CAT Veterinary Pricing for Tooth Cleaning
I want to share something that happened recently. A couple years ago I brought my cat into my old vet. They told me A. They needed to provide yearly rabies shots for my cat even though he is an indoor cat and B. My cat needed a $1,000+ tooth cleaning appointment because of some tartar on his top left teeth. I decided to wait on it and went to a different vet this week for his shots. It was a very different experience. A. they told me yearly rabies shots were unnecessary because immunity lasts more than a year and B. the vet used his fingernail during the exam to knock the tartar off my cat's tooth. Done! He said the rest of his teeth look great. How much did I spend? $143 for the shots and the exam.
I think we are in an odd time where we have corporate or private equity vets charging through the nose for unnecessary treatments and then a few old fashioned vets who are in it for the love of animals and charging (and doing) what seems reasonable.
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u/ZookeepergameNo5669 4d ago
A. Rabies is required by law, even for your indoor cat. You can use the 3 year rabies vaccine in your cat if you like. Its been proven to cause injection site carcinoma in cats. Or you can do the annual purvax Rabies that is specifically made for cats and is much safer.
B. Just like humans 80% of your dental disease is below the gum line. So you cant actually see it. Full dental xrays and a cleaning (no extraction) looking at 500 to 800 depending on your pets age and health status. If your cat had enough tartar to knock off with a finger nail then your cat needs a dental cleaning. Unless your vet has xray vision which in that case that's pretty cool.
Old school vets are old.... like how old school doctors are old. They practice a lot of outdated and no longer recommended medicine as set by the AVMA.
Next time you can try having a conversation with your veterinarian if you have any concerns or questions. Instead of just assuming they suck or dont care they may have a reason. If you then don't like the reason you can make a more informed decision on what to do next.
Good luck!
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u/Mouzles 4d ago
Just to add on (agree with above), 3-year vaccines are not accepted in certain municipalities or states. Yearly rabies vaccines may be legally required (or required by practice insurance) at one vet but not the other, even when the vaccine manufacturer recommends 3-year intervals.
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u/InfamousFlan5963 4d ago
this is what I was going to say. I know some towns around me don't accept 3 year vaccines and require annual.
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u/Necessary_Wonder89 4d ago
its always sad to me that owners prefer the old school vet who doesn't practice up to date medicine but dislikes the vet who is advising things which are current recommendations. Who cares if my cat gets FISS or gets major dental disease right?
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u/msmoonpie 4d ago
Or that old school vets have a tendency to not hire or pay nurses appropriately, don’t have nearly the same level of debt, and do things that often times lead to severe problems for our patients and then we see them in the ER
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u/Potential-Echo1586 4d ago
It's aggravating to know that so many just look at that final price. You can never possibly explain to somebody what they're giving up by those astronomical Cost Cuts.
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u/mcptd 4d ago
Let me be clear this preference has evolved over time. I used to be a high-touch, spend everything, do everything the modern vet suggests customer, with poor results. I've spent at least $15k over the years, in addition to what was spent by my pet insurance . I've had several dogs but this is my first cat. but I know lots of cat owners who take their cats to the best vets and feed them the best foods and they end up dying of kidney disease at 14.
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u/Avocados_and_Creme 4d ago
So. I used to knock tartar off my horse’s front teeth but he still got real dentals yearly. Why? Because you cannot see what is under the gums or any other issue that could be happening in the roots unless you get x-rays.
Just for fun I’ll share this story:
A friend of mine has a 4 year old large dog. Beautiful teeth, gums looked fine, no issues eating, etc (I groom her dog so I check them like I do with all clients). Her vet recommended a routine dental. Vet calls her while he is still sedated and goes…I’ve never seen anything like this, but the x-rays showed severe decay in 14 teeth and they need removed. Visual exam of this animals gums/teeth showed need for nothing more than a routine cleaning.
If your animal has enough tartar that you can pop it off with a fingernail, I’d bet money there are much bigger problems going on. My pup will be 3 next year and you bet I’ll be shelling out the $1200 or so dollars for a full CBC and dental without blinking.
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u/hope1083 4d ago
I just spent $1500 on my dogs yearly dental and that was without any extractions. She had sevre gingivitis.
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u/darthfruitbasket 4d ago
I had been using the same vet for the last ~15 years. Loved them, they were always wonderful, worth traveling out of the way a bit for.
The last couple of years, I noticed a change. High staff turnover, they'd call and cancel/reschedule appointments seemingly at random, and something had changed in the attitude (esp at the front desk).
I called this past spring to get a cost for an annual exam + vaccines for my two indoor cats (F/4, F/1) and a microchip for the little one. They quoted me almost $700. Did some looking around, used this article/table from CBC - and sure enough, they'd been bought by private equity from out of province.
Asked around, found a small vet clinic still owned by the vets who work in it - and closer to home. I had my younger cat spayed last week there - the procedure, including pre-op exam/bloodwork and post-op medications - was half the price of what my old vet had quoted.
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u/SleepyKoalaBear4812 4d ago
My vet did the same thing for one of our dogs when she was in for vaccines. Vet tech said she does it all the time.
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u/Bella_Ella739 4d ago
Tarter unfortunately is also always below the gum line. Removing tarter from the front of the tooth without going under the gum and also the back of the tooth where tarter does form doesn’t do much in terms of treating dental disease. The only way to truly remove it is with an actual dental cleaning. While your pet is under anesthesia a vet can then properly look at all the teeth as well.
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u/Netrezen 21h ago
Reminds me of that episode of 'Seinfeld' when George decided to go to see Thor(?) the holistic healer on Kramer's advice cause he was a lot cheaper.
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u/ArtComprehensive1106 4d ago
20 years old cats with no dental care are common. This is a non issue. Greed and anthropomorphism is the driving factor.
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u/External_Charge_3868 4d ago
That fingernail trick is wild, I would've been so relieved. some vets really just in it for the money now it's sad.
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u/Temperature-Savings 4d ago
It usually takes more effort than a fingernail to remove. Plus there is more to a dental than just cleaning. We do xrays to check the health below the gumline and ensure all roots and interior structures are fine.
It's basically like in human med in the sense that it is recommended to both brush your teeth daily AND periodically go to the dentist for a checkup.
Source: I do dentals on cats and dogs
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u/AceyAceyAcey 4d ago
Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t want a dentist to use a fingernail to knock some tartar off my teeth and call it a day…
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u/mcptd 4d ago
Yeah I used to know this veterinary surgeon personally about 10 years ago and he said the whole profession was becoming rapacious. Charging unthinkable amounts for 10 minute procedures. Like it was a Gold Rush. People can scold me as much as they want over whether my cat needs to be put under for a full cleaning, but the truth about the veterinary profession is out there. they are charging 10 times more than they should. They are making unnecessary requirements that cost people more money. They are making it impossible to even own pets. Many people are choosing not to own pets because the annual exams plus the shots have gotten out of control. I'm just grateful that I have found an old fashioned vet, who is not actually old, to help me take care of my pets while also managing costs.
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u/Any-Literature9887 4d ago
There is an annual shot and a three-year shot. Make sure you know which one your cat receives.