I have a habit of going into every pet shop I see, generally the stock are pretty similar. Not at Ma & Paws! I didn't expect much when I went in on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised to find that they have a huge range of products. You can tell that the owner loves animals and puts effort into selecting aesthetically pleasing products as well as healthy pet treat/food. I also love the fact that there were so many Australian made products. Yay for small businesses!

The prices there were very competitive. I purchased a play tunnel for my kitten for $19, which is a win for me because I almost bought one online for $45 the other day. I also walked away with a reasonably priced pet bed which my kitten LOVES and it looks good in my lounge. Now I just have to buy another one and convince my other cat to move out of his ugly old bed!

The owner is very warm and friendly and straight away asked me how old my cats are, not because she wanted to sell me products but because she was genuinely interested. She is also very knowledgeable in pet diet and it was very nice of her to share some money saving tips on worming medications for our cats.

Pet lovers, do pay them a visit. It really brightens up your day to chat with someone so passionate about animals as well picking up a few treats to spoil your pet.

I don't own a car and this clinic is only down the road from us so I have always taken my cats to them since April last year. What I like about this clinic is that they are very efficient so I never have to wait long for the consultation and I can usually get an appointment for my cats on the same day or the next day. However the vet nurses and the vet are so efficient to the point that I feel we are being rushed out every time. Each consultation generally lasted no more than 5 minutes. And before we can say thank you to the vet we are rushed out to pay.

As a new cat owner I have many questions and I feel the answers they gave me were often inadequate, for example when I asked if IV fluid was necessary for my cat's neutering procedure: they answered, it depends on the level of comfort you want to give your cat. How ambiguous. What I had hoped is some explanation of the procedure and whether it's necessary since the actual neutering costs $126.95, and the IV fluid costs $72.95. In the end I did give him IV and the pain killer was at a separate cost.

Every time I called up to ask a minor question they refuse to answer. For example, when our kitten (at 6 weeks old) refused to eat or drink and was clearly unwell and I could not get an appointment until the next day. I asked when I booked the appointment what sort of signs I should watch out for overnight in case it became an emergency; they simply refused to comment and said they can only answer when we bring the kitten in. Fortunately, the condition didn't worsen.

I called up recently to enquire the price of canine removal as our 3 year old cat has fractured his. The person on the phone refused to give me a ball park figure and was rude and impatient. Since I really needed to know an approximate cost I called up another clinic and they spent about 10 minutes explaining patiently how fractured tooth may affect a cat and what can be done to fix it. They kindly provided me with the approximate cost and the clearly explained what its for.

Intially, my cat was not too bothered by vet visits but now he shakes fearfully when we take him to the vet. So I guess he is unhappy with this clinic too. If I had a car I would definitely go to a different vet.

Approximate cost: $unsure because consultation fee not seperated from treatment

M.A.C cosmetics in South Yarra is consistent with the high quality of other M.A.C stores/or counters, if not better. I went in for a make-over session as I needed to learn certain make-up techniques before attending my friend's wedding on Sunday. The make-over session is free if you spend over $95. Paul was the make up artist that served me and he was amazing. He was highly professional, never pushy and was very understanding that I had a budget and needed to buy only what is absolutely necessary. He patiently asked me what products I have already and tried to match as carefully as he could to ensure I get a good idea of the final look. He was very patient with me and happily answered all my questions even if he had to repeat more than once. He was clearly passionate about his job and that made the experience very enjoyable to me.

Approximate cost: $Free if you spend over $95 on their products

We went as a group of 6 on a wednesday night, interestingly there were no other diners until one group showed up around 8. The waitress was attentive but no smiles. The food was good but no wow factor. Our friend had to send the salmon back twice because it was over-cooked. My husband thought his salmon was fine but then realised that the bottom piece was indeed over-cooked and dry, however he didn't send it back because he tend to avoid making a fuss. Overall this restaurant is fine for a meal, but I would definately not make the mistake of taking foodies here again.

Approximate cost: $30

I sent Charlie there for 13 days over the Christmas period (20th December to 2nd January). Unfortunately it was so stressful for him that he did not eat or go to the toilet for 7 days. I knew he might get upset because it would be his first time away from home, I chose Carnegie cat cottage because I thought he would be seen by a vet quickly if he became ill and on the website it says that cats prefer the safety of the small space. I was wrong, it became very frustrating since the cottage was not open over the statutory holidays so I spent Christmas worrying about him and was not able to request him to be seen by a vet until after Boxing Day. Also if I had not called to check up on him he may not have been seen by a vet because I had to request an appointment. I emailed one of the nurses to let her know that although Charlie has had Advance cat food before (he eats anything I give him) he might need to be fed something smellier like Whiskers to get his appetite going, she said they don't stock anything else and brushed me off. Although they record the cat's food intakes and toilet habits daily, they did not seem willing to do anything beyond that. I just wished they had spent a little bit of time calming him down and encourage him to take that first bite of food. And when I think about it now, the small space might actually make him feel cornered with nowhere to go.
I did inspect the cat cottage a couple of months prior to boarding him, the nurse that showed us around said that each cat gets their turn to roam around the facility during the day, but when I checked Charlie in I was told that there is no way that's going to happen because they are busy. I was also under the impression that the cats gets petted and made sure they are aware that Charlie used to be a stray and is timid around strangers so they will need to be gentle with him, of course they reassured me that they know how to deal with it, turned out they completely avoided interacting with him and told me it was because he was hissing. This was hard to hear because Charlie is the sweetest cat that has never been aggressive, not even towards intruding toms or our new annoying kitten and he stood perfectly still without complaint during his very first vet visit. He just needed a bit of attention and reassurance.
Charlie was seen by a vet twice during his stay, once after 4 days of refusing to eat and again after 7 days when the vet gave him antibiotic and appetite stimulant because they did not find anything wrong with him other than stress. The consultations and the meds costed $155.51 all up.
Overall what I liked about the facility is that it's clean and the staff seemed friendly and answered my questions patiently and truthfully when I called from overseas. However, I can't help but feel that they neglected Charlie when they only had 30 cats to look after. I showed up relatively early to pick up Charlie because I wanted to observe how the staff handled him, i.e., what did they mean by he was too grouchy to handle. But they had already put him in his carrier waiting to be picked up. So I have no way of knowing how he was treated. Next time I will make sure I find a cattery that will spend a bit of time to make him feel safe and is able to receive veterinary care during statutory holidays and weekends if necessary. Although $19 per day is quite a good price but I would rather spend a little bit more for my cat to get a little bit more attention. When we picked Charlie up they told me that out of 30 cats there is usually 1 that will refuse to eat, and unfortunately Charlie was the one. If you have a cat that stress easily or need lots of attention I would think twice about sending them there. If you do send your cat there, make sure you call to check your cat is doing ok because they seemed to be busy over Christmas and have no idea who is doing well and who is not (you need to request them to check the daily records).

Approximate cost: $19 per day