[Andiecat46]

Hi everyone.
Well, i took Andie to the vet last week for her annual check-up and her shots. I knew the topic of her teeth would come up. Andie is almost five years old, and gets more love and attention than any animal (besides my other pet, my dog Kelsey of course) I know! But somehow, she has MILD gingivitis. I was so sad to hear that. I knew her teeth had some tartar buildup... but I certainly didnt think she'd have gingivitis. So now I KNOW i have to get her teeth cleaned. Of course I am so scared to leave her, even though its only for the day, b/c I know how scared she'll be, and I hate when she's scared.
BUT, my problem is, I asked my vet how much the whole procedure would cost, including the pre-bloodwork and antibiotics for the week following the cleaning if necessary. WELL, she told me the cost would be approximately $385!!! I was so shocked! What shocked me was that my dog, Kelsey, who just turned 12, had three EXTRACTED last year b/c they were infected. It was much more risky to put her under anesthesia b/c she is older and much larger at 70 lbs. Now that she is older, she also about five pounds overweight, which is even more of a risk. That procedure, cost my parents $185! And that was for extractions, a much more serious procedure.
My mom called her vet where Kelsey had that done and they told her it would cost around the same, $185, to get Andie's teeth cleaned. So I am going to go there. I just cant believe the huge difference in price! Has anyone else ever gotten their cat's teeth cleaned?? What's been the normal cost?

 

[Chestersmom]

Hi. I have not had my cat's teeth cleaned as I just got him a few months ago. But my dog (it was the family dog , so my mom has him) was also needed to be treated for gingervitis (? don't know if I spelled that right).
The procedure was also going to cost my mom over $300. My puppy's baby teeth wouldn't come out so I had to get them taken out. The whole procedure including neutering(didn't want them to put him under twice) cost me a hundred dollars. Its amazing because I was getting estimates of close to $200 everywhere else if not more. They did a great job too. I also would go to your mom's vet. Take care and good luck!

Jennifer

P.S. I know what you mean when it scares you to leave them at the vet's alone. I feel the same way!

 

[TAsunder]

Well, it does seem high, though. I believe my mom gets her cat's teeth cleaned for ~$150. I have a monthly "wellness" plan and it is covered for me under that, but I'm not sure how much the fees would be otherwise.

 

[ospunkyo]

$385 seems really high to me, too. Pfeffa needed her teeth cleaned last year, and with the optional pre-bloodwork, which I opted for, it was around $180. Antibiotics were not even mentioned.

She had to stay at the vet the whole day, and I stayed home, planning to pick her up as soon as they called and said she was ready, thinking it would be sometime in the early afternoon. Apparently she hisssed at the vet everytime she checked on her. She was still a little out of it when I was finally allowed to take her home that evening. I felt really, really bad knowing how scared she had been, but you do what you have to do, and fortunately, Pfeffa has an incredibly short memory.

 

[TAsunder]

I also received antibiotics, but those were pretty cheap, not like the $200 difference.

 

[queen of the nile]

It cost $600 Can for a teeth cleaning and 3 extractions and only $400 Can for a teeth cleaning with only 1 extraction. So I figure a teeth cleaning alone would cost about $350 Can?

 

[drjean]

The cost will indeed vary tremendously as you have already seen!

However, cheaper is not necessarily better. Many times the higher cost is due to things like better staffing (having a tech monitoring the surgery at all times), better monitoring equipment (doppler blood pressure, pulse oximeter, EKG), safer anesthetics (the best ones are expensive), post-op pain medication, overnight care in case they need to keep the animal, etc.

Call both vets and ask them about these things; find out *why* the expensive one charges so much more.

Cheers,
Dr. Jean