Feline Health

We recommend Feline Health, Dr. Kempner and his caring, professional staff, provide maintenance and medical care for our 3 cats (now 10 yrs old). Our female had her top teeth removed by this team and it has improved her quality of life (and no doubt her longevity). Come to this cat whisperer with confidence.

This place is great. My husband and I brought our 5 year old cats here for their first check up since moving back to NYC. Our cats are huge, 14 and 15 pounds (not overweight, just very big lol everyone is always surprised by their size), and they both put up a fight. Especially our big boy, who had to be held down by both Dr. Kepner and Michael just so he could be examined. They were very gentle with our cats and we felt very comfortable throughout the whole process. We will absolutely be bringing our cats back here for all of their check ups in the future. The staff was awesome, super polite, knowledgeable, and helpful.

Feline Health is great! Everyone was very nice and they were able to make the visit enjoyable for my cat. They are very knowledgable and their clinical skills are excellent. I felt so much more comfortable knowing that they only work with cats so I knew they would be able to take good care of mine. I would HIGHLY recommend taking your cat here if you live in the UES. It might be slightly more expensive but it was so worth the piece of mind that I had when we left.

Dr Kepner, his technicians Dhimitri and Micheal, and Mindy were all wonderful. This was our first visit and we were in search of a vet for our 9 year old cat Jessye. The doctor was so handled Jessye with great care and attention and I got the strong sense that he was provided that high level of service to all of his clients. We are very happy to have Jessye in his care!

They helped my cat and treated him great. The doc is in love w my handsome long haired cat. Great docs. Great treatment. A bit expensive but well worth it.

THE BEST! This staff is wonderful. They were so great with our cat who gets really stressed and aggressive any time we put him in his carrier.
We were able to go on a 10-​day vacation with a peace of mind that out little guy was in good hands. He came back home so happy!
Amazing technicians and doctors who understand the nuances of dealing with our furry feline friends. :) I HIGHLY recommend this practice to any cat owner.

I came here because I couldn’t get my cat to my regular vet and she wasn’t feeling well. I picked this place because most of the reviews were positive, and as a pet owner, I only want what is best for my cat. However, my experience here was far from that.
When we first got to the clinic everything was fine. I spoke to the nurse and let her know that I don’t want any painful procedure done to my cat unless it was absolutely necessary. She seemed fine with that. However, when the doctor came in to examine my cat, he didn’t seem to care what I want.
My cat had been through some bad vet experiences and she feels much calmer when I hold her or at least pet her. When I tried to hold her in this office the vet gave me a talking saying that I can’t touch my cat in his office. Now, I completely understand that if my cat bites me, that isn’t a very good thing, but she is my pet, and ultimately I don’t care if she bites me, as long as she feels better.
After this unpleasant interaction the doctor called the nurse in and started performing the procedure I specifically asked him not to. He didn’t bother talking to me about it and completely ignored everything I had to say. When my giant cat started trying to get away, I tried to hold her body still. At this point the doctor let go of her, started SCREAMING at me saying «DIDN’T I TELL YOU NOT TO TOUCH YOUR CAT!!!». I was so shocked I didn’t know what to do. I asked him who does he think he is to talk to me like that. His response? «take your cat and get out!»
Let me mention that I will NEVER come back here again and don’t recommend anyone, who treats their cat as part of the family, to come here. I have never been so disrespected in my life. I should also mention that now I am going back to my regular vet because my cat is still not feeling well. Either way, this guy is more concerned about money and people «suing him» than for the actual pets. Definitely not a vet I would ever trust with my cat.

Dr Kepner is a great doc, I took my cat here several times and even had her surgery here and I felt she was very well taken care of. Just like human physicians, vets can be a hit or a miss, it’s all about a particular individual. He is a great doctor and clearly strives to provide the best care possible.
It’s a very non fruffy place, so I am sure some Upper Easters will be disappointed upon walking in and not feasting their eyes on white leather couches but I rather pay for the quality veterinary care than décor and ambiance.

Dr. Kepner and Michael have been amazing over the past two years. I unexpectedly adopted my Marlow on maybe a 3 hour notice — we were contacted to try to pull the fella off a to-​be-​destroyed list so we left work to go get him. Since we were unprepared parents, and this was our first kitten, we were extra cautious and probably asked Dr. Kepner and Michael way too many questions. But at every visit, they’ve been so great about answering our concerns, showing us how to handle the cat and warning us about pitfalls that cat parents make. I just feel like Marlow’s in very safe hands

Dr. Kepner was a caring, compassionate, and thorough vet for the last couple years of my cat Chloe’s life. It gave me such a peace of mind to know Chloe was in his care. Dina was like extended family to Chloe — she is so dedicated and is a treasure trove of tips for any issues that come up. Michael was also very sensitive, kind, and helpful, and I am so grateful to have Feline Health in the neighborhood.

I started bringing my cats to Feline Health back in the early 80s when they were at another location and followed them to their current location and have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Kepner and the staff here. I found Feline Health in an emergency and knew back then that Dr. Kepner really cared about the animals he treated and he’s now seen several cats of mine through the decades. (the one I had before I got my current two lived to 19 with the help of Feline Health even though he had developed some serious problems when he was 14) Everyone here from the technicians to the front office staff is extremely knowledgeable and good with the animals and extremely patient with worried animal «mommies’ like me. They will take the time to talk with you as well as taking the time to try and make the animals feel comfortable in what, for them, is a scary situation. I even board here when we go away because I feel the staff really cares and can be trusted.

I am new to this big city and really wanted to find a good vet that was for cats only as my last hospitals for my cat were cat-​focused. This one popped up in my search and was also within walking distance! YES!!! No taking my kitty on the subway! Our visit was wonderful! My cat needed her yearly check-​up so nothing serious. The front receptionists were so friendly and welcoming. Then the tech that did the pre-​exam was friendly and informative. Dr. Kepner did the full-​exam and was so great! My cat is super shy but I could tell she felt okay around him as he checked her. He answered questions, discussed health, and overall made the visit awesome. I am so glad I found this vet office. The team there really know how to take care of our precious cats. I very much recommend Feline Health for your cat.

THE BEST!
Dr. Kepner and the staff are the best. I have been taking my cats for over 20 years. Very compassionate, informative and supportive. My cats have had check-​ups, surgeries and boarding and many other services. Excellent care and knowledgeable staff. They will inform you with what needs to be done and best for your cats. My cats have been receiving the top notch care. Highly recommended!

I have now been to this vet and can say that my initial thoughts were correct. If you have a cat, this is a wonderful place to go. The office and staff could not be nicer and the vet was excellent! Highly recommend!

Dr. Kepner is a great vet. He clearly cares about cats. More importantly, I don’t feel like he is ever trying to scam me.
Listen, we all love our pets. If a vet tells you your pet needs medicine, you usually just agree with the vet and pay whatever you have to pay because you LOVE your pet. In other words, in my opinion, it is really easy to swindle a pet owner. It’s important that you go to a vet that you trust is not just trying to make money off of you. Feline Health isn’t trying to scam you.

I brought my very old, very sick cat, Winston, to FH when I first moved to the city two years ago. FH gave him the best fighting chance which provided 3 extra months with my best friend. Dr. Kepner understands cats better than any vet I have ever been to throughout my 19 years of having cats (because we all know, no one really owns a cat). He is unafraid to take on even the most angry of cats and will still do so with love and careful attention. Michael and Dmitri are amazing technicians who are just as devoted to the care of the animals as Dr. K. He handles your cat with extreme professionalism while still making you and your buddy feel as comfortable as possible. Eric is devoted to care of the facility and proper treatment of your animals. Whether it is just for boarding purposes, a rabies vaccine or serious treatment, your cat will be cared for as tenderly as you would.
Dina, Mindy and Jill are more knowledgeable about care of cats (be it safety at home, travel abroad, homeopathic remedies, adoption, etc) than internet and books combined. They have devoted their lives to becoming cat masters and so, altogether, the staff at Feline Health is above and beyond exceptional.
Initial fees, visits and treatments may seem expensive, but it is a small price to pay for the treatment you will receive at FH. As long as I am in the city, Feline Health will be my first choice.

I am so happy I found Feline Health!
When my cat turned one she started to get runny eyes and wheezy– it was mild but persistant. I lived in NC at the time and brought her to the best vet in the city and they said she probably has allergies and gave me some meds to use as needed.
Her allergies continued and I continued to refill the meds and give them to her every other week for about 3 years.
I then moved to Boston and when she was due her shots I had her ‘allergies’ examined. This vet said to try Lysine. I did and it helped a bit, but still was congested and woke herself up at night coughing. She was never sick but had chronic wheezing/​coughing. She also mentioned that the meds I had been giving to her for 4 years shouldn’t be used long-​term as they could cause harm to her kidneys, liver, etc. Um… hey NC vet, why did you keep refilling the rx if that was the case??? UGHH
When I moved to NYC I thought ‘third time’s the charm’. She isn’t getting better and I don’t want to resort to the rx that has long-​term effects. Dr Goldman was fantastic! He is super personable and was great with my scared cat (I mean, everytime she’s at a vet she’s getting a shot! Why would she like them?) He did a very thorough exam and was extremely knowledgeable. He explained that it could a wide variety of things and you start with A and work your way to Z.
Although he suggested some expensive lab work, he was willing to let me start with the baseline labwork to determine if the 4 years of med had damaged my girl at all. He also gave me a new RX for only 14 days.
For 4 years my cat has been dealing with upper respitroy issues, and in 4 days of what Dr Goldman perscribed fixed her! It has been 3 weeks since her appointment and not one cough, sneezy, runny eye.
THANK YOU FELINE HEALTH!!! You finally made her day to day life comfortable and you are just awesome in my book!
The ONLY reason I don’t give them 5 stars is because of the expensive lab work offered that wasn’t necessary to do right away, and the overall exam and pills were expensive. But, what isn’t in NY?

I got a cat a few months back and was in need of a vet. The staff I have met are all incredible professional and has a very genuine affection for the felines that come there way. My little guy Sushi has had a great initial checkup and follow up with them. They were very attentive and got back to me with info I needed. As a lifelong animal owner/​lover, I feel very comfortable with them.
As an update, I just used their boarding service and am also very pleased. My kitty came back happy and loved. :)

I have had quite an episode with this vet and I’m pretty sure they hate my guts. Although the way they work is probably just like any other vet, I would say that I would never go back here or tell anyone about this place again. There needs to be a balance between pet customer service and human customer service.
My newly adopted 5 month old cat swallowed a piece of toy and it was going to cost about $ 2,500 to get her fixed. Well, since that was just about the worst news ever, my husband and I admitted that we couldn’t afford that. We just didn’t have that kind of money upfront and we had JUST rescued her 2 months ago. The ASPCA was going to take her back since that’s where I had gotten her.
I could tell that they judged me harshly and felt like I was the worst human being ever. They even said really meanly «they’re going to euthanize her, did you know that?» I knew that the ASPCA is a non-​kill shelter and even confirmed with them that they would do the surgery and put her up again for re-​adoption. But what an INCREDIBLY CRUEL thing to say to someone!!!
The worst part was that even though I had racked my brain about funds and cried all about my cat, they treated me like someone who was being so inhumane and ridiculous because I couldn’t cover the costs. They said things like «well you really shouldn’t leave things lying around!» (I’m actually SUPER careful and clean, but she ate a piece of her toy.)
I got into a fight with Dr Goldman because he kept «telling» me (I write that in quotes because he was pretty much yelling at me) how inhumane this was that I left her there to suffer. (Have you ever had someone yelling at you and then yell that they’re NOT yelling at you?) I asked him to please calm down because he was making me hysterical and he said «I AM CALM! KJDFLKJDKLDLS…» He talked on and on for like 5 minutes without taking a breath.
They said that it had already been 3 hours and how could we just abandon her. First off, my husband already told them he’d be a few hours because he needed to get off work. Secondly, they did not let me know that this was an urgent matter until the very last minute when they suddenly decided to go berserk on me. Had I known it was as urgent as they made it seem (seriously, all of a sudden!) then of course I would have asked to leave work or something! But at the moment they were yelling at me, my husband was already on his way over. They were even saying that it was SO URGENT that they would sent a cab over! What the… can you at least tell me after ONE HOUR and not three? Why is it so urgent all of a sudden?
Another bad thing is that I didn’t feel like they LISTENED… They were all talking over me, going onnn and onn so I couldn’t get a word in edgewise to explain that the cat was NOT going to die. She was scheduled for surgery the minute she got into the ASPCA and that she’d be up for adoptions again. I actually hung up on Dr. Goldman after he said «well actions speak louder than words.» It was too painful. I’ve already cried all night and felt horrible, I didn’t need to feel any worse. It’s so unnecessary for vets to get all personal with you on the phone during such emotional times.
When I FINALLY was able to get in a word, and explained myself, they lifted their tone a bit and said «Well you know, all we care about is the cat’s health.» WELL DUH, ME TOO BUDDY. It’s just very condescending to speak to the pet owner like that, when I’ve already set everything up for the cat to be well taken care of after tons of research and calling. It’s like they assumed the very worst with me and felt very righteous, high and mighty.
So yes, they care for animals. But for humans? Once they think you’re in the wrong, they don’t give a crap. They really made me feel horrible and made the experience like the most traumatizing thing ever. I didn’t need someone to lecture me about how to be a better cat parent, I was losing my precious cat and they just rubbed salt in the wound.

I’ve been bringing my cat here for almost a year. Dr. Kepner is great. Michael, one of the techs, was so sweet to my little cat when he got blood drawn once; just picked him up and held him until he calmed down.
I’ve boarded my cat there, too. He’s fine when he comes home, but smells a little funny after.