer | A known emergency must never be read as a calm one |
| Poison lookup | Matched on your phone against the app's own list, offline | "My dog ate raisins" needs an answer in seconds, with or without signal |
| Dose filter | Removes any line that names a drug or a dose | One confident dosing line can kill a cat |
Every AI answer in the app carries an "AI answer" label and a reminder that it is guidance, not a diagnosis. You can report an answer you think is wrong from the answer itself, and the report is stored with the answer and the model that produced it.
How do we handle your data?
Your records are encrypted on your phone and synced only to your own account. Nothing is sent to the AI provider until you agree on a consent screen that names the provider and lists each item sent. There are no ads and no ad networks, and you can export or delete everything from inside the app. The privacy policy has the detail.
Questions owners ask
Is Pativo reviewed by a veterinarian?
Each guide shows its review status at the end. Until a named veterinarian has reviewed a page, it says so, and it is written only from the sources it cites.
Which AI model does Pativo use?
Pativo uses a model from OpenAI for the symptom check, questions and the photo check. The consent screen names the provider and lists exactly what is sent, and nothing is sent until you agree.
Does Pativo take money from pet-food or pharmaceutical companies?
No. Pativo has no advertisers, sponsors or affiliate links. It is paid for by Premium subscriptions.
How do I report a mistake?
Write to the support address at the bottom of this page with the page address and what is wrong. A person reads every message, and corrections are dated on the page.