Vet options in Bangkok

 

I visited our vet recently when my kitten was sick, and was considering how we've had lots of different kinds of experiences with vets in Bangkok. I wanted to recommend them, and compare how other types of vet services work out.

The Vet Hospital 24 Hour, at Udom Suk (they are here): they're great, the best vet we've tried, so this is who we use now. Staff are very experienced, and they love animals. Care seems pretty solid, but that part can be hard to evaluate, since I can't really evaluate or second-guess animal medical treatment.  Our cats have been through a rough past year related to health issues, and only one case went badly, and for a mix of reasons that can't really serve as an indicative example. 

To me this is the ideal, a good value, good services local branch version, that has enough experience base to also do basic surgeries. If a vet is oriented towards value you can even use them to support short vacation stay pet care, at a similar or perhaps lower price than in local "pet hotels." All of the other private options mentioned here also provide this service, per my understanding, and lots of "pet hotels" do, but costs vary.

Thong Lo Pet Hospital: this is a main local business, with at least three different branches, so it's not only at Thong Lo. We've taken pets there before, and services seem fine, but the cost is pretty significant. I don't really blame them; overhead must be high for such a business. Not so different than "The Vet," but a more corporate themed, for-profit business positioning changes things.

Chulalongkorn and Kasaetsart Animal Hospitals: these are great options. Care is great, costs are low. The trade-off is that like in local government hospitals you will spend a few extra hours there even for basic care, and for something requiring return visits that will add up to extra days worth of time spent there. 

If you go frequently--hopefully not because of poor pet health--you can build a relationship with a specific doctor, and then things will go all the better. Limited experience with surgery and urgent care at the Chula version went as well as that kind of thing tends to go; surgery and lab facilities are very extensive. A cat specialist theme at Kasaetsart seemed to add functionality.

the Chula Small Animal Hospital main building (credit their website)

Sukhumvit Veterinarians:  there would be lots of other options, and I'm including one recommended in a Reddit thread comment (here).  They said:  "I think 2 factors that helped us feel reassured by our vet of choice was that it was a recommendation by a friend who has a geriatric dog, so can handle complicated care like that. And when we first visited, the staff was warm and seemed excited to meet our cats."

The vet staff at that Vet Hospital 24 Hour place we go to are so excited to see our cats that they greet them as friends when they arrive.  Especially the Siamese cat, who has a cool look, and a really sweet personality, but they also seem to love the other cats.  They send Line updates with photos, and I can tell that the cats get some attention while they're there, which would mean the world to them.

Broad scope of experience and specialization is also important.  Lots of vets would have lots of diverse experience, and word of mouth in different forms helps inform where others have had the best results.

Other local vets: we've mostly only been to one in Ari, that was fine. Services were ok, and cost wasn't quite as high as the Thong Lo branch. All of these places are using well trained vets, so care is generally fine all over. I suppose you would only really test that when something unusual went wrong with your pet's health, and maybe as with human medical care how that goes could relate to if there is a common or uncommon health condition occurring.  Or to the pet's general health, and other factors.

our other cat.  all are happy and in good health now, but she is a bit moody.