Teeth work and Anesthesia (17 yo cat)

[trudilu]

I have a 17 yo Ragdoll cat - who I've been treating for IBD with prednisone daily. He's doing ok with it except for periodic vomiting...but that's not why I'm writing.

One question is about cost of services; the other is regarding teeth & anesthesia

His teeth were examined and there are several teeth in the back that are rotting and need to be pulled. I never worried about it before, but now I have something to think about. I expressed concern about his age and being given anesthesia and my vet agreed that he should get a lot of lab work done - before he will decide to perform the surgery....so for now - I'm waiting to see the results of the lab work that he had today.

Living in SF is expensive - an office visit costs $110 and the lab work $425. The cost of removing the teeth however, is $3,000 - which is a big chunk - but I plan to do if his labwork is OK. Has anyone had teeth work on their cats? How do the costs compare? And, as I said, he's 17 yo and not in the best of health so I'm torn what to do!

Thanks for reading.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ One of the few positive veterinarian experience I had was teeth cleaning/extraction on an old ( approx. 18 y/o ) Persian cat. Greatly improved quality of life.
I would shop the fee outside the SF area.
Good luck ... ✨️

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

At my Vet it's around $800 for a dental, then each extraction is an added cost, so if several extractions are needed, that cost can rise a couple hundred dollars. You could definitely shop around at other Vets, but with an older cat, I wouldn't go anywhere that I didn't completely trust.

 

[trudilu]

~ One of the few positive veterinarian experience I had was teeth cleaning/extraction on an old ( approx. 18 y/o ) Persian cat. Greatly improved quality of life.
I would shop the fee outside the SF area.
Good luck ... ✨️

This is the message that I got from my vet today - which makes it that much more difficult a decision to make!!

Montana's lab work is not bad it's not that different than the lab work we did a half a year ago - he does have some mild kidney disease; his kidney values are a tiny bit worse than last time but they're pretty mildly affected so I think we could consider doing a dental cleaning on him; there are some small risks to his kidneys if we were to do the dental; there is also a risk to his kidneys from not doing a dental cleaning because a lot of times the bacterial stuff in the gums and teeth can go to the kidneys and cause kidney infections so I think it's a bit of a risk either way. Whether we decide to do a teeth cleaning or not can be kind of a difficult decision.

I hope to talk to him soon

 

[trudilu]

At my Vet it's around $800 for a dental, then each extraction is an added cost, so if several extractions are needed, that cost can rise a couple hundred dollars. You could definitely shop around at other Vets, but with an older cat, I wouldn't go anywhere that I didn't completely trust.

You’re right - I would not want to bring him anywhere i didn’t trust or know…so I’ll try to get referrals from my Nextdoor community - perhaps there are some less expensive places in and around San Francisco. I will definitely check. It’s a very difficult decision for me.

 

[neely]

perhaps there are some less expensive places in and around San Francisco

I would make sure you look for a Veterinary Dental Specialist given your cat's age and IBD diagnosis. Here is a list by state that might be helpful for you: Find a Veterinary Dental Specialist – AVDC.org Best of luck!

 

[trudilu]

I would make sure you look for a Veterinary Dental Specialist given your cat's age and IBD diagnosis. Here is a list by state that might be helpful for you: Find a Veterinary Dental Specialist – AVDC.org Best of luck!

Thank you SO much. I bookmarked this so I can do a little research this weekend!!! It's a big decision.