RSPCA Cambridge Animal Clinic

AUGUST 2022 UPDATE: PLEASE SEE CANCELLATION POLICY

  • You must now have a pre-booked appointment to attend the clinic.
  • Please call 01223 609689 and select the option you need.
  • To register your pet at the clinic you need to phone for an appointment. Your pet is registered once they have attended an appointment and you have shown your proof of benefit. Registration lasts for two years.
  • If you are calling to make a vaccination appointment for a new kitten or puppy, please phone on Wednesday morning between 9.15 and 11.15 as these appointments are released 7 days in advance
  • We currently have very low availability of appointments because so many people are trying to book. We release appointment slots 7 days in advance and it's likely that you may not be able to get an appointment more quickly than 7 days following the day you call. We have to prioritise emergencies and patients who are already registered.
  • If you are trying to register you may need to phone on several days until an appointment is free
  • Our appointments line is open on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 9.15 am and 11.15am
  • Our Medications line is open on a Tuesday and Thursday between 11.30am and 12.30pm
  • For General enquiries please call on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday between 9am and 12.30 pm. Also a Wednesday afternoon 2pm until 3pm.
  • If your animal is registered with us and needs to be seen urgently, please call 07742 658086 anytime.
  • CANCELLATIONS: 24 hours notice to cancel an appointment must be given by calling 01223 609689 during clinic hours or 07742 658086 out of hours, otherwise a cancellation fee will be charged. Failure to pay the fee or multiple cancellations may affect your use of the clinic.
  • REGISTRATION at the clinic: When you register at our clinic you are agreeing to use it as your permanent vet. We do not allow owners to use us for emergencies and more expensive treatments and another vet for routine treatments as this is unsafe because it could lead to animals getting two different medications for the same condition.

Address

1 Pool Way
Whitehill Road
Cambridge
CB5 8NT

01223 609689

Opening hours

Opening hours
Weekday Time Services
Tuesday 09:15-12:30 By appointment only
Wednesday 09:15-15:30 Vaccination, microchipping, neutering pre-checks and post-operative stitch removal only. By appointment only
Thursday 09:15-12:30 By appointment only
Saturdays 09:15-12:30 By appointment only

About

Photo of a dog in the clinic
Photo by Poppy Corbett

The history of the RSPCA Cambridge animal clinic dates back to the 1930s. Staff and hospital facilities for the clinic are provided by the University of Cambridge Veterinary School who use it as a teaching centre where students can see real-life cases being treated by qualified vets. View the clinic in action.

Without our cheap vet treatment for low income pet owners it is very likely that even more animals would be dumped or handed over to the local dog warden – and very probably put to sleep.


Bringing your pet

Currently we are only open to registered clients and animals are seen on appointment only. Please see information above on how to make an appointment.

If you are bringing a puppy or dog for their first vaccinations, we advise that you come to the Wednesday session and not one of the open surgeries, to avoid bringing them into contact with other dogs who may already be carrying infection.

If possible, leave the puppy in your car while you register and only bring them into the building when it is your turn to see the vet. Carry them so that they do not risk picking up infection from where other dogs have walked.

Suspected cases of infection CANNOT be seen at the clinic on Wednesdays, to avoid risk to young animals who are there for their first vaccinations.


FAQs

Is my pet eligible?

Our subsidised animal clinic in Cambridge is exclusively for “means-tested” benefits and pet owners who cannot afford private vet treatment and who live in our catchment area.

If you wish to use the clinic you MUST bring proof of benefits or paperwork (such as a bank statement which shows that you have a very low income) each time you visit.

If you are unable to bring your pet yourself it’s fine for a helper to bring them for you, but the helper must show proof that you are in receipt of benefit and needs to have a signed note from you confirming that they are bringing the animal on your behalf.


How much does it cost?

There is a basic £18 charge per visit, plus the cost price of any medicines prescribed for your pet.

  • The basic £18 charge per visit is payable to the RSPCA Cambridge and we use it to cover part of the cost of paying for vets to staff the clinic. Even though the university charges us less than a commercial rate, we do still need to pay for their services. We now accept card payments as well as cash or cheque.

  • Charges for medicines are paid directly to the University of Cambridge vet school. The vet school takes cash, credit or debit card payments but cannot take cheque payments.

If your pet needs an operation it will be charged at cost price, excluding the value of the operating surgeon’s time. On average this means that you only pay half of what it costs the branch to provide treatment for your animal.


Which animals can you treat?

The Cambridge clinic can treat most common domestic animals, but we do not have facilities for reptiles, poultry, exotic birds or farm animals.

If your animal belongs to a group that we cannot treat at the clinic, it may be possible for us to provide some financial help to enable them to be seen at a private vet. If you live inside our branch area, you can phone 07742 658 086 for advice about help. Otherwise phone the national control centre on 0300 1234 999.


What if my pet needs help out of hours?

Registered clinic patients only are eligible for out-of-hours emergency treatment. This is charged at a higher rate than normal sessions in order to prevent the service being abused for non-urgent cases.

If your animal is registered with the clinic and has an infection which cannot wait until the following day, you should phone the number on your registration card for advice on what to do.


Vaccinations

We can vaccinate dogs, cats and rabbits at the below prices.

If possible, please try to bring animals needing vaccination only to the Wednesday session. This relieves pressure on the other open surgery days so that ill animals can be seen more quickly. Also, it reduces the risk that your puppy or kitten could pick up an infection from sick animals waiting in the surgery.

Vaccination prices
Pets Vaccination type Price
Kittens and puppies First vaccination £15
Booster 3 weeks later after the first vaccination £15
Cats and dogs Additional boosters that should be given every year £20
Rabbits Vaccination £18

Please note: If your cat or dog has a litter and you plan to sell the puppies or kittens it is unfair to other owners to use our clinic for their vaccinations. You should charge the purchasers enough to cover the cost of the initial vaccinations at a private vet. Our staff have instructions to refuse to vaccinate litters of pedigree puppies where they have reasonable grounds to believe that the puppies will be sold for profit.

Important Warning

Cambridge is a very high-risk area for myxomatosis, which is a distressing and almost always fatal disease of rabbits. The virus which causes the disease can be transmitted from wild rabbits to tame ones by biting insects such as mosquitoes without any need for direct contact. It is therefore extremely important that all pet rabbits are vaccinated to protect them against this killer disease.

Cambridge is also a high-risk area for canine parvovirus which causes vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding from the intestines and is often fatal. Vaccination will protect your dog, but remember that vaccinations need to be maintained with yearly boosters to be fully effective.

If your dog is not vaccinated and starts vomiting or has diarrhoea DO NOT let them mix with other dogs and phone your vet for advice. If you have more than one dog, keep the sick one away from the ones who are still healthy. Contact your vet by phone for advice before getting the healthy dogs vaccinated - they may be carrying the disease and it is important that they are not brought into contact with other dogs.


Neutering

Neutering will prevent your pet from having unwanted litters (remember that pet shops do not always sex animals correctly). It also has health benefits for most animals, such as greatly reducing the risk of tom cats contracting diseases from wandering and fighting other male cats. In the case of rabbits, neutering makes it possible for a male and female to live together and this is usually a much more harmonious pairing than two females or two males.

To put your pet on the waiting list for neutering, you need to bring them to the Wednesday session, for a pre-operation health check. There is a £10 charge for the health check and then another charge, paid to the hospital, on the day of the operation.

Neutering prices
Pets Sex Price
Guinea pigs Male £50
Ferrets Male £50
Cats Male £40
Female £60
Rabbits Male £50
Female £70
Dogs Male £90
Female £140

Helping out at the animal clinic

To see what life is like at the RSPCA Cambridge animal clinic, take a look at our YouTube video:

All of the reception staff who handle the clerical work at the clinic are unpaid volunteers. Clinic reception involves dealing with sometimes very distressed people in a high-pressure environment and our receptionists are very special people.

Space is limited, so it is only possible to have maximum of two new volunteers per session. New volunteers generally start by sitting in with an experienced team, then gradually do a greater variety of reception tasks until they feel confident.

We are looking for an additional volunteer on reception for Wednesday mornings. We are also keen to hear from anyone who would be willing to transport animals to the clinic from private vets where they have received initial first aid, and from the clinic to our kennels, or to foster homes. See our RSPCA Cambridge volunteers page for more information.