Feline only vets [discussion]

[IndyJones]

I have seen alot of people on here meantioning feline only vets.

There used to be a clinic near me Iactualy had wanted to do volounteer work there maybe mucking cages, socializing or sweeping or something idk.

It closed down during the pandemic and never reopened, in fact i found out it was torn down about a month ago or so.

It was the only feline only practice within reasonable distance of me. I never went there or used them but it was a fairly small building and after closing was left vaccant.

I have always used a vet who takes everything cats,dogs, hamsters, parrots, someone even brought in a goldfish (yeah didnt know that was a thing) and have always been very happy with the care they give my cats. They are very good there.

 

[Tobermory]

I wish we had a feline-only vet in our community. The vet I took my first cat to back in the ‘70s was cats only, and she was wonderful. Many years later, I had a vet who saw all animals, but she had specialized in feline medicine in vet school and was extremely knowledgeable about all things cat. I do think it makes a difference. Human doctors have only one kind of physiology to deal with; vets have to deal with the complexities of many species.

 

[neely]

A long time ago when we adopted a cat that our regular vet was unable to diagnose or treat he referred us to a feline only specialist in the city. Mind you we had been to this vet before and he was very knowledgeable but I give him credit for recognizing our newly adopted cat's health problem was out of his league. We eventually moved out of the city but ever since then we always used a feline specialist even though we had dogs too. We have had many discussions over the years with our present feline specialist and I wouldn't change a thing. There's a reason they specialize in cats only.

 

[Binxie]

I have a feline only vet and have had for decades, in addition to the fact that they have chosen to specialize in feline medicine I really like the fact that it is much quieter and there are no barking dogs or dogs sticking their nose up to the carrier to annoy the cat. I realize that the nose thing is natural for the dog and it is the owner being irresponsible to allow the dog to do that but it is nice not to have to deal with that.

 

[catloverfromwayback]

Sadly there aren't any cat-only clinics in my city. Plenty of vets, but all the usual mixed practices. I'd use a cat-only if one was close, but the nearest is a ninety minute drive on very busy toll roads ... not something I'd subject either the cats or myself to! Fortunately the vet nearest me is barely a five minute drive away, and I've no complaints about hem so far (other than the vets rotating so much between practices I can't remember, let alone get established with, any of them).

 

[FeebysOwner]

I don't normally check out this forum, but the title intrigued me. I have only dealt with one cat-only vet in a cat-only practice, and she was the worst. She may have even been the reason for my cat having a hyperextended wrist due to the way she handled her when checking her for arthritis. Feeby was not having any problems with that particular joint but did immediately thereafter. An IM vet at another practice consulted with an in-house orthopedist who confirmed it was hyperextended. The cat-only vet said nothing about it, so I presume she would have had it existed at the onset of the exam.

This cat-only vet was given all the information about/records related to my cat, so she had the history (hyperthyroidism, CKD, arthritis). And, yet I was chastised because I wasn't giving Feeby the daily 'standard' dosing of Mirataz even though she was maintaining her weight with my regimen. But then this same vet said Feeby was overweight and recommended a reduction in caloric intake. I found this to be a bit contradictory.

She also indicated there was nothing wrong with Feeby's eyes, but just 3-4 weeks later she was diagnosed by an IM vet with iris atrophy and lack of pupillary restriction. Did that just happen in the timeline between the visits?

This vet was also willing to put Feeby back in her carrier and then place her and the carrier on the floor while she talked to me across the exam table!

Perhaps I just happened across one of the worst cat-only vets. She didn't do everything 'wrong'; but, IMO, from my experience with her, I don't think cat-only vets necessarily have a 'leg-up' on a good non-cat only vet.

 

[IndyJones]

I don't normally check out this forum, but the title intrigued me. I have only dealt with one cat-only vet in a cat-only practice, and she was the worst. She may have even been the reason for my cat having a hyperextended wrist due to the way she handled her when checking her for arthritis. Feeby was not having any problems with that particular joint but did immediately thereafter. An IM vet at another practice consulted with an in-house orthopedist who confirmed it was hyperextended. The cat-only vet said nothing about it, so I presume she would have had it existed at the onset of the exam.

This cat-only vet was given all the information about/records related to my cat, so she had the history (hyperthyroidism, CKD, arthritis). And, yet I was chastised because I wasn't giving Feeby the daily 'standard' dosing of Mirataz even though she was maintaining her weight with my regimen. But then this same vet said Feeby was overweight and recommended a reduction in caloric intake. I found this to be a bit contradictory.

She also indicated there was nothing wrong with Feeby's eyes, but just 3-4 weeks later she was diagnosed by an IM vet with iris atrophy and lack of pupillary restriction. Did that just happen in the timeline between the visits?

This vet was also willing to put Feeby back in her carrier and then place her and the carrier on the floor while she talked to me across the exam table!

Perhaps I just happened across one of the worst cat-only vets. She didn't do everything 'wrong'; but, IMO, from my experience with her, I don't think cat-only vets necessarily have a 'leg-up' on a good non-cat only vet.

Intresting and funny you meantion the carrier thing, my vet lets my cats just look around and watch cars out the window. They are multi species but have a "cat wing" on one side of the clinic. It actualy was added on during lockdown. The waiting area is a bit smaller now though but theres three rooms in the cat wing.

I don't know exactly why the feline only clinic closed but the fact the building lay vacant for two years on a busy street and was recently demolished makes me think there was more to it than just the pandemic.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Intresting and funny you meantion the carrier thing, my vet lets my cats just look around and watch cars out the window.

In all the vets I have seen, I have never had that happen before. If my cat seems to want to be back in the carrier, they will accommodate her, but she stays on the exam table and is able to look around. No one has ever put her in the carrier and then put both on the floor. Of all the things that went on, that one bothered me the most.

 

[IndyJones]

Understandable. To clarify, my cats both are quite quick to make themselves at home wherever I take them. The rooms have doors and the cat wing itself has a door so theres no way they can just run off.

 

[waddle]

My cat always goes back in her carrier, on the floor, when they are done with her. She wants to. Maybe the vet just figured the cat would want away from him /her as soon as they were done? Am I the only one who doesn’t find this the least bit strange or bothersome?

 

[waddle]

This is ata feline only practice also and I’ve been very happy with the care there

 

[misty8723]

We've always gone to cat only vets. Our first cats in 2005, we went to the vet our neighbor used for our "grand cat." She was a very caring person, but she had some personal issues and ended up closing the clinic and moving away. Thankfully, we had gone at one point to another cat only vet and she took us on when our original vet left. I love my vet. She's not perfect, and she's not cheap, but she's very thorough and very gentle with the kitties. There was another cat only vet practice in the area when we first got the cats, but she was proud to post on her web site that she specialized in declawing so I steered very, very clear of her.

 

[Lari]

I've also only gone to cat only vets. Fortunately, where I've lived, they haven't been too far from me. Like Binxie said, I like that we don't run into any dogs in the waiting room - the cats get stressed enough.

I've been happy with the care I've received. I'd always look for a certified cat friendly practice, though, even if I ended up at a vet that saw all animals.

 

[FeebysOwner]

My cat always goes back in her carrier, on the floor, when they are done with her. She wants to. Maybe the vet just figured the cat would want away from him /her as soon as they were done? Am I the only one who doesn’t find this the least bit strange or bothersome?

I guess it bothers me - if for no other reason than I am sure the floors are not cleaned between visits, so my cat and her carrier are sitting on a potentially dirty floor where people have walked and probably other cats have sat, when she could have been left on the presumably clean exam table. Not very hygienic, if you ask me.

She wasn't acting up nor being difficult, so no reason to remove her from that table. I have seen numerous vets, and not one of them has ever placed my cat/carrier on the floor, so I do find it a bit strange.

 

[Tobermory]

I'd always look for a certified cat friendly practice, though, even if I ended up at a vet that saw all animals.

One of the clinics I used had two waiting rooms at opposite ends of the building: one for cats (or other small, quiet, caged critters) and one for dogs. So much easier on the kitties when they’re stressed anyway.

 

[neely]

I like that we don't run into any dogs in the waiting room - the cats get stressed enough.

Fortunately most of our cats were used to dogs because they were pets in our house and coexisted. Therefore, prior to using a feline only specialist dogs were not a deterrent for us. However, I do agree it's more quiet in the waiting room when you go to a feline vet.

 

[IndyJones]

I guess it bothers me - if for no other reason than I am sure the floors are not cleaned between visits, so my cat and her carrier are sitting on a potentially dirty floor where people have walked and probably other cats have sat, when she could have been left on the presumably clean exam table. Not very hygienic, if you ask me.

She wasn't acting up nor being difficult, so no reason to remove her from that table. I have seen numerous vets, and not one of them has ever placed my cat/carrier on the floor, so I do find it a bit strange.

Yeah gross. I often have to wait in the car for them to clean the room between patients. I leave the cats in the car until the room is ready usualy if it happens to not be ready yet.

 

[misty8723]

This vet was also willing to put Feeby back in her carrier and then place her and the carrier on the floor while she talked to me across the exam table!

Perhaps I just happened across one of the worst cat-only vets. She didn't do everything 'wrong'; but, IMO, from my experience with her, I don't think cat-only vets necessarily have a 'leg-up' on a good non-cat only vet.

Nobody has to put my cats back in their carrier and I don't see a problem with the carrier being on the floor.

The one big reason I like going to cat only is because it's like taking my cat to a specialist. I realize there are good and bad vets, and I've hard about some bad ones, so you have to pay attention and go with your instincts. I've had 2 that were/are good but there is one in that practice I did not have good vibes from and choose not to see her.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Nobody has to put my cats back in their carrier and I don't see a problem with the carrier being on the floor. The one big reason I like going to cat only is because it's like taking my cat to a specialist. I realize there are good and bad vets, and I've hard about some bad ones, so you have to pay attention and go with your instincts. I've had 2 that were/are good but there is one in that practice I did not have good vibes from and choose not to see her.

I place my cat back in her carrier, as she is more comfortable being there after being poked and prodded. I did not place her on the floor, but rather left her on the table. It was the vet who chose to remove her from the table and put her on the floor. Any vet who thinks that a cat belongs on a dirty floor is going to give me bad vibes. Sorry, but there is absolutely no reason for having done so.

Wonder how anyone would feel about a pediatrician placing a baby in a baby carrier on the floor while they chat with the parent?

 

[neely]

Our cat comes out of his carrier and is also on the exam table until the vet exam is over. As soon as I get home I always sanitize his carrier. Not worth taking any chances even though I know they clean thoroughly.