Do you go to a Cat Specialist?

My current vet is a Gold Level AAFP Cat Friendly Practice. The other vets at the practice do mostly dogs, but will do cats as well. My vet, Dr L, is the cat doctor, although she is not a Feline Specialist. l've been very happy at this clinic for many years, their prices are much better than those here in the city (the clinic is a half hour drive south), and the atmosphere is small-town friendly while being equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and progressive staff/knowledge.

l've read here on the forum that if anyone has the ability to get to a Feline Specialist, to do so. l've just found out today that we have one board-certified Feline Specialist here in the city, in a cats-only hospital. My question is, is it really worth switching to the Cat Hospital? Are there specific things that are beneficial for day-to-day regular check-ups, or do you recommend going to the specialist only for health issues?

l would love feedback from anyone who is a patient, thx   

If you're happy with your vet then continue to go there.  I go to a feline specialist but that was after a long period of vet hopping with a chronically ill cat.  I usually recommend a feline specialist for people in the situation that I was in or for whatever reason they are looking for another vet.

Like Denise I'd say if you are happy with your vet and get on well I would continue to go there.  

My vets are not cat specialists but they are cat friendly and a couple of them are definitely interested in cats.  They have other specializms like opthalmology or dental care within the practice and that has had definitie benefits for my cats. 

I selected my current vet practice as I knew they dealt with rescue and feral cats and when I started going there I had a vet phobic cat that needed sedation for any examination / the minute she arrived at the practice and was still in her basket.  They handled her (sedated) very well and had a very kind and practical approach to her health care.  Her sister loved them there, and my current boy does too.  I think if they didn't know what they were looking at or needed specialist input they would tell me and refer on and I'm happy with that - so far they have been excellent.

I know many people on this site favour cat specialist / cat only clinics, but personally I would avoid changing unless I had a concern about the vet / vet tech staff I was already seeing.

The vet I work for, neither one are 'cat' specialists, nor is my dad (retired vet).  I am comfortable taking my cats to any of them.  I know my dad is well schooled in cats (he has 40+ years of experience) and he isn't afraid to listen to my babblings or research I find.  I do know there are one or two cat only practices in a neighboring city (20-30min away), right now I am comfortable with the vets I have.  If you think your vet is doing a good job, I don't see why you should switch.  It sounds like the vet you have is trying to be kitty friendly with the certification etc.

I go to a regular vet, but I have taken my kitties to a cat-only/cat specialist vet if needed for a second opinion. 

For what it's worth, I have been to a feline only vet clinic, and I was not overly impressed. We clashed about raw feeding. There were some other issues as well, like use of Convenia and vet not being sure if jaundice was an issue and calling my sick cat fractious.

Thank you for the replies 

You all pretty much said the same thing, and l think that's the sensible way to go. l may pay them a visit to start files, and use them for back-up, second opinions, specialist treatment etc. lt's also good to open a file there because they are also an emergency hospital, and are much closer to me geographically than my regular vet.

@vball91  , one of the things l looked for on their website was any mention of nutrition, and the Feline Specialist (also Dr L) has written articles touting the benefits of high meat protein, fairly high fat, wet/canned diets over carb-ridden kibble and carb-ridden wet. There was no mention of raw, but she seems well-schooled in nutrition.

My vet at a cat's only clinic has the same view of nutrition.  She agrees with the high meat low carb wet diet but she draws the line at a raw diet.  She is fine with a cooked diet that is nutritionally balanced.

There is a cat specialist/cat-only vet clinic in Sioux Falls, and I would probably go to her for a difficult problem. She is also a pet chiropractor/acupuncturist and probably would be into alternative diets and limited vaccination and stuff (most chiropractors are, IME). BUT, she advertises laser de-claws on her website and in her Yellow Pages ad, and while I might excuse a regular vet for that, I can't excuse a cat specialist and chiropractor for advertising de-claws. She should know better.

Hmm, can't find her website. Wonder if the clinic closed.

I am going to a cats-only clinic because they're the only vet around that carries the Purevax rabies vaccine. My regular vet refuses to order a tray.

I've taken Princess, my oldest kitty(about 12yrs old) to a cats only clinic a few times. She was vomiting on and off and losing weight rapidly a couple of years ago and our regular vet couldn't find anything wrong with her. The cat specialist did more extensive bloodwork and an ultrasound. They didn't find anything wrong with her either and luckily her vomiting stopped. I went to the specialist because she had been to the regular vet several times in one month for the same issue and we were in extreme panic mode .Also my best friend had taken several of her cats to the specialist and she was very happy with their care.

I take my dogs to a general vet but my cats to a cat only practice. like others have said, if you like your current vet there's no need to switch unless you want to see how the feline clinic is and choose from there.

I love our cat vet, she is compassionate and you can tell she loves cats and wants nothing more than to help them thrive. I went to her because we were having trouble finding a vet that treated our cats as well as they treated our dogs. The last place we went to made me so angry I could cry, so we switched to our current vet and luckily she is amazing. We also stick with her because she will not always go straight for drugs to fix things, she also does acupuncture.