My beloved indoor cat went missing outdoors for 2 days. We found her late in the evening, and called the clinic as soon as they opened the next morning at 7:30AM to see if we could get her a check up ASAP. The receptionist picked up and was able to immediately schedule a check up at 9:15AM the same day. Once we arrived, we were promptly seen by Dr. Bates within 5-10 minutes. He and the staff clearly know how to deal with distraught, uneasy animals. He checked out my cat for any issues and sent us home with some medication and peace of mind! We are grateful the clinic could take us on short notice and ensure our cat didn't pick up any major illness/bugs during her outdoor escape. It wasn't a cheap vet visit, but it was absolute worth it. Our cat has also been seen by Dr. Bates for vaccinations and fleas within the past few years - both of those visits were great experiences as well! read more

Yesterday I went here to pick up my pups medicine, they know Lakin pretty well and said nothing but good things about her. But yesterday the lady at the front desk asked how she was and I told her that she is good and handful at times but such a great dog to have. She then looked at me and said, "I hope you don't take any offense to this but German shepherds are working dogs and need to be worked. They don't need to be pets." I was in so much shock I couldn't believe that this woman would ever say something to a customer like that. Utterly rude and unprofessional read more

I just wanting to to say thank you for taking care of AL. I am happy to have a pet boarding and staff that look after your pets while your away on business or for some R & R I been boarding here for the last 4 years and I highly recommend it read more

James City Veterinary Clinic - Veterinarians Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

Dr. Bates and his staff have treated my two two Scottish Terriers for nearly 10 years. I can always get a prompt appointment, the office staff is friendly and when I had a back injury they even carried a heavy bag of dog food out to my car for me. Our dogs always get excited when we pull in the parking lot because they know they will be treated with love--and because Dr. Bates always has the BEST treats in his pocket! I cannot recommend them more highly. Special thanks to Amy for always looking out for our critters. read more

I needed to leave Roxy my 7 year old lab for a month. I chose James City so she would have medical help if needed. It was the best care possible and cheaper than places that board only. read more

You will not find better care for your pet than this place! After recently retiring and moving to the area from the west coast, I never thought i'd find a vet as good as my past vet. But Dr Bates and Julie have been amazing, particularly with my oldest dog Jason who has had lots of issues. This is the first time he has ever wanted to go into a vet clinic....My dogs have never in better hands, ever. This is very thorough and professional care at its finest. read more

So Dr Bates is a good vet and talks through everything well, but his pricing is VERY high. You can get good service for a better price. If you're okay with paying a higher price he's a good vet. read more

I have had many dogs and have been to many Vets and this is one of my favorites. The office is small and never crowded. The staff LOVE animals and greet my two dogs with smiles and conversation at every visit. Dr. Bates is a great Vetrinarian and explains everything in great detail. He is also the only Vetrinarian at this location and I love the fact that any day or time of the week I make an appointment I know my babies will be seeing the same Dr. read more

Never made a visit since the lady who answered the phone was so impatient,unhelpful, and unfriendly. UNBELIEVABLE. STAY AWAY

We've been taking our cats to JCVC for about 20 years now and have always been pleased. Everything has been well explained, staff has always been courteous, we have even received condolence cards for those really difficult visits that are sometimes necessary. I think their rates might be a bit higher than some others in the area, but that's okay for the convenience. read more

Dr Bates has been my veterinarian for 30 years, treating my 2 Westies and 2 rescue cats in that time frame. Obviously, based upon my loyalty to him, he is priceless to my family. He presents all medical options to the owner before completing any treatment, and his animals are well taken care of by him and his able assistants (whom i call the dog/cat "whisperers"!). He and his staff are extremely kind to both owner and their pets, and although my animals would rather be elsewhere, he soothes my Westies with small pepperoni pieces which changes their attitude! There may be a vet in Williamsburg who is less expensive, but my pets have been so well cared for that i would never consider changing simply to save a few dollars. read more

Dr. Bates has been our Vet for about five years, and my Tiger loves him! Matter of fact, he's having an after surgery "sleep over" as I type this. What cat gets into his carrier voluntarily when you say "Go to the Vet"? Mine does! He did this morning, I kid ya not! My Tiger loves him, and Dr. Bates is extra patient with me as I have trouble understanding things due to disability. He explains everything so I understand all that's going on. Both he and his staff are amazing people and they ARE "pet people." Some people say "his pricing is high", and it is, slightly, BUT..the old adage is, "You get what you pay for." My other fur baby (cat) died last July. We took him to another Vet as Dr. Bates was on vacation. He was A LITTLE cheaper - at first - that is until the same day, they sent me to a Animal Specialty Clinic in Richmond. All the while KNOWING that my cat had an incurable genetic lung disease and that he was not going to survive. $1400 later, of course, he had to be put to sleep. :( My husband took him, and his mind was set on saving my "baby." Had I gone, it'd been different but I cannot - disabled. I KNOW without a doubt that Dr. Bates absolutely would have been up front with with husband about "my boy" from the get go. Thus between that and the TOP level of care my Tiger gets from Dr. Bates and his staff and their HONESTY when treating my pets, he's SO worth that small bit extra! Between the love he shows our pets and their "pet parents" like myself, you'll not find better Veterinarian anywhere in this area, no way! I'll never see another Vet again with my pets. OH - and there are ALWAYS coupons for discounts! Always! God bless Dr. Bates and his staff...Simply the BEST! read more

For four years, I thought Dr. Bates was a good veterinarian. I appreciated that he called us to talk to us about the condition of my cat and he's a seemingly nice man, but within the last month, I have discovered that Dr. Bates either doesn't know what he is doing or took complete advantage of us as loving pet owners...or both. 4 years ago, our family moved several times within a couple months because we were transitioning from the military; one of the moves was across the country and another one of the houses had dogs, which our cat was unfamiliar with at the time. So, understandably our cat was stressed out. He soon developed an upper respiratory infection as well, diagnosed by Dr. Bates. He then stopped cleaning himself because he would get so exhausted; he started hanging out by the water dish more than usual it seemed; and he started coughing after exercising and threw up a few times. His feline acne also got a little worse. We spent a couple thousand dollars on different rounds of tests, including blood work and EKGs. Dr. Bates diagnosed our Maine Coon with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and told us he likely only had 3 months to live. He had us come back after a few days, then we were told to come back every three months for EKGs. EVERY appointment, our cat was sedated with anesthesia that lasted all night long (which doesn't seem that safe to me for a cat with a heart condition). After the first appointment, Dr. Bates put him on 3 different types of medicine, including a steroid that made him retain water and pee constantly. We were told that we could mix the medicine with baby food or tuna and feed it to him. Thinking that either was safe, without doing the research that we should have, we mixed his medicine with the baby food as suggested by the techs at James City Vet. Then less than a year ago, he was diagnosed by Dr. Bates as having diabetes. Every month, he wanted to do glucose testing for which we were told by the techs to not let him eat 12 hours prior to testing because of the sedatives, then to give him an insulin shot before the appointment (something our current vet tells us is deadly because he hadn't eaten); then they would sedate him, for reasons I still don't understand, and monitor his glucose. Every visit Dr. Bates increased his insulin dosage. Each visit for his heart or glucose testing was costing us anywhere from $600-$900. Then last month, we were going out of town and placed him in boarding in our current town that we live in (we were driving 1 hour to bring our cat to James City Vet!), this new vet decided to change our cat's diet to a pate wet food only (he had been on dry food only at the advice of Dr. Bates); and instead of using the baby food that is loaded with carbs (which cats can't handle), she mixed his pills into a single vial and pushed them down his throat. This new vet also checked his glucose levels prior to EVERY insulin shot, something she said was absolutely necessary to safely administer the appropriate dose of insulin. Each test only cost $5. After one week, his diabetes went into remission! And still, a month later, it has not returned. Then she requested our records from James City Vet. 28 pages later, we realized that there was absolutely no evidence of a heart condition in his records. There was not even a record of him being diagnosed or any subsequent EKG results. The records only showed his glucose records, and that he was given MANY refills on his medicine and several EKGs. The new vet then informed us that EKGs cannot diagnose Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, only echocardiograms can. She then referred us to a local cardiologist. Today, we found out that our cat has a perfectly healthy heart and has never had any heart condition. We spent THOUSANDS (enough to buy a car) on the treatment of our cat after the tests, the visits, the sedations (WHY?!?!), and the medicine. His medicine even made him sick at times from the water retention. Thankfully, Dr. Bates decreased his steroid dosage at that point. We had to alter our lives to take care of a "sick cat" that was never sick in the first place. Maybe he had bronchitis in the beginning? He was still trying to recover from his upper respiratory infection. Maybe stress played a factor? All I know is, this poor cat had to suffer through those horrible vet visits, insulin injections in the back of the next twice a day, and daily medicine intakes that he never needed. I'm completely disgusted with this vet. PLEASE GET A SECOND OPINION if he ever diagnoses your pet with ANYTHING! It will be worth the money in the end! And maybe your pet won't suffer like mine did! Luckily, he mine is still alive! read more