Life, food, events, and community in Albuquerque, NM

Cat Care + Teeth Cleaning and Extraction.

Obviously this post is more for those with companions of the feline persuasion....

The place I take my cat wants between $450 - $500 to have her teeth cleaned and for her teeth to be extracted (above quote reflects a total of 5 teeth getting pulled). It looks pretty terrible in her mouth and of course the smell isn't pleasant either. She has advanced Gingivitis (I guess).

Questions:
- Where do you all take your cats?
- And is that really a reasonable price?

I've already paid for the blood work so my wife is pretty pissed.

- Not to sound callous, but don't cats teeth fall out naturally?
- I mean they don't have dentists in the wild, right?
- Or does that leave them open for larger health issues... because of course if that's the case I'll scrape up the money somehow...

I hate taking the cat to the vet because I always -- ALWAYS -- feel like I'm getting screwed because they know you obviously love your cat and of course you want them to be healthy and will pay for ALL THE BATTERY of tests, and or tacked on fees...I'm sure it's not the case, but it still does not ease the feeling.

Tags: cats, dental, vets

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Edith Grove on July 1, 2009 at 12:53pm: I hate to say it, but that's probably a pretty average price for that sort of work. I had a cat in a similar situation and it ran at least that much. They have to put the cat under - hence the blood work to see if they're healthy enough to go under. My understanding is that poor teeth can lead to a lot of other health issues beyond the likely discomfort of having bad teeth. Much like can happen in humans. You might check into CareCredit to see your vet accepts it. That way if you decide to go forward, you can pay the bill off over several months with no interest. My favorite vet in town is Dr. Fletcher at Aztec Animal Clinic. I don't ever get the feeling that she's trying to run up bills on me - she is both compassionate and practical.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by vashti on July 1, 2009 at 1:09pm: here is a link to a DCF discussion about local vets that may of use.

my cats lived to be 16 and 20 and never had their teeth cleaned. the primary factor for me in deciding not to have it done was that i didn't want to have them go under the anesthesia - lot of risks there and i just didn't feel good about it. my 20 year old did lose a lot of her teeth by the time she was 18, but it never prevented her from eating both the soft food i made for her and the hard food i continued to give her. neither of their passings were related to teeth/gum issues. that's just my experience - i say trust your gut, and maybe get a second opinion from one of the vets DCF cat folks recommend.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Another Mike on July 1, 2009 at 2:23pm: Thank you for your replies. I know that there are many who recommend AZTEC, but I will not go there base on my own experiences and stories told by a co-worker. They may have switched vets over the years, but the stigma will remain.

It's just a tough decision mostly because we don't have the money. If I had it, it wouldn't be such a big issue, and the lack of money isn't the ONLY ISSUE. The other problem is that teeth cleaning for cats and for dogs didn't even happen like 10 years ago. And not all vets believe in it's usefulness -- not sure if that's changed a whole lot over the years. Then out of nowhere it's another way to make a profit like caps for claws, false teeth, doggie spas, and etc -- totally unnecessary expenses.

It's like getting your cat cremated after it has passed. You can pay more to have him/her incinerated along with the other animals, or separately. Unless you're there to witness it, you'll never know. All you get back is a sack of ashes and hope they were the right ones.

I suppose the best thing to do is bury them yourself and hope you don't get caught?

Anyhow, I think the place I go charges $50 - $100 MORE than the other places I've gotten quotes from in the past regarding this matter.

And I would trust my gut -- if only it was right more than 50% of the time. Those are sucky odds. ;); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Another Mike on July 1, 2009 at 2:55pm: Gum disease information: http://newsok.com/article/3191817/1200274232

It sounds like I might as well get ALL her teeth removed and spare her the possbile complications due to anaesthesia and pain of having to go through this again within the next few years or so....; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by jes on July 1, 2009 at 5:25pm: I've been going to Aztec and pretty happy with it. Is there something I should know?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by sophie on July 1, 2009 at 4:20pm: Oh my god -- that's all? Mine wants $800+. Where do you take your cat?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by sophie on July 1, 2009 at 4:27pm: Follow up: I just called Blue Cross, where Willy Martin used to go, and they seem very reasonable.

I think, you know, sure. There are no dentists in the wild. But the average age of a cat in the wild (sans vets, etc) is probably less than Willy's current age of 9. And I'd like him to be around for a while.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by sophie on July 24, 2009 at 8:19am: Will Martin just got his teeth cleaned at Blue Cross for $175 (including the pre-op blood workup). No teeth were pulled, but the price to pull was quoted at $4 per tooth.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Another Mike on July 24, 2009 at 10:44am: Aw man! Thanks for the information, Sophie, and glad Mr. Martin got to keep his teeth! For some reason I missed your previous post.; ▶ Reply to This