The Catmobile - a new type of veterinary care

The Catmobile - a new type of veterinary care
The UK’s fi rst fully mobile, exclusively feline veterinary operating theatre was launched in May, bringing critical care to cats in the South of England

the Cat Doctor, aka Amy Bergs DVM MRCVS, is the founder of Surrey and South West London’s premier feline-only mobile veterinary practice. “Four years ago, the dream of running a fully mobile and truly feline-friendly veterinary practice came to life when we launched The Cat Doctor. Now I’m delighted to unveil a unique development for our practice in the form of the Catmobile. We started with an empty shell and by working with some of the best people in the business, we have created a state of the art operating theatre on wheels. This will enable us to carry out the highest quality surgical procedures on your pets, just outside your front door, in addition to the routine veterinary care that we have always provided in your home.

Launched on 21st May this year, Amy said: “Over 100 of our clients came out to see it! It was a fabulous sunny day as well, couldn’t have asked for a better event. One client even baked a cake to mark the occasion!”

The Catmobile has two operating theatres equipped with the latest technology and monitoring equipment, as well as heating, electricity, air conditioning, anaesthetic and dental equipment. Generally, what you would expect to fi nd in a conventional veterinary practice, you will fi nd installed in the Vauxhall Movano-based Catmobile. 

Everything has been designed specifi cally with cats in mind and has been awarded Cat Friendly Clinic status from International Cat Care, along with accreditation under the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ Practice Standards Scheme – a fi rst for any fully mobile practice.

Amy and her veterinary nurse, Shreen Haywood RVN, are putting cats fi rst, avoiding the need for a stressful visit to the veterinary surgery, despite them both suffering from the stress of travel sickness and Amy herself is actually allergic to cats. Yet they put these challenges aside, decide who will drive each day and pull up outside their patient’s house

 “We perform the surgery right there, completely eliminating the need for a stressful car journey to the clinic. Thanks to the Catmobile, we can now perform any general surgical procedure at home - neutering, biopsies and abdominal surgery as well as dental scale and polish, with surgical tooth extractions if required.”

Patients are ensured individually tailored monitoring throughout their anaesthetic and recovery and only one or two operations are carried out each day. As soon as the patients are awake and can be moved, they are allowed back into their own home to continue their recovery in comfortable and familiar surroundings. “This really keeps stress levels to a minimum and thus aids their recovery.”

Cats are only treated inside The Catmobile if surgery is required. All other procedures and tests are carried out within the patient’s home. Amy said: “We’ll do it there because that’s best for the cat, even if it’s harder for us - I can’t count the number of times I’ve taken a blood sample while lying on the fl oor!”

Virginia Grose is one of The Cat Doctor’s clients and has used many of their services. ”I was so pleased to fi nd The Cat Doctor last year when I was seeking the very best of care for my elderly cat Lily. In the last year of her life, Amy and her team provided amazing treatment and support. When she passed away in February it was in the comfort and familiarity of her own home with me by her side. Happily I have added two new young cats to my household now and The Cat Doctor swung into action again for their initial check up and of course spaying and microchipping them in the mobile surgery. The girls had a stress-free two minute journey to the surgery and were treated and operated on outside my house! 

“The ‘Catmobile’ is quite simply the most amazing service and I would never want to use any other kind of veterinary treatment other than ‘at home’ - my two girls were bouncing around literally hours after their surgery.”

Established in 2013, The Cat Doctor now provides a full range of veterinary services for more than 400 cats in the area covered.