This is just insane!!

My MIL adopted two kittens about the same time I adopted Ms. Sniggles, we had thought she got two girls, but there was some question about one and we decided it looked like he may have had boy junk, but then again they were super young when she got them so we weren't sure. The vet wasn't even sure.

They were old enough this week to get fixed and it was 1 spay 1 neuter set up at the vet. They called after they got Smokey asleep and said we're going to have to do something different... he has sacks, just not testicles in them! So they had to do abdominal surgery, which leads to my first "omg that's insane" comment. His surgery goes from the bottom of his sternum to his junk!!! That's almost 5" of scar he's got. My second OMG that's completely insane is that they charged her $200 to do this. $218 to be exact. Then by the time she walked out with both kittens it was my number three OMG THAT'S TOTALLY OFF THE CHARTS INSANE.

Her total bill was $425 for a spay and neuter and flea treatment (that they do to every animal that stays the night because they have a flea problem there) and they each got distemper shots. No combo shots or anything, just distemper.

Am I wrong thinking this is completely off the wall?

My vet charges 270.00ish for a spay. My daughter had to pay 1000.00 to have her three girls done.

For what is essentially 2 spays, $425 is not expensive.

Price out a complete hysterectomy on a human, and count your blessings that insurance and government controls and liability lawyers haven't inflated vet bills yet.

The reason the incision was so large was that the vet had to find the testicles. If he didn't the kitten would be subject to a high likelihood of testicular cancer.

My boy's neuter was $250 and he had "normal circumstances".
I think a lot of it depends on the type of area you are in. Do you live in or very close to a major city? I do (NYC) and I'm pretty sure that's why mine was so high.
I hope your MIL's little ones are recovering nicely

My old cat Harvey had to have a similar op because one of his testicles was inside him, they didn't find it but it cost £125 which is probably about $240 so probably about right. x

Our ZsaZsa (hermaphrodite and cryptoorchid) had to have similar surgery, and it was a lot more than that. The price your mother-in-law paid doesn't sound unreasonable to me at all.

I payed $280 for Lucky's spay.

I am surprised they charged your MIL for the flea treatment since THEY have the flea problem, not your MIL. My vet stated they would only give a flea treatment if the girls had fleas, which they didn't. I don't remember what I paid for the girls spays, but I used the spay clinic, which is lower in cost. I think it was about $150 for the spays, shots and pain meds for Dusty.

I've never spayed a cat here (all were done already), but the annual checkup and vaccines for our kitties run $160 each. When Lily had emergency abdominal surgery, it cost us $4K! Guess it depends where you live, I know prices are high here but we've come to expect it.

When I had Sniggles spayed last month, it was $60 for the spay and $40 for a full compliment of shots. Jazzy, my mother's cat goes in for his neuter in a few weeks and it will be $40.00 - I better not tell my Vet about what my MIL paid or he could jack up his prices too.

He's a good down home country vet, that may have something to do with it. He mostly does cows and pigs and horses, and I'm actually not so sure that he really wants to do small animals so much.

I can't believe what people are paying for spay and neuter, especially the neutering part that's such a small surgery generally.

I guess I'll quit my griping then. Thanks for all your opinions.

We took Midnight to a local shelter to get neutered, because they offered it cheaper. It cost us $70 for him. It would have been $80 for Luna, but she got spayed at the vet's, it cost around $180 for her.

Patch's vet before I got him wanted to charge me $200 plus $75 for "blood work" for a neuter, plus an office visit. Guess I'm not using them as a vet. I have him scheduled for his neuter at the county humane society for $35 on the 1st.