PetCoach by Petco

I’m a Chinese, have four cats who are all over 10 years old. Taking cats to see the vet is frustrated here cause I don’t really know which place is good enough and stick to the good quality. Usually we cat persons recommend good vet to each other based on the limited experiences we had and that’s it. No regulation to maintain a good quality for these pet hospitals and many of them overcharge or do harm to your pets without a blink. Two of my cats have some minor issues at the beginning of this year. I took them to a vet nearby to do the annual body examinations and the vet there couldn’t make any diagnose but still charged my quite a lot of money. I tried other place where one of the cats did the tumor removed surgery two years ago but they still couldn’t find what’s wrong. And that’s when I started to search for apps that could help me get some guidance before taking my chance. Anyway, just wanna get this off my chest cause I’ve been really anxious and frustrated with all these issues for several months. The vets on Pet Coach replies my question with good enough guidance that I won’t be very lost when I take my cats to see the vet next time. I’ve mentioned this app on the Chinese social media I use and hope this would help more cat persons in China. Good luck with all the animal lovers.

I’ve used this app a lot lately! Most of the time I get helpful or insightful answers. Sometimes someone answers with something super textbook or seems to gloss over the particular details I added in. I usually use the free 24 hour question so I don’t really have complaints there. Just like IRL sometimes you get a vet who you like and sometimes you aren’t quite satisfied. I’ve yet to pay for a consult but certainly would consider it. I do wish there was a way to search vets on the platform and see their question history to seek out one that seems like they might be a good fit for whatever the situation is. My main issue with the app itself is that I hardly can get it to work for some reason. My software and app are up to date, but if I’m browsing others questions and click to read full answer, it sits loading. Same thing when I try to view my own profiles question history or tap on notification that I have a response. This freezing up happens every time I use the app far as I can tell. So I use it to ask Qs and have to go to browser when I get notice there’s been a response. App could use some work but, the concept is super appreciated and I appreciate those vets and techs who take the time to thoughtfully answer!

The first Doctors response was a little ridiculous. She gave me only THE WORST OF THE WORST possible outcomes and acted as though my dog was going to die if I didn’t get him to a vet. I studied vet sciences and was a veterinarian technician for a few years. I already KNEW that this was NOT the case but I just needed a little extra guidance on a medication my dog ingested. I made it aware that this vet needed to describe the normal possibilities WITH the bad and also GOOD signs that the dog’s body is handling the situation. I then re-entered my question and added that I’d like good and bad signs. Another vet responded faster (within 15 min) and she gave an absolutely calming answer. She still made me aware of the bad but made sure I knew good signs and gave me very good guidance. I gave her a thumbs up! So I’d recommend this but sometimes they do NOT contact in 30 min (the first vet did NOT) but they don’t make you pay if they don’t answer. I will be using it again as long as my first vet doesn’t respond to me again

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I’m a first time pet owner so all things pet related are new and scary to me. I found this app last night while I was sitting up with my very sick 3 pound pup Luna and i did not have to anxiously wait til normal business hours to find out how to help my little love bug. By the time the local Vet’s office opened I already knew what I needed to do and could get started on it right away.. Questions are answered in a very timely fashion my most recent question was answered in only 8 minutes! And that was for the free question and not immediate! I’m very impressed! A huge thank you to the vets that help give me peace of mind and a game plan.

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I have had the app paid for by my pet insurance. I was happy to use it as a supplement to vet visits. Do not waste you money. Every single detailed question, some with photos, returns a completely generic answer and often “take dog to vet”. Of course I have Googled the concern before posting questions and the answers and practically verbatim what you’d find in an article. Never any answer specific to the details I provide. Example, “What should my papillons healthy weight goal be?” Included age and body measurements. “Answer “the healthy weight for a papillon is 7-11lbs.” That is the breed standard of course I know this. My dog is petite and that is not her healthy weight range for her puppy starting weight nor her widthxheight which was provided. If you are smarter than the app time is better spent going to a real vet and using free Google. The app is fine my suggestion to dev would be to put users questions on the How screen and feed. It’s hard to find what you care about.