The Cat Practice

I came to them because of their supposed expertise on cats. I made it clear to them that I had lost a cat suddenly before and didn’t want to experience that again. They were given carte blanche to run every test possible to track my cat’s health and I requested it over and over.
They did an ultrasound in October 2014 and that combined with the blood work indicated some kidney disease and pancreatitis. A twice a day compound ointment that relieved pain, increased appetite and reduced nausea was prescribed for the pancreatitis. In addition Adequan for inflammation and a B-​12 shot were prescribed weekly. All of which was administered by me.
In March 2016 I paid for a house visit and the exam indicated that he was alright although a urine sample couldn’t be accomplished and he had experienced a significant weight loss. I did indicate that he periodically had a strange odor to his saliva and I didn’t mean bad breath, but no action on that.
In early July 2015 he experienced vomiting and diarrhea which subsided after a couple of days. Verbally over the phone they suggested it was probably a virus. I brought him in for an office visit July 22, 2016 and the exam was positive although a change in the liver enzymes caused them to recommend an Ultrasound which could not be scheduled until August 6. This is one of the problems – you can’t get an ultrasound and an office visit the same day as Thursdays when the ultrasound technician is there as the doctors there that day only do surgeries. Two visits then or leave your cat overnight.
Unfortunately my cat never made it to that ultrasound appointment. I found him in a state of shock early on Sunday morning and rushed him to the closet emergency 24 hour veterinarian hospital. It turns out that he had a tumor which they believed was in the spleen, it had ruptured and he was severely anemic and received a blood transfusion. It was explained to me that an operation to remove the tumor would not solve the problem and he was still critical. All there vets there recommended that he be euthanized, which after many tears I did.
Why wasn’t the tumor identified by The Cat Practice earlier? A virus it obviously wasn’t. Even if they had identified it earlier chemo may not have worked, but at least if he needed to be euthanized I would have been prepared and his state of shock he suffered through could have been avoided.
Again I pleaded over and over to test him for everything so if there was a problem we could catch it early; as far as I’m concerned that didn’t happen.

The Cat Practice is a great place to take your cat. I had an elderly cat (around 20 years of age) and the folks there helped me provide her with pain medication and drugs to lower her blood pressure as she began to decline. Eventually, it became clear that she needed to be released as she began to refuse food and water. One of the vet techs came to my house and euthanized my cat without stress of travel. They are wonderful.
Also, after reviewing some of the other comments here, I disagree with those who say the billing is high at The Cat Practice. I think it is about average and I was never pressured to take aggressive, painful or expensive actions for my cat, which would have been inappropriate given her age.

My first visit to The Cat Practice today was a very good experience. The facility is spotless and the staff are very caring. The atmosphere is very relaxed and you can tell that they really love cats. My kitty was there for a check up and vaccinations, unfortunately their shipment of rabies vaccines hadn’t arrived so, due to this inconvenience they offered to come to my house and administer the vaccine when it came in. That is very good customer service! I was worried that their prices were going to be high due to their Birmingham location, but I was pleasantly surprised by their competitive pricing. I will be taking my cats there from now on.

The Cat Practice is a very comfortable place to take your cats. The vets and assistants have cats, understand them and are passionate about helping them. I have a very skittish and shy cat, they handled with with kindness and ease. He actually peed on me on our way there, they promptly got us a room and were very accommodating as we were late. They showered our kitty with love and compliments. We got to see their entire building. They were able to vaccinate him without a needle which was good for kitty. I hate taking my cat to the vet becaus of the stress it is for him but once there they eased all of us. They give you a wide array of options some are more expensive than others but they are very upfront with what you should consider and what is necessary. I went there on a referral from a friend who has two cats herself and one of which is on the feral side and heard how well they handled him and I was not disappointed with the way they handled my emotional mess of a cat. Kitty actually settled down once we for there and was able to sit quietly in his room and feel safe. I will be back!

This place was wonderful. I took my new kitten there a week ago because of some eye problems. I felt more comfortable taking my kitten here because of the location but also because it’s cats only, which I think helps when there are no dogs in the waiting room. I anticipated that I would be paying a good bit but I set a goal amount and it was just about what I had figured.
From the start they were great, I talked to Michelle on the phone and when I explained the situation she got me in THAT DAY to see the Veterinarian which was perfect. Michelle’s customer service was really great and it’s SO nice to see that some establishments still value it. I had a minimal waiting time and the Vet Tech Erin was great when we got into the room. My kitten actually fell asleep in the room on the weighing machine, she was so relaxed. The Veterinarian (I cannot remember her name) was so nice when she came in and explained everything to me and answered all my questions. They made sure her vaccines were up to date and clued me in on tests I needed to get done for her– either at their place or somewhere cheaper, and they did not push me to do anything that was unnecessary.
I’m so glad that I chose to take my kitten here and will most likely return for regular checkups and sick visits, but I’ll probably get vaccines at another place that I also support too. The Vet Tech has even followed up with multiple e-​mails to check on my kitten’s status and how she is doing so that they can pass the info on to the Vet. I would totally recommend this place to anyone with a cat, they’re professional and treat you with respect and truly care about your cats! Thank you Cat Practice!

This place is convenient (ample parking, easy to get to), the staff is very friendly and knowledgable, and best of all — it’s very cat-​friendly. They keep a cat video playing in the waiting room (my cats are too busy plotting my death to pay attention, but it’s a nice gesture), catnip in the rooms, and everyone there likes and knows how to deal with freaked-​out cats. I would recommend it to anyone.
I think the prices and recommended services are reasonable. This IS Birmingham – so whether you’re at the vet or dentist or car repair shop, they’ll recommend a list of ‘nice-​to-​haves’ rather than the bare necessities. They aren’t trying to rip you off, they’re just being thorough and giving you options.

We moved to the area and needed to get our cat checked out. We also needed a plan to help Mr. Sausage Cat (not his real name) get back to a healthy weight. The staff were very friendly and helpful.
We left with a clear meal plan and calorie counts for Watson. I also was able to take a tour of the facilities for the cat boarding. While boarding my cat would not be my first option, it is a good looking second option.

We had our cat there for almost 14 years and the people are very pleasant and thoughtful. I feel like they try to make sure things are done ‘by the book’. They are very warm and friendly people, and keep great records and the vet always is charming and professional.
I will warn you about costs and tests. It seems that they are always interested in ‘being sure’ about something. As your pet gets older, there seems to be a laundry list of tests they want to run on blood and other samples. They wanted to run an EKG on our cat because she had an elevated heart rate, well, she was at the vet and HATES the vet so I had to use my judgement to say no. The cat was flipping out.
I would just caution you on things they suggest, if money is no object, let them go crazy. If you can’t give over a blank check, just be careful.
Lastly, and this is my experience. Our cat had to be put down and it was a very hard thing to go through. They were fantastic at the event and gave us plenty of time with her in her final moments. My only disappointment was in the time that led up to that. When I brought in an obviously sick cat, they immediately told me how she needed IV’s and that I could start doing them myself at home! It seemed like they didn’t want to talk about the reason for this new procedure they wanted me to embark on. I finally had to stop them as they went into gear on that and say «what is going on with my cat?» After a few minutes of me asking, they didn’t volunteer any details unless I pushed… they told me her kidneys basically no longer worked and unless she had meds and IV every day, she was not going to live.
Putting her down was the right call but I had to suggest it, they never told me how she was doing, just how to keep her alive. So be very patient and be sure to ask questions if you go here. The care is good but it is expensive and not always 100% clear unless YOU make sure they are honest.

The cat practice is the best care you can get for your cat. The problem is… not everyone can afford this place:(if I was a millionare I would gladly use the cat practice as my regular vet. I took my older cat here because I really wanted the best for him… they suggested I get a 400 cardiogram and 450 worth of bloodwork done. The blood work turned up a slight enzyme problem… i went back to my old vet and got treatment for a third of the price.