VCA City Cats Hospital

Reviews

• LK

  Laura Kiesel

  5 days ago
  1.0
  My 2 cats went to VCA City Cats for a combined total of nearly 15 years. This is why I feel so betrayed by my later experiences there, from one vet in particular. My cats' usual vet was Dr. Leavey and she was consistently excellent: detailed, attentive, and kind. But she wasn't always available. In June 2024, I went there with my 19 year-old cat Samson, who was struggling with some unknown and sudden affliction. He had lost his appetite/was reluctant to eat. Yet, his labs didn't offer any insight as to what was wrong. I had gone to both VCA and Veg a couple of times that past week trying to figure it out. This particular morning, Samson seemed to have distressed breathing--though I noted the noise seemed to be coming more from his jaw. The examining vet, Dr. Werlin, dismissed my observation, telling me she wasn't concerned about that and neither should I be. She then scolded me for syringe feeding Sam (though Dr. Leavey cleared it with me and him not eating could make him go into liver failure) and shamed me for potentially aspirating my cat. She then told me that when a cat at his age loses his appetite "it usually just means it's his time to go." So she was pressuring me to put him to sleep. She then checked her watch several times while I proceeded to cry while told me she was busy with other patients. I was also pressured to put Samson in an oxygen tank (a treatment they settled on before they even saw him that morning), though I was told they wouldn't put him in until his chest X-rays came back to confirm aspiration. I was told they would X-ray him right away, then put him in the tank if it looked like he needed it, so he could stay in till the clinic closed, giving him its maximum benefits (it was a morning appointment). And yet, none of that happened. Samson was put in the tank before the X-rays (which BTW--came out clean--I hadn't, in fact, aspirated his lungs and he had no fluid in them at all--had I known that beforehand, I might have decided against the oxygen tank). Then we got a call a couple of hours later from an impatient Dr. Werlin demanding we come pick up Samson before 3pm (even though the original agreement was to pick him up at closing, again so he could get as much time in the tank as the day allowed). We were still charged the same amount for the tank despite the shorter time he spent in it. When I tried to put Dr. Werlin on speaker phone with me and my partner to get the update and instructions during this call, she snapped at me to take her off speaker, because she doesn't like being on it. I took Samson home and after some close observation, I realized his jaw was bothering him, which was one key reason he wasn't eating. So, on my own, I started him on some anti-inflammatory supplements and started feeding him mousse-style foods that required no chewing. I got him a higher standing food bowl so he wouldn't have to lean down. And guess what? After a few days, Samson started eating again with gusto. He pulled through. I took him to another vet for a second opinion, where they confirmed sensitivity and swelling in his jaw, as well as a very swollen thyroid gland (that could also be adding to it). That distressed noise while breathing, the one Dr. Werlin told me to ignore when she focused on his lungs that turned out to be clean? It was his jaw clicking. I spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars that day to be ignored, shamed, scolded, and dismissed at a vet practice I had been a loyal patron of for a decade and a half. I wrote an email to their administrator, who apologized and reimbursed me the fee for the routine exam, but not the oxygen tank. My Samson lived another 9.5 months and made it to 20 years-old. He was a happy boy for that time who loved eating his new diet. I had another summer and fall with him, another Christmas. Had I listened to Dr. Werlin, I might have euthanized my cat despite that he still had almost another year in him. Dr. Werlin is now the head of the whole practice. Mars Bars also now owns VCA.
• SK

  Spencer Keith

  Dec 30, 2025
  5.0
  Love this place and the staff. The doctors are top notch and care a lot as well as excellent service and more.
• KG

  Katherine G

  Dec 8, 2025
  1.0
  I want to warn people to be careful with this provider after an experience that felt, at best, inexperienced and at worst, predatory and irresponsible. I brought my 6-month-old kitten in for a minor scratch. While there, I mentioned she’d been itching around her face and had a runny nose. The vet immediately suggested food allergies and told me both of my cats should start a specific diet. Before I left, they sold me expensive food and signed me up for a delivery program - without mentioning it was a subscription. Something felt off about the mildness of the symptoms and the magnitude of the response, so I decided to wait for a second opinion. The next vet told me my kitten was far too young to have a food allergy at all. He offered a few likely, harmless explanations and simple changes I could try, but assured me she was perfectly healthy. We all want to do the best for our cats, even when it’s costly. That’s why I found VCA’s advice so alarming - expensive, unnecessary, and not grounded in good veterinary practice. Although I paid for a second opinion, it spared us from unnecessary intervention and gave me real peace of mind. If you’ve had a similar experience at VCA, I strongly recommend getting a second opinion. And I'd warn against going here and consider a smaller local vet instead.
• BS

  Brenna Sanford

  Nov 12, 2025
  3.0
  The standard of care is excellent, but their prices continue to skyrocket out of control, and as such, there seems to be a lack of consideration for patients with limited budgets. I went in to purchase food for my cat which had been prescribed less than 2 months prior to discover they had stopped carrying the smaller size bag in the formulation they prescribed, and though the employee was extremely apologetic it did not actually mean I could buy the food my cat needs at a price that worked within my budget (edited for clarity of wording: I did purchase the food, so my cat will be eating this week; me, not so much). My cat also has some dental issues, and when I asked for a quote to perhaps take care of the worst and save up for the rest, the woman on the phone thought it appropriate to lecture me about how they really like to do it all at once. The doctor who saw my cat in September for the issue that resulted in food prescription also seemed to assume I would be able to afford the oral procedure as a matter of course. It may not have been anyone's intention, but I feel more ashamed of my financial position here than anyone else. They also have no options for payment plans even for patients who have been seeing them for several years, so unfortunately I was given a quote I couldn't begin to fathom affording. While I can't give them anything less than 3 stars, because the care they provide, especially Dr. Palopoli, is excellent, they have made it clear that, as a business, their opinion of my income bracket is not even worth the effort of stocking cat food. If you can afford it, then you'll get what you pay for. But if you, like me, are presently affected by the economic downturn, I can't recommend this clinic at all.
• DL

  Dana W. Lashway

  Oct 22, 2025
  5.0
  A class act!!! They work as a team and are always aware that pets are parts of a fabric of people who are involved. We have taken 6 out of 6 cats there over the decades and have been impressed and grateful for their technical and emotional intelligence each and every time!!!

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