Cat Vet of South Street

I recently had to put my cat to sleep after 18 years of companionship. I knew it was coming and dreaded that day. I can’t begin to thank the staff enough for how kind, thoughtful, and gentle they were with me and my kitty. They made an otherwise awful morning, as comfortable as possible. I would recommend them to anyone for any service because they truly care.

I have been to at least 6 different vets in Philly and this place stands on a level of excellence all alone. The Doctor is very old school, has compassion for your pet and for you, and the staff all seem more like a family than a business (although impeccably efficient).
I did not often have typical issues with the cats I rescued off my block and didn’t always know all the history surrounding their illnesses but Dr. Mckinstry never once shamed me, always took the time to do what she could, was accurate and alleviated my cats’ suffering with both traditional western medicines/​techniques and traditional Chinese medicines/​techniques.
I would trust Dr. Mckinstry not only to treat any animal I care for but also to treat me with respect and compassion. She is phenomenal!!!

Excellent! My cat got sick and they fit me in right away! Down to earth, most affordable i’ve found in the area. Great care.

I hate to say it, and I’ll keep this short, but this vet suggested my cats eat Friskies and Science Diet, both of which are complete trash, terrible for a cat’s diet, and when my cat had ringworm she prescribed miconozole, which completely traumatized my dear cat who was never quite the same afterward. I learned soon afterward that all a cat really needs for ringworm is sunlight and some vinegar if you really want it to go away fast. In fact, I’m quite sure it was the sunlight sessions on the roof, NOT the miconozole, that made her better. But she was absolutely traumatized by this garbage, and the Friskies would have done terrible things to her health if we had kept her on it. I think that this vet should do some research, catch up on the latest developments in cat health research, and change her ways. The advice and medicine we got from her was just awful.

Dr. McKinstry, and Linda, and the entire staff took wonderful care of our beloved Himalayan cat Mia for many years, all the way to the end. We feel so fortunate that Cat Vet was always there for our friend thru all this time. Thanks!

She does things to your cat without even asking you. She gave our cat Billie a vitamin B12 shot and we didn’t even find out about it until we saw it on our bill. Did she tell us what the shot was for? No!!! I still have no idea. Two cats and the bill was over $ 180, and she didn’t even give the cats the BASIC vaccinations they were due. Wanted us to come back. Yeah, so we could get charged another visit. This vet has never communicated with us very well and after 5 years, I’m done. We’re finding a new vet. She figures ways to charge you for extra stuff, but neglects the most important. Oh, and giving two cats half a pill (which isn’t scored) a day for anxiety is next to impossible. They get more anxiety from having to swallow a half pill a day than whatever they were suffering from. The pills also take two weeks to take effect. Great! Ridiculous. Overpriced. Uncommunicative.

I love everything about this place. Dr McKinstry is wonderful and the staff are so nice and very kind and caring with my cats when I bring them in. My oldest cat, Brandon, is so scared of everyone except me and when I take him in they can hold him and pet him & he doesn’t freak out. For anyone that knows Brandon that is quite impressive! I also love how when she diagnosed his problem she covers every type of way to treat him.

I am so grateful for Cat Vet. My really friendly cat, Coco, had gotten aggressive and VCA, where I had taken him for several years, wanted to put him on Prozac, but I refused. The next time I came, they suggested he needed behavior therapy at Penn, which I knew I wouldn’t do and didn’t want to pay for. VCA was very expensive, too,
so I decided to see what another vet would suggest and took Coco to Cat Vet on South Street.
He had a thorough physical and they took some cultures. They told me Coco had a bad intestinal virus and put him on antibiotics. They also suggested I mix Vaseline in with his food because his stools were hard and they suggested I stop giving him tuna, which was hard for him to digest, and to switch to Friskie’s turkey pâté and mixed grill, which are easy to digest, good for him, and cheap. They thought he might have a kidney ailment but the results were that it was mild.
Anyhow, the treatments and changes all worked and Coco became friendly again and stopped being aggressive. I didn’t have to put him on Prozac or do behavior therapy.
Plus, because of the slight kidney problems, Cat Vet won’t put him under to have his teeth cleaned but scale them when he’s awake.
Recently — he’s ten — he was losing a lot of weight and not eating and he had to have a CAT scan, which cost but not like it would at another Vet. There wasn’t anything seriously wrong. I had to give him shots to hydrate him and we limited his diet just to the turkey pâté and he started eating again. He hasn’t gotten heavy but he’s healthy and eats well.
There are a few unusual suggestions from time to time, which I take in stride, but I am very happy with the care and happy that they are so understanding and so affordable, which is helpful to me. This place isn’t for everyone, but it you want great care and are watching your budget, I highly recommend it!
Jill H

Took my two cats here for their one year appointment last week and waited 45 minutes total to be seen. One of my cats happened to have a mild fever, and they immediately insisted she had worms — even though she had already previously been dewormed, wasn’t underweight, literally has never set a paw outside my apartment door, and my other cat was the «picture of health». Needless to say it was obviously not what was wrong with her. Without asking or explaining why, the vet roughly jammed a large pill down my poor cats throat with her bare fingers, and only told me what the pill was for after I had to ask twice (who does this!?). She then tried to promote Science Diet to me over and over, regardless of the fact that it is one of the worst cat foods out there.
The vet seems extremely aloof and didn’t explain ANYTHING to me, and actually ignored a question my boyfriend asked her. She then proceeded to examine my other cat for all of two seconds and charged us 40 dollars for it. After all was said and done, my feverish cat ended up getting a pill, a shot (again which wasn’t explained, I had to research it online later), a prescription of antibiotics, probiotic powder, AND a small bag of mild cat food… when she is basically in perfect health, is full of energy, alert, and friendly. I honestly think all of these things were overly excessive and unneeded. Really disappointed by her poor manners and roughness with my cat, won’t be going back.

Ugh… not only did I have to wait an hour past my appointment time to be seen, but this veterinarian COMPLETELY misdiagnosed my kitty. Additionally, she prescribed him a bunch of unnecessary crap including probiotics. The antibiotics that she gave me were in pill form and made my kitten foam at the mouth and were totally unnecessary as it also comes in liquid form which have been MUCH easier to get down. At this point I don’t remember what she diagnosed him with, but he ended up having FIP and I had to put him down a week later at a different veterinarians office. She was also really rough with him — he was a very easy going cat and the other veterinarians who saw him were very gentle. He wasn’t one of those cats that is really sweet at home and then turns into a nasty, hissing, snarling, nightmare of a cat at the vets office — plus, a three month old kitten is not too hard to be tender too, right? You’d think that someone who specializes in and only sees cats would be able to identify such a serious condition but evidently not…

I have personally used the Cat Vet of South Street for over 25 years. They were so helpful with my first cat and my wife and I have continued to use them for our cats.
When our 14 year old cat Turtle got sick last year and it turned out to be cancer, they were so helpful seeing us last minute and helping us through to the last day when we had to put her to sleep.
They were so patient and compassionate and made a very difficult time much easier.
My wife and I are very grateful and now bring our two new kittens there as well. Thanks to all the wonderful and friendly staff!
Michael and Jennifer Munson

I feel as though this place has gone downhill recently. Their hours are forever changing and decreasing, and even when you can get an appointment you have to wait for at least 30 minutes while you listen to the staff in the back chat about their day.
I assumed since they are cat specialists, they could better identify and treat cat problems, but after a recent visit, it became clear to me that was not the case. My cat was inaccurately diagnosed and not given proper treatment. There was also very little explanation of his problems and treatment options.
When I tried to get a prescription online (Drs Foster & Smith), they actually called me to say that the Cat Vet does not do prescriptions over the phone. It is really inconvenient and expensive to have to go pick up medicine from the vet every week. I’ve grown tired of their old-​fashioned ways. Their quaint approach also means that your cat’s records will be a mess when sent over to a modern facility like Companion Pet Hospital.

Had a terrible experience here last year and at the time i wasn’t sure if it was normal or not until we went to a real vet.
CatVet tried telling us our cat which we’ve had for 4 years was only a year or two old (he walks and looks like an older cat). She yelled at us about his weight instead of giving us information to resolve the issue and tried to push a cat food on us containing wheat and grains after we told her the cat got the runs until we changed his diet to a non-​wheat food.
After going to our new vet it became very clear that they did not know what they were doing here or were just in too much of a rush. Staff was rude and came off as uncaring to me, while our cat was having serious GI issues.
They also tried to bill us $ 90 for an appointment where they could not give us or get us any information, did not do any tests or take samples. Did not provide any shots or services other than haranguing me.
Our cat is now 8 pounds lighter and being treated for the same serious issues (chronic diarrhea and now a mass in his chest) that we tried to get CatVet to look into a year ago.

I currently have a 2 year-​old kitty named Bailey and have been around cats all of my life. I hope this review is helpful to those of you who are hunting for the same type of info I was. And keep in mind this is just my perspective and everyone has a different experience, for better or worse.
REASON FOR VISIT: Moved back to the area within the last year and needed to get Bailey’s annual distemper vaccine and physical taken care of.
SERVICES: It was easy to call and get an appointment, but they keep different hours on different days, so call ahead of time. Desk staff was friendly and remembered I was a new client and had all paperwork available for me to fill out (one simple sheet).
VISIT ITSELF: I wasn’t too impressed with the fact that we went into a tiny exam room and the door stayed open, especially since the room was about 6×4 and was right in front of the main desk. However, Dr. McKinstry, the main vet, was nice enough and gave a thorough check-​up of Bailey; checked all her organs, eyes, ears & teeth, took her temp, got her weight, and checked her coat. The one tech who assisted with keeping my scared kitty in one place petted Bailey and handled her well. I will say I wasn’t thrilled with the fact that there was no covering on the thermometer they used on Bailey, nor did I see Doc wash it off before or after using it. Things like that stand out to me, at least.
PLACE ITSELF: It’s a small rowhouse converted into an office. It’s a little dark and dreary, but everything seemed clean enough to me. Nothing alarming stood out, and the lighting in there isn’t great which is why it seems a little dreary. The in-​office pets (a few dogs and cats) seemed happy, friendly, and well cared for, so that was good to see.
COST: $ 62 total for vaccine & physical. Definitely on the affordable side of things.
OVERALL: I’d go back again. If nothing else, I felt like she had a thorough physical and she got the vaccine she needed at a good price. However, I know they do surgery on cats who need it, but the facility just didn’t seem very «medical» from the way it looked (Bailey’s exam table was an old dresser with a stainless steel top and partially-​jammed drawers full of equipment). If I have an emergency, I might be more prone to call Penn’s vet hospital and bite the bullet of expenses, but for everyday pet needs and non-​threatening health issues, Cat Vet of South Street seems to be just fine.

This place is one of the cheapest vets (compared to Penn Vet and the other clinic in Center City) you can go to and it’s very accessible from center city. I took both my kittens here when I first adopted them and the receptionist is super nice. They also try to fit you in as soon as possible but I’ve always had to wait at least 20 minutes each time I’ve gone with an appointment. They will accommodate you if you have an emergency, however. The doctor here is very nice but she doesn’t seem to be very thorough when there is a slightly more complicated problem (when I ask her a lot of questions, the answers get more vague and uncertain). They also don’t work every day for the same hours so you have to make an appointment to know what hours they’ll be there. There are always other people waiting in the waiting room so at least you have company.
The doctor provided us with plenty of prescription-​only Hill’s wet food that is very high in calories for our dying 4-​month old kitten that we adopted at 1.5 lbs. Unfortunately (read my review on Rittenhouse Pet Supply), after he recovered from his Upper respiratory infection and gained 4 pounds, we got him neutered (not at Cat Vet) and he came back with Ringworm (hair loss and scabbing on his nose and near his ears). The doctor predicted it was ringworm so she took a skin culture to make sure, which costs a lot and the test, some medication and the visit cost over $ 200. (There are discounts for bringing more than 1 cat in and if it is a subsequent visit, and I feel like they provide discounted fees for students… not much though.) I don’t know why the doctor provided us with a shampoo to use 3x a week over the course of 2 months (cats DETEST water and will often claw their way out of the tub to get away) and failed to tell us that there were pill alternatives, so we tried the shampoo and an ointment, all of which were very difficult to use (if you have cats, you should know what I mean). We ended up buying the pills which actually can be grounded up into a liquid form for even easier application and they had to be shipped to us, all for $ 90 for 2 cats. There was enough medicine for probably 5 cats so we were kinda pissed. Overall, a very frustrating and expensive experience.
Cat Vet provides in-​home care for cats with very serious problems like kidney failure. They also do neuterings and spayings. The assistant is very nice but I don’t completely trust her or the doctor’s judgment because I didn’t feel like I got great care or answers for my cats’ ailments or my questions. As long as my pets stay relatively healthy though, this place is fine. I got Frontline or the equivalent from Cat Vet and they seem to have lots of other types of supplies on hand. The rooms and the whole place in general are pretty dingy though.

I had read a lot of favorable reviews of this office and brought a few foster cats here for check ups and vaccinations since they were right down the street from my apartment. When I decided to adopt one of them, I found that she had an evolving case of ringworm (she’s a Himalayan, so it became obvious pretty quickly). I brought her to the doctor again, who told me first that she had mange (her screen came up clear), then scabies (again), and then decided she had a food allergy and asked that I buy expensive allergy food at her office.
Meanwhile, the cat had lost about 50% of her hair and was covered in red, round, itchy lesions, and I got ringworm, as well. This went on for three months (three. whole. months.), while the vet continued to assure me that it was a food allergy and I should be patient.
I finally took the poor thing to the VCA Cat Hospital in Rittenhouse Sq when my own ringworm came back a second time (I got it from kitty, cleared it up, and promptly caught it from her again). And finally, my suspicions were confirmed: the vet did a culture but, before she even sent off the results, gave me meds because my cat was (and I quote) a «poster kitty for ringworm» and said that she was shocked the other vet hadn’t been able to diagnose such a simple ailment. She was very polite, but you could tell she though the vet on South St was an idiot – and I felt like one, too, for shelling out for «allergy treatments» and my own dermatologist bill when all kitty needed was proper treatment for the blatantly obvious condition she had, that anyone, especially someone with as much experience as Dr McKinstry, should have been able to asses.
Within two weeks, she was doing MUCH better – after a month and a half, we were both completely ringworm free, and have been ever since.
Moral of the story? Don’t trust a vet who can’t treat for even basic ailments (on a side note, they were less expensive on South St than anywhere else in the city – but I’d rather pay the exorbitant fees at VCA Cat Hospital and know my cat’s getting the best treatment).
The best (worst?) was when I went back for a checkup after the ringworm had cleared up, the VCA vet noted a small growth on my cat’s lower gum that the South St vet had convinced me was just a benign growth. A biopsy later, turns out it was an invasive and rare form of cancer, and we barely caught it in time. Had I continued to go to South St, who knows how bad it would have gotten.
Stay away. Seriously. For every three patients she diagnoses correctly, there must be one like my cat whose actual life might be at risk.

This past fall my four year old cat got really sick, stopped eating, lost several pounds and was vomitting. I was able to call and get an appointment about an hour later, and she had never been there before. They were helpful about explaining everything that was wrong, and the vet tech even talked on the phone to my mom (who was helping pay for the visit) to explain all of the options we had. It cost about $ 250 for everything. I’ve used them for lesser things since and started realizing they are pretty expensive… I switched vets.
It is VERY easy to get an appointment right away, though because of that you deal more with the techs and not so much with Dr. McKinstry… its pretty rushed. Also they charge more than comparable vets in the area.

Our new kitten came down with a wicked cold. I tried to let him rest at home and recover but after a couple of days it was clear that I needed to get him seen by the vet.
I called and the receptionist was so sweet. I could really tell she cared. They were closing in an hour and she asked me to just come in as soon as I could get there
They took great care of him and really showed genuine interest.
They saw me right away and took fantastic care of the kitty. The assistant and the vet both showed a great deal of care.
When there was a problem with my credit card ($ 69 for visit and meds… very reasonable) I gave them my debit card and they agreed to wait till tomorrow to charge it. (tomorrow’s payday!)
Will absolutely go back and recommend to friends.

Excellence!
My cats thankfully have not needed vet care since their vaccines almost 3 years ago … until last week when my eldest (ha ha) began showing signs of a URI. I wasn’t too impressed by the high cost or the staff at the previous vet practice, who manhandled my sweet cat until she was a growling, screeching puffball, and then donned some serious gloves to put her in a cat body suit (a cat suit?) in order to give her a shot. Terrifying! That requires a review in and of itself! Anyway, I decided to give the Cat Vet a try based on the rave reviews.
It went so well. The cat cried the whole way there but quieted down and was calm once we got inside. It’s not your typical vet atmosphere, as many have said — not in the least bit cold or clinical. Dr. McKinstry and the staff were so friendly to me and to my cat. The cat was unhappy to be there, but did nothing more than sound her annoyance. The vet tech was so sweet to her and she seemed as calm as felinely possible considering the circumstances.
The charge for her visit was very reasonable, and they accommodated my weird schedule when placing appointments for the cats’ vaccines in January.
My only extremely minor complaints are: 1) there is a very sweet and friendly dog roaming the premises, but my cat is deathly afraid of dogs no matter how sweet and friendly they are. And 2) I had to wait 30 minutes and the waiting room is really small, so a few people had to stand in the middle of all the chairs and they looked like they felt awkward.
But I shall return! And I definitely recommend to all my fellow cat owners!

I cannot recommend this place enough. Dr. McKinstry is an amazing vet and person.
About 8 months ago, I got my first pet; a birman kitten named Miley. I took Miley to Dr. McKinstry for our regular shots, etc and I was really happy with their service. The office is quite busy but everyone is so warm and friendly. They seem to actually care about you and your cat. Plus, the resident snowshoe cat Sebastian is awesome!
A few months ago, Miley got sick and was diagnosed with FIP; a pretty nasty, deadly, and untreatable disease. Dr McKinstry helped us cope with the diagnosis and really spent time laying out what we could expect. How many vets who are that incredibly busy take the time to really explain everything?
Miley fought FIP really valiantly until this last week. The infection spread to her brain and she went pretty crazy. Poor girl. Dr McKinstry was really accommodating in finding time for us. Yesterday, Dr McKinstry and I discussed Miley’s status and decided it was time for her to go. I could not have asked for a more perfect end to Miley’s life considering the circumstances. Everyone there was SO nice to Miley and I and made the process as perfect as it could be.
If you take your cat to Dr. McKinstry, you can rest assured knowing that your cat is getting the best and most loving care available.