Best Friends

A great vets. Seen very quickly. Everything explained extremely well. Our cat seemed at ease and the treatment carried out straight away. I would certainly recommend this surgery.

I took my dog to Citivet after he had an accident falling down the stairs The veterinarian on duty that day was particularly unhelpful and unpleasant. After briefly examining our dog, he asked me: “So, do you have any money?”. He thought that was a particularly insensitive question, which maybe could have been approached more tactfully. He then said he did not have the skills to treat our dog and suggested he would need an operation. When I queried whether there could be alternatives (as our dog was almost 16 years old and unlikely to survive an operation), he replied rather untactfully: “Well you know what the alternative is!” He then said he could not help any further as their scanning equipment was out of order and he suggested we took him to the animal hospital, adding: “But it will be very expensive”, quoting a figure of £5000. Given the age of our dog and his medical history (he was almost blind, deaf and had a heart murmur), a complicated operation didn’t seem to be a viable solution. The lack of explanation and the absence of a clear diagnosis left me very confused and distressed. Because of the seriousness of the injury, I thought I would call the surgery later that day and ask to speak to the veterinarian to try to gauge the situation and help me decide on the best course of action. I was put through to him and he was immediately extremely defensive, making me feel that my phone call was an inconvenience to him. I was deeply shocked by his lack of empathy, but I remained calm and polite, and proceeded to asking him what he thought we should do. He replied very abruptly: “Well, I thought we’d already decided. You’re taking him to the animal hospital.” I then asked him specific questions about his injury, but he interrupted me and said: “Excuse me, but do you have any medical training?”. I said “No, that’s exactly why I am calling you – to get your professional opinion.” And he replied: “Well my professional opinion is that you should take him to the animal hospital, as we’ve already decided”. Seeing that the conversation was leading nowhere, I thanked him for his time and hung up. Our dog passed away the next day at the animal hospital after being diagnosed with a broken hip. I must say we were deeply disturbed by the veterinarian’s total absence of tact, sensitivity, empathy and basic professionalism. It was a very traumatic moment for us and we merely expected some sympathy and professional help or at least advice if he was unqualified to help. We have completely lost trust in the Citivet practice because of this unfortunate episode and we have found a new practice for our other dog.

I took my kitten here and they sent her home and now she’s barely surviving, we took her to another vet and they said this vet should never have let her go home. I am appalled and disappointed.

The vet on duty (weekend) didn't show a lot of interest in our young cat. We took her for a first check up

We've brought our cats to Citivet a few times and the service has always been good. The staff is helpful and the vets tend to be good. Not too expensive although sometimes they try to sell you treatments that your pets don't necessarily need. Good vet overall - just use your common sense!