Bedford Cat Clinic
Housecalls
We are now offering housecalls where we coordinate a visit to your cat.
Our housecalls will be offered on Thursdays during April to October, to visit those more stressful kitties, or multi-cat homes, that live in a 6km distance to the Bedford Cat Clinic.
Please see the Q&As and links below for information on how it works, what types of appointments are suitable or not suitable, or give us a call/send an email if you have questions! Once you are booked, we’ll send you a pre-exam questionnaire to give us some more info on your kitty!
6km radius of The Bedford Cat Clinic
Q&A
Do we need to book ahead?
Yes! In order to schedule our visits in the most efficient order possible, we need to know who we will be visiting ahead of time. Plan for an appointment between 9:30AM-2:30PM. We will contact you 1 week prior once we have the order of visits to give you a more accurate window (within an hour). The day of, we will call you when we are on our way and would arrive within 20 minutes.
Are there extra fees?
Yes, in order to accommodate the driving time and mileage, there will be a house call fee. All other prices will be the same as our in clinic prices.
Do you require a deposit?
Yes. Due to the time it takes out of our schedule for house calls, the house call fee will be charged upon booking, and applied to the day of the house call.
What happens if we need to cancel/reschedule?
If you need to cancel, please give us 48 hours notice so we can adjust our schedule as needed, and we can transfer your deposit to a date that works for you. If cancellation happens less than 48 hours, the deposit will not be refunded, and we’ll take a new deposit for any new bookings.
Do we need to have anything specific in the home?
Please ensure you have an area free from clutter, that has good lighting and with a table that we can examine your kitty on. Having your cats favorite treats/toys nearby can help distract them during an exam. Having blankets/towels with familiar scents nearby that they can sit on, or gently wrap them in if needed is also useful.
What if we’re advised to come into clinic for follow up, will we be charged a second fee?
No! If the veterinarian feels we need to see your kitty in clinic the following day for in clinic requirements that are associated with the house call visit (ie radiographs), the exam fee will be waived.
What if our cat is hiding/gets outside?
Please ensure your cat will be in the home, and easily reachable for the appointment. We will be on a tight schedule, and won’t have time to look for your kitty. If your cat isn’t present, the deposit will not be refunded, and the mileage fee will be charged.
What if our cat is uncooperative for the exam?
If your cat has needed pre-appointment gabapentin for appointments due to being uncooperative, then we still recommend this as they may feel threatened with us coming into their home. If it’s a first time seeing them and they are uncooperative, we will do what we can, but may recommend a second exam with gabapentin prior to the next exam. In this event, the house call fee will be charged again, but the exam fee will be waived if booked within the same month.
Suitable and Not Suitable Appointment Types For Housecalls
Schedule Appointment Types
*otherwise acting healthy = normal energy level/behaviour and appetite
Annual vaccine exams
Senior exams
Preventative blood work
Blood work for long term medication use
Blood pressure measurement*
Gradual weight loss*
Weight gain
Increased drinking and peeing*
New lumps/bumps/skin lesions*
Soft stool*
Dental examinations
Stiff gait/old age related mobility changes (not sudden lameness)
Long term episodic vomiting* (normal appetite but vomits once every 1-2 weeks)
Watery eyes/long term nasal discharge/sneezing* (no squinting, normal respiratory rate and effort)
Humane euthanasia for a palliative patient
Not Suitable Appointments
Lethargy
Sudden vomiting/prolonged vomiting
Sudden illness
Sudden lameness/limping
Requiring immediate humane euthanasia
Straining to urinate and not producing urine
Sudden squinting/holding eye(s) shut
Toxin/foreign material ingestion
Anorexia (loss of appetite/not eating)
Coughing (x-rays recommended)
Eye pressures
Kitten appointments (we want kittens to meet the team and our clinic, to get them adjusted when they are young and hopefully prevent anxiety!)
Technician/grooming appointments (nail trims, injections etc.)
