How much does leg amputation cost?

Hi, I posted on here about our cat Icarus. I am wondering about vet costs. The first place we took him to yesterday said the cost to fix his fractured leg woul cost $3500. We ended up taking him to a different place today that we had called yesterday and the cost is between $1800 and $2500 to try to fix his leg. Otherwise they want to charge $1800 for a leg amputation. I read on another forum that the cost was about $1000. It's hard to tell if we are getting ripped off. Not that it matters now, I just want my cat to get better, but I would still like to know. Thanks.

Price for any medical treatment can and often does vary depending on the area you live in. Higher cost of living = higher price for medical procedures.

Yes so San Diego is of course very high .

We've done quite a few for shelter cats & dogs recently because people are morons. I think it was like $350 for the dog, & like $150 tops for the kitties. The vet gives us a discount though....and I'm in an extremely rural area.

Just because one place is cheaper doesn't mean they'll do a good job.

Yeah I am not really expecting a more expensive or cheaper place to be better. The place we ended up going to was recommended (the dr. also) by an animal control officer my H works with (he is a police officer). I guess the women used to work there and has lots of pets which is why we ended up going there and it was cheaper. Actually the dr at the less expensive place was better then the expensive hospital, thus far anyways. He actually sat with us for about 30 min and explaned everything and went over the x-rays with us and disucss the options and limitations and benefits of each.

Other place just said, he will ned to stay here it will cost x amount. The dr will do the surgery tomorrow it will cost x amount. They never explained what was wrong with him or what he x-ray's meant. We saw the dr for not kiding, 2 minutes before she left to get us the estimate. She never discuss the option not working or amputation. They just said we should do the surgery.

The dr we went with explained that they had to determine how long ago Icarus got the injury and how much scar tissue there was and how much muscle would be able to heal properly. So overall the doctor at the cheap place was better.

I guess we can't expect to spend less then what we are paying.

Wow... I just scrolled down and read your original post... I am so sorry for what you and your poor baby have been thru. That's great that you got him back. I'm hoping and praying that everything turns out ok with his leg. So glad he made it back home...

I have a tripod kitty and I don't think the cost was more than $300. Looking back I am so glad that we did it. It has been two years and Sweetie is a happy, healthy kitty. My vet told me she would have no trouble with three legs and she climbs trees now more than before. I also had the option of trying to fix the leg but chose ampuation rather than a surgery that might work. I felt that one surgery and recovery was better for her and my vet agreed.

Cost us about $1000, that included the initial visit, xrays etc and the surgery, they did a very good job and he gets around fine

300-1000 at a regular clinic... if you're at a specialty center or in a major metropolitan area, it will cost more.

Fathom,

There are several other things to consider depending on the severity of the break. I had a tripod kitty, I was lucky I had a University teaching hospital to take her to. She got the most advanced treatment and I didn't pay for anything but the hardware. That being said, despite a specialty orthopedic surgeon (rare at that time, especially for a cat), two bone grafts, and 6 months of confinement, her leg would not heal.

I was uneducated about how well cats did with three legs.

Finally the doctor said that she was not going to heal and she needed to have an amputation. He called me that evening, had Monkey in his office with him and said she was such a happy girl and doing awesome. He called for two years to check up on her, she stole his heart.

Make sure you discuss the probability of the break not healing and really determine whether attempting to fix the break or amputation is the best for Icarus. stabilizing a limb on a cat is more difficult than on a dog, just due to the nature of cats.

After the fact, if I knew how well kitties do being three-legged and how hard the surgeries and recoveries were on her I would have opted for amputation right away. Of course it depends on the severity of the break too.

Lots of healing vibes for Icarus.

It depends on the surgeon. Leg amputation isn't an easy surgery. I think my clinic would charge around $1000-$1500. $3500 almost sounds like an emergency room surgery, or like a specialty place.

So I would basically expect for your area to spend between $1000-$2000. I'm sure they have some kind of payment plan for that, I know for us we generally want half down and the rest can be made in payments, but even so if it was a $2,000 surgery we'd take like $500-$800 down and do more payments. Most clnics know people can't pull $2000 out of their back pocket

Luckily Icarus did not have to have him leg amputated, the doctor did explain the risk and the they stressed the artercare having to go very well in order for the leg to heal properly. They did graft some bone, put a pin in and also wrapped the bone with (not sure what it's called) something to hold it in place. We will keep Icarus confined for 6-8 weeks and take him in for follow ups as needed.

I knew I loved this site for a reason! You can find anything on here and its always helpful.

My female cat had a litter of kittens about 2 weeks ago and one of them has a deformed leg (it looks like it grew backwards). Im not a millionaire but knowing an estimate of what Im going to pay is such a big help. Also if anyone can help me when to schedule his surgery. I have an appointment with my regular vet 2 weeks from now. Also any tips on how to pick an orthopedic vet? Thanks alot!

CrazyCatMom2 said:

I knew I loved this site for a reason! You can find anything on here and its always helpful.

My female cat had a litter of kittens about 2 weeks ago and one of them has a deformed leg (it looks like it grew backwards). Im not a millionaire but knowing an estimate of what Im going to pay is such a big help. Also if anyone can help me when to schedule his surgery. I have an appointment with my regular vet 2 weeks from now. Also any tips on how to pick an orthopedic vet? Thanks alot!

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Please note that this thread is 5 years old, so the costs mentioned are not current. You'll probably get better responses if you start your own thread. If your own vet isn't qualified to do the surgery he or she should be able to refer you to a specialist.

Hello,

You did not write in your post what you actually paid.

I have a bunny with a broken leg.  They casted it and the bone grew out of the skin.  It looks like we are going to have to amputate.