Companion Care (Colchester) Ltd T/A Vets4Pets

Companion Care Ltd (trading as Vets4Pets) runs a small-animal practice and also references a purpose-built referral hospital that provides its own 24/7 in‑patient service (for pets staying overnight or several days). The clinic is also listed as a Veterinary Nurse Training facility.

From the latest reviews available, owners most often talk about

• •Surgery care for older cats (operations mentioned) and dogs.
• •Exotics capability, with a vet described as very thorough and informative when treating a guinea pig.
• •Eye cases, including attempts to save vision and (when needed) eye removal for glaucoma/serious eye disease.

Recent negative reviews raise practical concerns about urgent appointment access and delays/poor communication (for example, repeated calls for a surgical estimate with no estimate produced), which conflicts with many other reviews describing helpful, knowledgeable staff.

Services

Services and capabilities explicitly mentioned in the available information include

• •Referral hospital with 24/7 in‑patient care (pets can stay overnight or for several days), described as purpose-built and “state-of-the-art” (website summary).
• •Veterinary Nurse Training facility (clinic data).
• •Surgery/operations (owners mention an elderly cat’s operations and a dog’s planned surgery where an estimate was requested).
• •Exotics care: treatment of a guinea pig, with detailed discussion of guinea pig needs noted by the owner.
• •Ophthalmic/eye cases: treatment for glaucoma and serious eye problems, including attempts to save an eye and (in some cases) enucleation (eye removal).
• •Late-evening help is mentioned by one reviewer, but no formal out-of-hours arrangement is described in the reviews provided.

People

• •Dr Damon Knoop: mentioned for an elderly cat’s operations; the owner highlights a “professional and friendly approach” that reassured them around surgical care.
• •Dr Johan Kritzinger: credited with being very thorough and highly informative when treating a poorly guinea pig, including guidance on guinea pig needs.
• •Reception team: one owner praised reception for being kind and willing to listen; another recent review describes a receptionist as “cold and unsympathetic” when the owner sought an urgent appointment—so experiences appear mixed.

Reviews

Google rating: 4.5 stars from 561 reviews. “”

• •Surgical care is a recurring theme, including operations for an elderly cat and discussion around a dog’s surgery planning.
• •Exotics support is specifically praised (guinea pig appointment described as thorough and informative).
• •Eye problems feature in multiple accounts, including glaucoma management and situations where an eye could not be saved and was removed.
• •Helpfulness in urgent-feeling situations is inconsistent in the latest reviews: one owner says the team helped late in the evening, while another says they could not access an urgent appointment when their dog was unwell.
• •Communication/organisation is a pain point in some recent feedback, including repeated requests for a surgical estimate with no follow-through, contrasted with other reviewers describing friendly, knowledgeable staff.