New Vet Recommendation Needed - Pittsburgh/SW PA

October 8, 2018 7:30 AM

Pet owners of Pittsburgh(ish), do you love your vet? Will you share your amazing vet with me? Cat specific would be amazing, but at this point I'd settle for someone with kind and competent staff members (across the board). Please and thank you.

Obligatory kitten tax photo. We lost his brother this weekend due to a terminal kitten disease, but I'm not thrilled with how everything shook out. I'd love to explore other options for his (and any future siblings) care.

posted by librarianamy to Pets & Animals (7 answers total)

I've been happy with VCA Fox Chapel in general, but Dr. Resek in particular is fantastic and when possible, we arrange to see only her. Our current batch of cats is young and healthy, but she really shone with our older cat who died last year. He had complex medical issues his whole life and she reliably communicated well with us, answered my questions via phone whenever I had them, went off and did research with specialists and journals when he proved resistant to standard treatments, helped us find mail-order vet pharmacies for a medication she couldn't find locally, referred us to specialists for one particular issue when she knew it was out of her expertise and didn't want to waste our time, and is always kind and competent. When he finally died, she called me up and we had a good cry over the phone at each other, and I really appreciated it. She still reminisces with me about him and other cats we've lost over the years.

I've always been happy with the vet techs and front desk staff there as well. If I have any complaint it's that you can get stuck in the waiting room for a little while. On the other hand, when I've had a cat with an emergency situation I've really appreciated that they've done their best to squeeze us in and take whatever time is needed, so I recognize that as the flip side of that coin and I don't mind it terribly.

I'm so sorry about your kitty loss. Your remaining boy is lovely.
posted by Stacey at 8:12 AM on October 8, 2018

Where do you live?

Back when I had both cats and dogs, I was very happy with East End Veterinary Medical Center in Shadyside. They saw me through the terminal illnesses of three of my four and were compassionate, capable and understanding the whole way through.
posted by soren_lorensen at 9:45 AM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

I was just coming in to recommend East End Veterinary Medical Center, but I see soren_lorensen beat me to it. We were really happy with the services they provided our dog for the five years we lived there - the vet, techs, and support staff were always kind and competent (and best of all, there's a pet accessories store straight across the street so you can go get toys afterwards to reward your brave kitty!).

I'm sorry for your loss.
posted by DingoMutt at 10:46 AM on October 8, 2018

It's a long drive from you, but you said "ish" and at least it's right off the highway - we switched to Franklin Park Vet in Sewickley. Our previous vet had been amazing with Kitty's Chronic Crises until they got bought out and the new owners operated on an upsell for profit motive that I found extremely upsetting to deal with during crisis. We went with Franklin Park because as far as we can tell, they're still independently owned. I really like their pragmatism and they're up on their knowledge. I don't mind the drive to have people who are also interested in "what's best for the animal" over "what's best for my corporate quota."

For emergency after-hours vets, should you ever need one, PVSEC on Mt Nebo was pretty good for the Puppy Shouldn't Eat That Problem. Haven't taken a cat there yet.
posted by arabelladragon at 10:51 AM on October 8, 2018

Response by poster: For emergency after-hours vets, should you ever need one, PVSEC on Mt Nebo was pretty good for the Puppy Shouldn't Eat That Problem. Haven't taken a cat there yet.

Following up on that - every person we've dealt with at PVSEC has been fantastic, cat-wise. We took our two girls (who have left us, both cancer) and then the wee boy we just lost (FIP), and I can't speak well enough of them. I just wish I could find the equivalent for an every day "hey we need the annual rabies shot" or "hey look the new shelter kitten has the typical shelter croup" stuff.

And yeah, we're in Mt. Washington, but I'm totally willing to drive if it means my cat is well cared for and not just a statistic/cash flow.
posted by librarianamy at 11:35 AM on October 8, 2018

I'm so sorry for your loss. I highly recommend Greentree Animal Clinic, especially Dr. Brown. We've been taking our cats (including one with FIV and FeLV, RIP Pipkin) there for at least 5 years, and everyone we've worked with has been skilled and compassionate.
posted by miaou at 7:15 AM on October 9, 2018

The Big Easy Animal Hospital, which is located in Lawrenceville (there's plenty of parking, though!) is wonderful! We've been taking our 3-year-old cat there since he was a kitten and have been very pleased. Everyone is friendly, and costs are reasonable.

Bonus: They also offer boarding, and we've left our cat in their care on several occasions. It's quite affordable, and it's nice to know that if something were to go wrong, our cat is already at his vet's office.
posted by gypsyhymns at 8:11 AM on October 10, 2018