Veterinary charges

I just moved about 2 hours away from where I used to live. So I just took one of my cats to a new vet for followup on his kidney issues. I mentioned something about needing his teeth cleaned so the tech gave me a flyer to read while they were back drawing blood and getting vitals. She mentioned they had just lowered their rates to make it more affordable. Boy was I shocked when I saw the costs. The lowest level was $150 and that was for mild tartar. The highest level was $190. There were additional charges that could be added on if they did other things. The previous vet I went to only charged $45 to do the same stuff, minus maybe a nail trim. I guess reading this kind of prepared me for the final bill, which was $380 (no teeth cleaning)! Lab work was $105. The exam was $55. 2 chest x-rays were $160 and then an intestinal parasite screening was $30. This just seems incredibly high compared to what I'm used to. I can't imagine there would be that much difference in costs from moving 2 hours away. I used to pay $28 for an exam. If I brought 2 animals it was only an additional $12. On top of all this, they want me to bring him in for an echocardiogram which will cost $375. He just had one in Novemeber when he had the radioactive iodine treatment. Maybe I should look around for a different vet?

Thanks.

I'd look around.

You said you moved, so I'm not sure if this is a possibility, do you have new coworkers (neighbors, church members, cashier at the local petstore) who could recommend a vet in the area?

Good luck

My boys see a low cost vet, $18 an office visit, $26 for a neuter--I love them!

Leslie

If you think that is expensive, Chynna, my 16 year old had a dental in early April.

The only pre-op blood work she needed was a repeat renal function test. Everything else had been done about 5 weeks earlier.

The cost of the renal function test, xrays, cleaning, extractions, 2 days of hydration and whatever other OR costs they had plus medications, came to $1,300.00. There were special circumstances which prompted my vet to cap the fee at $700.00. Either way it was horridly expensive!

Add that to $600.00 I spent on 2 earlier visits: one at the beginning of March for a full blood panel, blood pressure, urine test and exam, and one at the end of March for a follow up that required a repeat blood pressure.

Vet bills can be extremely costly.

some vets are outrageous on their charges!! patchy needs her teeth scaled and i called for quotes before i left Norman and one vet quoted me $3000!!!!!!

the vet here (who is expensive for a lot of other things, but quite worth it since she actually cares about the kitties!!!) charges about $100-$150. when i told her about the $3000 she almost crapped. she turned to the tech and said "maybe we should move to Norman." LOL

I just paid 68 for 2 boxes of Cefa Drops

I just had my cats cleaned last week. She had 2 teeth pulled and they said she hardly had any left. The total was $398 and that is with a "discount" of $105. Then I paid 40 for 1 box of cefa drops. She did need a cath. though and that was $50 which I don't believe is standard.

It PAYS to shop around ... I had one vet that a then healthy cat s dental was 400+ ( no extractions and baseline bloodwork... My vet 300$ for Indepth blood work ... antibiotics before and after , pain meds , cath and addtional fluids and a COMB OUT

Help me out here.....drops....is that for teeth??
K.

Its a Antibiotic

I'd take those prices!! It cost me $700 to have a dog and a cats teeth cleaned and they were both Stage 1 (little tarter nothing major).

We pay 45 dollars per office visit.

My old Vet charges about 700 for a cleaning.

I paid $200 to have Cow's teeth all pulled. $250 for Twitch's 3-4 years ago to be pulled.

Dental for Squishy....erm the vet quoted me $200 cuz he thinks he'll pull all his teeth. Whoever had my old boy never did anything for his teeth.

I'd only suggest in calling around that you compare apples to apples - as far as expertise and and quality of staffing, what sort of painkillers are used, follow-up care, even hours the office is open and how quicky you can get an appointment, etc.

Also, a two-hour move can mean a major demographic difference...for me, two hours might either have me in a very rural setting, or looking for parking around Northwestern University - and the fees would probably be very different in each location.

My boy had his teeth cleaned last year - I think I spent about $250 for all the bloodwork, the cleaning, and anal gland expression while we were at it. However, I was not charged extra when I called the vet afterwards with questions about post-cleaning behavior, so I factored that into my satisfaction.

Anyway, good luck on finding a vet you're happy with.

It sounds like you go to my vet practice...and if so, you've lucked into a wonderful group of vets, worth every penny.

Check around your new area, you may well find a good vet that charges less, but the fees you listed are right in line with where I go.

the one that quoted me the 3 grand told me it would cost so much because she was a senior cat and they would have to bring her in the night before and anesthetize her to make sure she didnt have a bad reaction to it, keep her overnight, then re-drug her and clean her teeth the next day.

the price didnt include any of the follow up office visits, antibiotics or pain meds.

We just paid $311 for Nabu's dental cleaning, full blood panel and thyroid check. He had no extractions.

Originally Posted by courtney_ou

the one that quoted me the 3 grand told me it would cost so much because she was a senior cat and they would have to bring her in the night before and anesthetize her to make sure she didnt have a bad reaction to it, keep her overnight, then re-drug her and clean her teeth the next day.

Click to expand...

Since Nabu just had a serious problem coming out of anesthesia for his dental last week, I would have a serious problem with anesthetizing him twice. His follow up visit wasn't included. But unless it's been a surgery with stitches, that's been my experience at all clinics in the past. I wasn't mad about it.

Due to his difficulty with the anesthesia, he's only getting put under again if he absolutely needs it. That was very scary.

Edit to add: Nabu is 11 yrs old, with a history of reactions to various things.

I paid around $300 for my cat's cleaning and that included bloodwork. They didn't break it out like you are saying this vet does; that seems strange. Where I go they charge $42 for an exam. Guess they are all different, but that vet does seem a tad high. If you're not partial to any particular vet there, maybe you should look around a bit.

they said the whole point of it was to make sure she go into kidney failure and something else (i cant remember, its been 2 yrs). they told me cats have trouble with anesthesia so i asked why they did it twice and they got really hateful but it was an honest question.

it wasnt surgery afterall, it was just a teeth scaling. her teeth are fine other than a little build up. i brush them!!!

i didnt go there. theres no freaking way id be able to afford that; i only made like $4500 that yr as it was LOL
i can understand mild drugs for cleaning kitty teeth so they dont fight or feel pain but knocking them out 2x and catheterizing (sp) etc is a tad overdramatic!!!

Phoebe was 11 yrs when she had her teeth cleaned...she had the usual pre-op blood work..with one further kidney test. Her kidneys turned out to be fine...she had the anesthetic, IV fluid drip, teeth cleaning, pre-op antibiotics, post-surgery antibiotics...and all that... from bloodwork to going home with the post-op antibiotics was $445.....no teeth pulled either...just a medium build-up of tartar.

An annual exam costs $60....a full senior blood panel is $180....and a fecal test is $25....I'm not sure what a non-annual check-up visit costs....

This year, she had two annual check-ups. At the Vet's office that I've faithfully been taking my various cats to for 18 years...the annual check-up on Phoebe was $60...and all he did was listen to her heart....and give her the vaccinations. When I asked about her limp...he just pointed at her girth. When I asked if her teeth were fine (after paying $445 last year for the cleaning)..he leaned over and lifted her lip and said that they were fine. I was not happy...the appt was at 10am..she had been weighed before 10am.....the Vet came into the room at 10am...and I was back out at the car at 10:15am...that with the exam, putting her back in her cage, paying the bill, and exiting the building.......that did not sit well with me for an exam at her age. I changed Vet's.

The second Vet bill was also $60...but she got a 1 hour exam...even a joint test..and it was determined that she has nearly no mobility of her back right leg...and the starting of mobility problems of her back left leg. Her eyes, teeth, mouth, heart, ears, spine, neck...are all fine. She is well hydrated. She still has high creatine, but her urine is very well concentrated (her kidneys are working fine)...all her other bloodwork came back showing that she is a very healthy cat. That is what an annual exam is supposed to be like...not just checking the heart!! Now we're working on lowering her weight and looking into arthritis medication.

Price isn't everything....it is one factor in the scheme of things. There has to be a balance of cost, satisfaction, decency of services and of course.....the best for the pet.

Good luck with find a Vet who meets your needs!!