Provided your puppy or kitten’s first vaccination appointment was with one of our vets, the follow-up appointment (usually 4 weeks after the first vaccinations) will be with one of our Registered Veterinary Nurses. If your puppy or kitten had their first vaccinations elsewhere, then we like one of our vets to see them to give them a thorough health check.

In this appointment, the nurse will discuss with you how your pet has been since the initial vaccination. They will want to check not only how they coped with the injection but how they were afterwards. The nurse will discuss their current health and perform a physical examination to determine if your pet is okay for the vaccination before administering the second dose into the scruff of their neck.

Remember to bring your vaccination record with you for the nurse to add the batch label and sign!

The cost of annual routine vaccinations is included in our Lifetime Care Club membership along with flea and worming treatment.

After any operation, your pet will need to be checked to ensure they are recovering well and as expected. The cost for these is factored into the cost of the operation so, unless there is any medication needed, there is nothing further to pay. 

For more complex operations, the vet who performed the operation will want to review your pet themselves. For more routine operations, these checks can be performed by one of our Registered Veterinary Nurses who can escalate your pet’s care back to our veterinary team should the need arise.

Generally, we recommend two Post Op Checks:

POC 1

In your first post-op check, the nurse will discuss with you how your pet recovered from their surgery in the 24 hours after. We will want to know if they are eating and drinking normally, and whether they have toileted or not. We will also check their wound if they have one, and perform a physical examination.

POC 2

The second post-op check is very similar to the first, however in this consultation, we will remove any stitches if necessary. We perform a physical examination, check whether your pet is eating and drinking and toileting as normal, and discuss with you what happens moving forward. From this, it is decided if your pet can be signed-off or if another check is needed.

As always, if you have any concerns regarding your pet’s recovery, please give us call to discuss or send us a WhatsApp with pictures.

Please note that our WhatsApp inbox is only monitored during routine weekday opening hours so do not use this service for any urgent queries.  

As your pet ages, the care that they need from you may need to adapt. Our Registered Veterinary Nurses can help you identify any changing needs and give you expert advice on coping with any problems. This will ensure that your pet lives as comfortably as possible for as long as possible. Any problems identified may be referred to our veterinary team for further investigation, with your consent of course.

The senior consultation is available to any animal over the age of 7, is free of charge and includes a free urine analysis (please bring along a sample to enable the nurse to do this – advice on how to collect a urine sample is available here).

During the consultation, the nurse will perform a head to tail physical examination of your pet. This will include checking their eyes, ears, mouth and teeth, heart, breathing, skin and coat, weight and Body Condition Score. They will also discuss with you your pet’s general behaviour and any changes or concerns you might have.

For senior cats, we may recommend booking in for a blood pressure check*.

It is a great opportunity to discuss with the nurse any noticeable changes you have seen at home and if we do find anything of concern, we will always recommend a further consultation with a vet.

* charge will apply

Dental clinics are fantastic for all pets and can be used to help prevent problems or to review oral health following a procedure, to help prevent any further issues developing.

During the consultation, you can discuss any concerns you might be having regarding your pets teeth, mouth and breath. The nurse can explain the different methods for dental preventative healthcare and may suggest that your pet might benefit from some form of dental treatment. If you’re unsure, the nurse can show you how to brush your pet’s teeth properly and offer some tips and tricks for making this an enjoyable time for your pet.

The nurse will also teach you how to best examine your pet’s mouth and what signs to look out for in the future.

They will make sure every option has been discussed and explain why a certain treatment might be better for your pet than another. If the nurse feels your pet could benefit from a vet consultation, they will advise you of that at the time.

During routine consultations, health checks and boosters, our vets or nurses will weigh your pet and be checking their Body Condition Score. Like with humans, excess weight can have considerable impact of our pet’s overall health and can lead to other diseases.

If you have been advised that your pet should lose some weight, please book to see one of our Registered Veterinary Nurses who can support you and your pet with safe, sustainable weight loss. Or, should your pet be under weight, with gaining the right amount of calories safely.

During the consultation, the nurse will perform a thorough examination on your pet’s Body Condition Score – this takes into consideration not only your pet’s weight on the scales, but also their body shape and fat to muscle ratio. The nurse will discuss in detail with you what your pet eats and how much exercise they get. We will then tailor a plan that suits both you and your pet to reach the end goal and your pet’s ideal weight. Your initial weight consultation clinic will be £27.60 and is likely to last around 30 minutes. Follow up appointments are £13.20. However if you are purchasing diet food through the practice (and taking advantage of the purchasing loyalty scheme), there are no charges for weight clinics.

After the initial consultation, your pet’s weight loss journey will continue with fortnightly reviews to ensure progress is going well. Once the target weight has been achieved, this will move to monthly and then taper off as weight is being successfully maintained.

Our nurses have lots of tips and tricks they can share to help this to be an easy and fun experience for both and your pet.

Confidence clinics are available to all pets who find going to the vets a stressful experience. They are a bespoke consultation, designed to support your pet with coping at the vets and are ideal to build confidence in the clinical environment.

Before your first appointment, the nurse will call you to discuss what the main issues are and what you want to achieve during your pet’s sessions. Every appointment will look different and will be completely tailored to your pet’s own confidence journey and will make coming to the vets fun! They are a great space for nervous pets to acclimatise to the veterinary consult room and often involve lots of treats, toys and cuddles! Please feel free to bring any favourite items from home for your pet as a comforter and/or motivator although we have toys and bedding available in the consult room to help your pet feel more relaxed.

Typically, the nurse will start with desensitisation. This involves giving your pet access to their trigger (i.e. the veterinary environment) in a low intensity form they can handle (often starting outside the practice). Over time, we gradually increase the intensity (walking into the veterinary practice waiting area or consult room) until they can visit the vets without feeling triggered. Then we would focus on counter-conditioning. This is where we introduce something positive to change your pet’s emotional response to the trigger. This can include treats, toys, praise, cuddles, or simply letting the pet sniff and wander around the consult room in their own time! The nurses will identify what does and does not work with your pet and will follow a plan that suits both you and your pet’s individual needs.

Confidence clinics start with an initial consultation costing £27.60. Once your pet is more settled, shorter appointments can be made reducing the cost accordingly – your nurse will advise when they feel your pet is ready for this. The cost of nurse clinics is included in Lifetime Care Club Gold membership and a discount of 20% is available to Kite members.

Our Registered Veterinary Nurses can give repeat injections for pet’s that are on long term medication, be it for osteoarthritis, allergies or something else.

If you are seeing a nurse for your pet’s injection, you will have already seen a Vet who will have determined the correct dose. The nurse will check how your pet has been, whether you are seeing a difference after having the injections and whether they are well enough to proceed with the injection that day. If they have any concerns, they will direct you to a Vet. The majority of injections are given in the scruff, just like a vaccination.

Our team of Registered Veterinary Nurses are very experienced in helping with things that can be tricky to do at home:

During your nail clip consultation, the nurse will examine your pet’s nails and determine the best technique to trim them, taking into consideration your pet’s tolerance and general wellbeing. Sometimes these appointments take a long time in order for the nurse to allow your pet to have their nails clipped at their own pace. Please feel free to bring your pet’s favourite snacks or toys to help them tolerate their mani/pedi!

During your Anal Gland consultation, the nurse will discuss with you how your pet has been recently, how their stools appear and what your pet is being fed, before examining them. Some pets find this procedure quite overwhelming so it is important to keep them happy with their favourite treats and toys during it.

If your pet has compacted matting in their fur, we can attempt to remove them during a consultation using a brush, clip and comb as much as your pet will tolerate. In severe cases, the nurse may need to refer your pet for a procedure at one of our hospital branches using some sedation. This will make your pet feel very sleepy and allow the team to remove more of the problem areas without causing distress. Please remember, we are not professional groomers and therefore dematts should only be booked with that in mind – the aim is to remove the problem matts to make your pet more comfortable.