Information

Attending the surgery

Cats
Please always bring your cat to the surgery in a carrier. Cats will often feel more secure in a carrier and may try to escape if not confined.

Dogs
Please keep your dog on a lead at all times. Where possible please encourage your dog to pass urine or faeces before coming to the surgery.

If your dog does accidentally pass urine or faeces in the waiting room or in the car park please inform reception so they can arrange for this to be removed.

If your pet is particularly noisy, aggressive or very nervous, please inform reception when you make the appointment and we will try and see your pet during a quieter time of the day.

Pet Insurance

One pet in three will require veterinary treatment this year. Perhaps this treatment will be a ‘one-off’ problem like broken bones after a road accident.

It may equally be an ongoing problem like diabetes, a skin allergy or arthritis. As medical and surgical treatments become more advanced, inevitably the cost of first class veterinary care increases and in some cases becomes a limiting factor. This can be a heart-wrenching position to be in.

For a fraction of the cost of feeding your pet, it is now possible to insure him/her against accident, illness and injury. With the exception of vaccinations and elective procedures like neutering, all you pay in the event of a problem is the excess on your policy – the rest is taken care of and your pet can receive the very best treatment that money can buy.

Selecting a policy…

Take care – they come in all shapes and sizes! Be aware that some policies will only cover an illness for 12 months before cover stops while others provide lifelong cover for ongoing conditions.

Leaflets are available in reception. We recommend combining the Gold Club Healthcare Plan with an insurance policy to give you absolute peace of mind for all your pet’s healthcare needs. Please do not change your insurance provider without talking to us first as some conditions may be excluded.

Abbey Veterinary Group now offer a scheme to help you spread the cost of routine treatments throughout the year on a direct debit basis (i.e. vaccinations, flea treatment and worming).

Membership of Gold Club Healthcare Plan will also give extra savings on other services, but this will not cover illness or medical conditions and therefore will not replace general Pet Insurance.

Pre-operative Guidelines

Operations are carried out routinely at both our surgeries Monday to Friday.

No food from midnight the night prior to admit. We encourage you to feed a meal late that night to reduce the risk of low blood sugar if animals are starved for a long time. No water from 7 am unless advised otherwise

Our nurses will admit your pet by appointment between 8.00am and 8.30am at both surgeries where dogs will be weighed and if appropriate given a sedative. One of our nurses will contact you by phone/text/e-mail with a progress report and will arrange a convenient time for you to collect your pet.

Generally animals go home the same day during the afternoon unless we feel that it is necessary to monitor them overnight.

Hospitalisation

Abbey Veterinary Group is well equipped with sterile and non-sterile operating theatres. We have x-ray, dental x-ray, ultrasound and endoscopy facilities.

Our separate dog and cat kennel areas are supervised by our qualified nurses who ensure the comfort and well being of all hospitalised animals. There is an isolation unit set apart from the kennel areas.

We use Adaptil and Feliway diffusers in our dog and cat wards to help your pets feel less stressed when in our care.