Good vet in or near Chicago / Oak Park, IL?
December 11, 2008 8:27 AM Subscribe
Can anyone recommend a good vet in the Chicago area? (Bonus points for a vet near Oak Park.) Our kitty is sick. :-(
My wife and I have three cats; over the past few days, we've noticed that one of them (a female tortie, 3 years old) has started acting slow and depressed. She definitely seems to be losing weight (she's normally quite the pudgy cat), and we don't see her eating. We've also found a couple of puddles of clear liquid vomit; our cats certainly puke, but it's normally just mushy chewed-up food, so this is different.
Our cats are our kids (we're a childfree couple); I'm far more interested in quality of care than price in a vet. We badly miss our old vet right now (Bradley Animal Hospital of Lawrence KS); I'm already having half-crazed thoughts of driving my cat several states away just to make sure she's okay.
So ... I can has vet?
My wife and I have three cats; over the past few days, we've noticed that one of them (a female tortie, 3 years old) has started acting slow and depressed. She definitely seems to be losing weight (she's normally quite the pudgy cat), and we don't see her eating. We've also found a couple of puddles of clear liquid vomit; our cats certainly puke, but it's normally just mushy chewed-up food, so this is different.
Our cats are our kids (we're a childfree couple); I'm far more interested in quality of care than price in a vet. We badly miss our old vet right now (Bradley Animal Hospital of Lawrence KS); I'm already having half-crazed thoughts of driving my cat several states away just to make sure she's okay.
So ... I can has vet?
2nding Bramer. They're a little pricier than most, but that comes through in the level of care they give.
posted by SpiffyRob at 9:21 AM on December 11, 2008
posted by SpiffyRob at 9:21 AM on December 11, 2008
Yelp.com can also be a good resource. They have lots of reviews for vets. Jewell Animal Hospital is great, but pretty expensive. Make sure they tell you what tests they're doing--the bill ($400) came as a shock because there was some stuff on there that I might have waited to do. I have a tortie, too (mine is 16), and she's such a sweet kitty. I hope yours gets better soon!
posted by catwoman429 at 9:42 AM on December 11, 2008
posted by catwoman429 at 9:42 AM on December 11, 2008
Response by poster: I just made an appointment with Family Pet Animal Hospital for Monday; I picked them based on the overall vibe I got from the comments on Yelp vs. other vets. The receptionist was very nice, and told us (naturally) to take our cat to an emergency vet if she gets any worse. I don't like waiting, but I also wouldn't like walking in blind to a possibly mediocre vet, so we'll wait until Monday (barring any worsening in her symptoms). I'll post back with our experience.
Feel free to keep offering suggestions — if we need to try someplace else, those would come in handy in deciding on another vet.
posted by korpios at 10:38 AM on December 11, 2008
Feel free to keep offering suggestions — if we need to try someplace else, those would come in handy in deciding on another vet.
posted by korpios at 10:38 AM on December 11, 2008
I love Family Pet. Pricey, compared to other city vets, but the care there is top-notch.
posted by misskaz at 10:48 AM on December 11, 2008
posted by misskaz at 10:48 AM on December 11, 2008
I'd also recommend City Cat Doctor. They're downtown, not in Oak Park, and pricey, but they did all my kitties quite well when I was there, and they work exclusively with cats, so the vets are much more familiar with cat ailments. If you need a second option, give them a try.
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 7:22 AM on December 12, 2008
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 7:22 AM on December 12, 2008
Response by poster: I just called my old vet's office back in Kansas, and they said we should probably try to have her seen today, because she's likely dehydrated at this point based on the vomiting. :-/
I called City Cat Doctor as per the suggestion by the luke parker fiasco; while they didn't have anything available tomorrow, they did have slots open today, so we took the earliest slot we could manage (considering that I have to bail out of work and take the L back to Oak Park, and then head right back to the Near North Side again since they're only a few blocks south of my office ... why couldn't I have just taken the cat to work?).
I already checked out emergency vets yesterday, and settled on Animal 911 in Skokie as our best emergency option; as with Family Pet, they gave me the best vibe out of the emergency vets on Yelp.
The cat in question has a bad case of pica, so I really hope this isn't due to her chewing up and swallowing some wires or cables somewhere. ::sigh:: (At least nothing is obviously eaten, since I Critter Corded most of the wires/cables after suffering through far too much expensive damage in that area.) :p
posted by korpios at 9:50 AM on December 12, 2008
I called City Cat Doctor as per the suggestion by the luke parker fiasco; while they didn't have anything available tomorrow, they did have slots open today, so we took the earliest slot we could manage (considering that I have to bail out of work and take the L back to Oak Park, and then head right back to the Near North Side again since they're only a few blocks south of my office ... why couldn't I have just taken the cat to work?).
I already checked out emergency vets yesterday, and settled on Animal 911 in Skokie as our best emergency option; as with Family Pet, they gave me the best vibe out of the emergency vets on Yelp.
The cat in question has a bad case of pica, so I really hope this isn't due to her chewing up and swallowing some wires or cables somewhere. ::sigh:: (At least nothing is obviously eaten, since I Critter Corded most of the wires/cables after suffering through far too much expensive damage in that area.) :p
posted by korpios at 9:50 AM on December 12, 2008
How's the kitty doing? Did you like the vet you took her to?
posted by zenon at 11:29 AM on December 30, 2008
posted by zenon at 11:29 AM on December 30, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by limeswirltart at 8:44 AM on December 11, 2008