App Review: Pet Vet Doctor: CATS Rescue

We had high hopes for this app that promises you will be able to care for virtual sick kitties. Our hopes were somewhat fulfilled, as the game has several good points.

How to play

Using the stethoscope to diagnose a cat.

Here are the basics: You choose a cat to care for. Unless you buy the full version ($7.99) or buy individual cats ($1.99 each), you can choose from a black cat or a seal-point Siamese. Your task is to examine the cat to see what is wrong with her. You have four ways to examine the cat: a glove, a magnifying glass, a stethoscope, and an x-ray machine. You use each of these to check the cat, and when you find the problem, you’ll get a little message saying you’ve diagnosed him with a cut, a broken bone, high blood pressure, or what have you. Then you get to treat the injury with disinfectant and a bandage, or pills, or a cast. Once the cat is taken care of, you give him a little gift and take a picture, which you can share to Facebook, e-mail to someone, or just save to your device.

It's fun, as far as it goes

Now, I’m not going to say that this isn’t enjoyable, because it is. The first few times you do it, it’s fun to examine the cats and learn the different ways to treat them. After those first few times, though, you’ll figure out that you’re seeing the same two cats over and over (yes, the names change, but I know you’re pretty smart, so you will not be fooled by that). Yes, you can get the full, ad-free version for eight smackaroos, but purrsonally I think that is a bit much for a game that seems to offer no challenge beyond treating the same few injuries on the same few cats over and over. The game would be better if there were some way to advance to do gradually more difficult things.

A cat we healed. She had a broken rib.

An app for young aspiring vets

That said, we think Pet Vet Doctor could be a good app for a younger person who wants to be a vet. It’s neat how you hold the stethoscope over the cat’s chest and feel the heartbeat, and putting bandages on is fun. The graphics are good, and we got a kick out of the balloon release for each cat you heal. For a kid who’s going to play this game a lot, the price tag might be reasonable. They might enjoy having access to many more gifts to give the cats and filling up their device with pictures of cats they have healed. Old SoLT herself would have been totally into this when she was 12 or so. But at 40-something, not so much.

Pet Vet Doctor: CATS Rescue is available for iPhoneand iPad.

Mildly recommended.