The Cat Practice

As an animal lover, Dr. Lori has given me the ability to help my fur friend even more. When it came to time to introduce insulin shots, I was hesitant and each day I know it is best for my friend. I apologize I will leave out many of the valuable people that run The Cat Practice, so to say the least I am Grateful to have such a connection as Dr. Lori, Ruth & all in the clinic even the small kitties walking around :)

I went to the Cat Practice for the first time this morning because my beloved Cookie was not doing well and I absolutely recommend everyone to bring their cats to this amazing place! Dr. Lori is the sweetest and most knowledgeable veterinarian that I have ever met and she was such a blessing to me and Cookie. The entire staff was so kind and sincere to me and I am looking forward to coming back again to visit. Everyone in the world should bring their cats to the Cat Practice!

We’ve taken all 3 of our cats to Dr. Lori for everything, from new kitten stuff to care for my 18-y.o. calico Dink, who was euthanized there a few weeks ago. They were endlessly kind, helpful, sympathetic and accommodating. Thanks to them, my sweet Dink lived many many quality months longer than I’d hoped, giving me extra time to love on her, pamper her and treat her as the queen she knew she was, even in her dotage!

I love Dr. Lori and the whole team. I love how they specialize in only cats because atleast it gave me a little more piece of mind that my cat was being taken care of by someone that really knows what they are doing not only with all animals but specifically with cats. I brought my cat to the Cat Practice for 15 years and was always satisfied with the care they gave not only her but me as well. My cat was not the friendliest and was very overwhelmed and aggresive when I would take her to the doctor but Dr. Lori had alot of patience with her and would do whatever she can to examine her and a treat her in a way that would keep her calm and happy.

I love The Cat Practice. They are hands down the best. I won’t take my cat anywhere else.

Can’t say enough about Dr. Lori and her team. Dr. Lori is a brilliant vet and is great at explaining complicated conditions. She cares so much for each animal and works long hours for them. It’s really remarkable.
Dr. Lori is also fair. Her fees are low and she is mindful of customers’ budgets. Unlike other vets in town, she has does not take advantage of worried pet owners by over charging, over testing, and doing unnecessary procedures.
We trust Dr. Lori entirely and are lucky to call her our vet! Highly recommended!

I just went to The Cat Practice today for an emergency visit. Dr. Lori was absolutely fantastic. She was informative, thorough, and very very nice. The exam, pain meds, rectal exam, and removal of impacted feces came to a total of just over $ 100, which was surprisingly cheap and much lower than I expected. I had called around to a few clinics, and the reason I chose this vet was because of Ruth at the front desk. She is the most informative receptionist I have ever dealt with at a vet office. The first time I called was a few weeks ago about a spay. Other vets simply said to bring my cat in and they could discuss prices and procedures then, and you can tell all they were trying to do was bait you in so you weren’t turned away by their high prices, or so the vets could recommend a bunch of other treatments that aren’t needed. Ruth gave me a full lowdown of everything that needed to be done and more importantly why it needed to be done and how much everything would cost. I felt like she really cared about me and my cat without even meeting us. As long as I know the importance of the things that vets do and why they need to be done, I have no problem paying for it, and I loved the fact that she took the time to really explain things like why it’s important to get a feline lukemia test or other blood work. Today when I called concerned about my cat’s behavior, Ruth gave me a few suggestions to try before coming in (although she highly suggested I come in anyway) because I told her money was tight. I decided to come in because Chloe’s pain seemed to only get worse within a few hours, and she had begun refusing to eat. The only downside is the smell of cat urine, but the clinic has been around for a long time and only sees cats, and hey! Everyone knows cat urine smells the absolute worst. Besides that, the reception area and exam room were very clean, and I liked the Keurig machine so I could make a cup of coffee while I was waiting. I will definitely be taking my Chloe back here again! Thanks Dr. Lori!

This is a very busy clinic that really cares about our feline friends!

They took amazing care of my Bulah when she was hyperthyroid and diagnosed with kidney failure. Now that she is gone, I bring my two cats here. Wouldn’t go anywhere else. Wonderful, caring staff and always an office cat to play with while you wait :)

Dr. Lori is an excellent veterinarian and provides excellent care to our cat, Maple. She is very thorough and spends a lot of time with each of her patients and their caretakers. She answers all of our questions and never seems to rush us. Although our cat is skittish each time we take her in her carrier, she quickly calms down after being handled several minutes by Dr. Lori. A cat-​specific vet is truly worth it and I cannot recommend this practice enough!

My experience with TCP is mixed. Ultimately I don’t think I’ll be returning.
I took my large male cat and was seen by Dr. Coughlin. She was great, but my cat is a growler at the vet, and the vet assistants kept peeking in to suggest that he was about to turn violent. Dr. Coughlin kept them out and I appreciated that. I don’t need jaded vet assistant tying my cat down because he’s having a bad day.
Her diagnosis was fair but not accurate. I didn’t get the feeling that she trusted me as a partner in my cats care. That’s probably because people tend not to be actively involved in their cats care. I came for a cat exhibiting signs of asthma and I wanted either antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection, or some kind of inhaler to try and ease his coughing attacks. She suggested claritin for seasonal allergies. It didn’t work.
When I called back to follow up and try antibiotics, they wanted to charge me $ 59 for the consultation. My wife formerly worked at Blum and advised me to hang up and just call Blum. Blum is in the city, so it’s a long way to take a cat. But, once you have a relationship with a Blum doctor, they’re always willing to follow up and talk with you after hours to make sure you get the best care for your pet. Dr. Shule routinely spends hours after his shift talking to patients on the phone for no charge.
I wanted to find a good vet in Oak Park so I didn’t have to drive my little guy around too much, but my cat’s health is too important to me to mess around with frustrations.

Dr. Lori is fantastic. After a scary weekend at the Midwest Animal Hospital, she gladly saw our little guy first thing. We had just moved, so we were anxious about taking him to someone new, but she allayed all our concerns. The animal hospital couldn’t tell us if he was going to live 3 more days or 3 more years, but Dr. Lori never let on if she was worried about him dying too soon. She was thorough and practical, warm and compassionate. Even though he was still obviously very sick, I felt immediately better knowing Dr. Lori was optimistic about the treatment plan. She’s great about calling us with follow-​ups and emailing if she doesn’t get a hold of us. I’m relieved to say our cat is doing much better and we’re still in regular contact with Dr. Lori for ongoing treatment.
After spending $ 800 at the animal hospital, the Cat Practice charges seemed like nothing. Even when we were concerned about his breathing and took him back a day after his initial visit, we were only charged $ 25 for a mini follow-​up visit.
Ruth at the front desk is wonderful, too. She told me that the minute we bring our babies through their front door, they become their babies, too. So sweet and so nice to hear when you’re worried out of your mind!

Great experience here. Dr. Coughlin is thorough, professional, and up front about all procedures and treatments for your cat. She has never «talked down» to us; rather, she explains everything as though she’s speaking to a peer.
She has helped us on many occasions, and we’ve always had good results. We’ve come away from visits feeling our pet was in good hands, and that we’re a little more informed about our pet’s health.
With the exception of one vaccination that was high (we found out later they charge by the cat’s weight, and it had been calculated incorrectly), most services have been very reasonable in terms of cost.
The lobby can be a little loud and quirky, but it’s a vet office. What do you expect.
I’d recommend this vet highly for anyone with a cat in the Oak Park area.

I have been taking my cats here for 3 years and have always had good experiences. Dr. Lori answers all of my questions (and I have a lot of questions!) and really knows what she doing!

The Cat Practice is wonderful.
All of our cats, present and past, have been brought here. They have all been well taken care of! We adopted a kitten a few years ago who had become very sick. The Cat Practice did everything in their power to try an help us save our kitty Sadie. Sadly Sadie did not make it. However the Cat Practice showed us true sympathy and compassion in helping us try and save our poor kittens life.
Also, our cat Stephanie recently passed away of old age. The Cat Practice arranged to have a memorial «service» for our dear Steph by cremating her and then placing her ashes in the Hindsdale cemetery.
I would recommend taking all of your feline friends there! They are friendly, caring and not judgmental (which some places can be)
Kitty Lover

I now give it 5 stars. Dr. Lori really cares, and her staff is great. I love their hours and I trust them. I buy my cat’s special diet food there, his IV fluids, his medication– I never have any problems. Dr Lori recently called me to suggest ways we could get my cat to gain weight. My cat is a grandpa, and he can’t afford to lose weight :-)
I love this place!

Love this place! Helpful and friendly staff and vet who takes her time with you and your baby.
I didn’t have all the paperwork with me from Anti-​Cruelty so I emailed it when I got home. I got a quick answer from Dr. Lori not just acknowledging my email but a few paragraphs about her concerns. I appreciated that.
The only thing that bugged me was that I was charged a new patient fee which was never mentioned to me even when I called inquiring about the cost of a visit. I was also charged $ 36 for a poop test. My fault for not asking what the cost was but I think they should have offered me the cost before they went ahead and did the test.

I do not like Dr. Coughlin. It seems like she doesn’t like cats. Is that possible? She’s a cat vet. Or maybe it’s just my cat. She’s rough, unprofessional, and careless, and NOT thorough with exams. I’ll be taking my cat to a different vet next time.
Not sure if Rachele (sp?) is still a vet tech there, but she was terrific. She would make a great vet.
Also, be sure to look at the filtered Unilocal results for the cat practice. There is a review from someone whose experience was almost identical to mine, and Dr. Coughlin replied to it. Not sure why that review was filtered out, but it is definitely worth reading.

Dr Pam!!! Where have you gone?!
Bummer that Dr Pam left the practice, but hooray for her for starting her own business.
I hope TCP finds another vet soon. It is very very hard to get an appointment with them only having one right now.

Dr. Lori Coughlin recently took over the cat practice and she is great too. She spent so much time with us and never made us feel rushed. I had a list of questions — literally a long list written out — and she took time to answer each question. She is caring and has a subtle sense of humor that is just wonderful — especially for me because I’m always so worried about my cats and she helped to put me at ease. She doesn’t scold or make you feel like crap if you make a mistake in the treatment of your kitty. One of my cats has diabetes and she was really understanding of my screw ups with his meds.
I really love this place and am so glad I moved to the Oak Park area. I feel like my kitties are getting the best health care available.
Update 2011: My cat was very ill and in the hospital. The specialist told me he was going to die without surgery and may even die if he had the surgery. I decided against the surgery after talking things over with Dr. Lori because neither of us believed the specialist was right and my cat isn’t a good candidate for surgery. Dr. Lori worked with me to formulate a treatment plan. She did a lot of research and on her own time and she read through the information I sent her. Five months later my cat is alive and well and his numbers returned to normal. I really appreciate that Dr. Lori spent so much time working with me and helped to save my cat.