Northwest Exotic Pet Vet

I can’t review the actual office, as I have never stepped foot inside. However, Dr. Ramsell (this is her practice) helps out on Tuesday mornings at another local vet, and I was so fortunate she was there when I ultimately had to put my ferret to sleep. Her compassion shown through like a ray of light in a horribly dark time. She also wrote a beautiful note in a card from the office following the loss of my little man. Her bedside manner is the best I have ever seen, and I can’t recommend her enough for that alone. In addition, we talked extensively about ferrets, and their medical issues, and she was extremely knowledgable, and up to date on all of the current research. As a healthcare provide, I am a firm believer of evidence based practice. If you want the best for your ferret, or other pet, she is definitely for you.

Dr. Ramsell is GREAT! She helped us with our sick turtle and was really a wealth of knowledge, expertise and someone who listened and cared to get our turtle healthy after a long hibernation period. She took a lot of time with us and coached us along the way to keep all of our spirits high during a difficult rehab period. I can not thank her or her staff enough! Five thumbs up if I had them!

We have been to so many exotics vets in the area but have been seeing Dr. Ramsell for about 3 years now. So many times we’ve walked out of other places devastated and feeling like we failed our pets, because other veterinarians are distant and some even refuse to touch the pet, or outright rude and antagonizing towards us. We have had fancy mice, fancy rats — and we currently have a ferret.
In this regard, Dr. Ramsell is a true breath of fresh air. She takes the most meticulous notes of any veterinarian I have ever been to (including non-​exotics) and she truly listens and spends a long time with us. I must echo another review about her down-​to-​earth nature as well as her experience and track record. She is friendly but not phony, and her credentials are off the charts impressive. But two of the best parts about her to me is her bedside manner with us and the animals, how she puts their comfort first in her treatments, not just her own convenience. The other wonderful thing is that she respects our decisions as pet parents/​owners and has never criticized us for our choices. We have greatly enjoyed our friendly conversations about our research on diet and what we choose to feed and why, and those on attempting to treat our pets naturally whenever/​wherever possible. These are subjects that we have had an awful time with at other places. We really feel that Dr. Ramsell likes our pets and gives us the benefit of the doubt that we’ve done our homework and want to take the very best care of them we can. We love that she doesn’t discount our research or strong-​arm us into something we’re worried about. Especially since we like to spend time gathering information about some things in order to make an informed decision.
Dr. Ramsell treated one of our mice, two of our rats and is our current ferret veterinarian. Sometimes when she is not available if we have an emergency we must go see somebody else. I think we have seen all the other highly-​regarded exotics vets in the area, and a few others. Dr. Ramsell is the one we are the most comfortable with! Her dedication to the animals and her availability by e-​mail makes her completely invaluable.
I’d also like to add that when we took our sick rat to a veterinarian highly regarded as «the» rat vet in the local rat community, this vet hardly handled the rat at all (not an aggressive rat, very lovey), and completely missed a tumor Dr. Ramsell was able to feel within seconds of picking him up and palpating the abdomen. She also put him on better medication than we had been prescribed with that vet as well. We took him to Dr. Ramsell shortly after because we were so unhappy with the unprofessional and rude manner in which the other vet comported themselves and because our rat was not truly improving on their treatment. Sadly, the tumor metastasized to his lungs and we had no other choice but to give him a humane passing. Dr. Ramsell was so supportive after that hard time via e-​mail and sent a card. It was our first time euthanizing — something I’m loathe to do unless absolutely nothing can done and there will be distressed, drawn-​out death anyway. I had to take him to the emergency vet in Tualatin, who confirmed the diagnosis with Dr. Ramsell by phone. (He was a very good and gentle emergency exotics vet, recommended by her.) The support and the kindness through the loss of our ratties meant so much. We are so thankful she practices in our area!

We have never personally met Dr. Ramsell but cannot say enough about her dedication to her her clients, their pets and her profession. We live in Indiana and have had Dr Ramsell at our side supporting us with her advice in treating our ferret with an autoimmune disease. Without her help, her research expertise and her unending dedication, there is no doubt in my mind that we would not be enjoying the joy of just watching him walk again, and enjoying life.
Words cannot express how grateful we are to this talented veterinarian and wonderful human being.
Thank you, Dr. Katrina Ramsell

As someone who has own exotic pets over the years, finding a vet with who treats exotics has not been easy.
Since moving to Portland I have been taking my rats to Dr. Ramsell whenever they become sneezy or when they’re not acting like their normal selves. She has been the only vet I have been to that does a comprehensive physical exam, and does not skip it to get to the respiratory issues like some of the my previous vets have done. She looks over the eyes, ears, mouth, armpits and mammary tumor areas, heart, lungs, intestines, the skin, and the feet to make sure that we don’t miss anything. She is easily accessible by email which is a plus. It makes it so much easier to communicate and keep her up to date on my rat’s conditions. She’s down to earth and not intimidating.
She doesn’t only «see» exotics, she is extremely dedicated to this field of practice. She has publications and has done an incredible amount of research on certain conditions in ferrets and has pioneered better therapies to treat them with. She is the only exotics vet that I have seen that is active in this type of work, which is a plus.
I recommend her, especially to ferret owners!

I drive across town to bring my ferrets to Dr. Ramsell. The office is clean and the staff is friendly and genuine. I also think the prices are quite reasonable. This is one vet where I don’t feel I’m being lied to get more money and I really appreciate that. She takes plenty of time to explain all of the options and make sure my pets get the best care I can give them.
She works from the Beaverton Pet Clinic. Highly recommended!