4 Paws Animal Clinic — Local services in Winter Park

(updated edit at the bottom)

The place is extremely nice. You get your own private room and don’t have to sit in the waiting room with other pets because they are quick about getting you back. It is pretty expensive, but that’s to be expected with the quality of the place. (Although they do not inform you of pricing before giving the treatments, which I find really odd. I also asked for a refill of my cat’s flea and tick treatment and they added three to the bill without telling me. If I hadn’t been so shocked by the price and taken a closer look, I would have gone home with two extra treatments.)

What I’m not happy about is their response time and customer service. When I first took my cat in for an exam, they did a fecal test and sent me an email that night saying he was negative for intestinal parasites. I then got a call the next day informing me that he had hookworms, which I was shocked to hear and asked if they were sure because of the email I had gotten prior to the call (signed by his vet/doctor), and they told me they would have to confirm with her, which was another day of waiting and stressing because she wasn’t in office. Finally they did return my calls and informed me that he did have hookworms, but that they sent the email out before the Dr. was able to analyze it, which was very shocking to me. I purchased dewormer and completed his course of treatment, and took his fecal sample in to be tested again on the 29th, and they sent me a text that same day saying he was negative for intestinal parasites (again). Just to err on the safe side, I responded and asked if it was confirmed with his Dr. to avoid the same problem I had, and they did not get back to me. Pretty disappointed seeing as I responded almost immediately after they sent the text, and although I understand they close on the weekends, they had over one full business day to get back to me, and did not. It’s especially frustrating because they have already made an error with my cat’s treatment before.

Overall, the people were very nice, but for the price I’m expecting a guarantee that you are interpreting my pet’s test results correctly, and would also appreciate a little more empathy for clients who are concerned about their pet’s health. It’s not fun to be kept waiting on bad news!

Edit: The manager did reach out to me after I posted this review and apologized, as well as gave me a credit on my account to try to make it right, which I appreciated. She also took the time to come meet me the next time I came in to pick up some flea treatment for my cat, and gave me a three-month’s supply for free, which was very generous. It’s clear that she truly cares about 4 Paws and...

Hey all, I try not to leave reviews unless they're really good or really bad. I don't like leaving bad reviews but the experience we had here was truly terrible. The vet almost killed our cat. Not only did we struggle to speak to actual vets (they'll largely run you through the assistants who seemed to have little info and had to keep going back to check with the vet anyway) but we always had to wait for ages (think 30 to 40 minutes) when we went in for a scheduled appointment. Service aside, that wasn't even the major issue.

Our cat had begun losing weight. We took her in to see if there was something wrong and they immediately put her on thyroid and kidney meds, sold us a bunch of food (that she threw up), gave her injections, and a couple of other medications.

She spent the next week almost catatonic (like a different animal) then she started pooping straight mucus blood. She looked and I suspect was near death (we sat up through the night with her as she could not hold food in, she pooped and threw up at the same time). I stopped all medications. The improvement was rapid and clearly indicated the medications had been the problem. I called the vet multiple times to try to see what was going on (Of course they'd never speak to me, just the assistants who had no idea)—she's a small, thin cat--had they given her too much? Was she allergic to something? Turns, out if you Google the thyroid medication it's HARD on animals, more like an end of life med which she was nowhere near needing.

They tried to tell us to get back on the meds. I refused as the difference had been night and day—she'd nearly died on the medications. The thyroid medications are immensely damaging just research it. They also never told us there is a cure for thyroid treatment (because they don't offer it -- radioactive iodine -- some vets in Florida do. Look it up).

I am still stymied that they managed to nearly kill my cat. she went from skinny and picky to almost dead. Not only that but they wanted to xray her after for another $500 - $700 for no reason once i'd stopped the meds -- we told them she did not eat random things and I said no.

She is back to eating normally (and is much healthier) and is not an a slew of subscription medications. We have a much better vet who promptly told us having seen this vet's results, that they would not have put her on the medications they did. We gave them the FULL lab results.

Think twice before you head here. It will be EXPENSIVE. You won't be seen on time. You won't get to speak to the vet. And they'll likely make you buy prescription food and put your poor pet on medications it doesn't...

To start off, anytime I go somewhere new I always read the reviews, both good and bad. Then I decide whether to go or not. I never imagined i'd be writing a google review, however I am extremely disappointed after my first visit at 4 Paws Animal Clinic. Honestly if the clinics nearby my condo weren't already booked for the past month and this month, I would've picked somewhere closer. The staff at 4 Paws? They were great. Super friendly and welcoming. They always complimented my dog. The wait to be seen? They were backed up, but I didn't mind. It wasn't too long of a wait in my opinion. It was the price that set me off. I made sure to find a few reviews about how reasonable the price was for this clinic. I recently moved here and made an appointment for only updates on vaccinations (so my dog can go to daycare when I travel) and to get another refill on her heartworm/flea/tick prevention. They also added in the physical/wellness exam and a heart worm test because it has been awhile since she's been tested for them. The total was $530. Half a grand... for ONE dog. I didn't want to be rude like my parents and just walk out before after hearing the total (before anything was done on my pup). I made the comment of the price and the person who rang it up changed topics and asked where I moved from, avoiding the discussion. I was clearly showing how mad I was. I called their customer service lady and asked why it was so much money. She had no answer. She also mentioned how they also don't discuss pricing until you are at the appointment anyway, which is deceptive business practices by the way. My sister who lives here has two dogs and she said she only pays around $300 each for all of the stuff my dog got at 4 Paws. I was expecting $300, not $530. Not half a grand for ONE dog. Furthermore, I went back and looked at all of the receipts from vet visits for my dog in the prior 3 states and 4 Paws was twice as much as the other vet visits, even their Heartworm/flea/tick prevention is twice as much if not more. The heartworm fecal exam was $50 in other states, it was like $170 or so here... and yes they were in cities like Orlando. Anyways, I was planning to have my cats go through wellness check ups, but I will...