Cat dental cleaning?

[tagryn]

Hi all,

We had our two cats in for their yearly exam recently. Mostly good news - our biggest cat lost a pound and a half , which was very good news since he was overweight even for a big cat - but on our other cat, the vet recommended a full dental cleaning due to a buildup of tartar and plaque. She showed us how his gums were really red and puffy, and this is the second vet there who recommended it, so I'm not questioning the diagnosis. However, the estimate was $700 to have the procedure done, which is simply a lot of money for us. The procedure would involve putting him under while they work on removing the plague buildup, as I understand it, which is another thing that's giving us pause, since anesthesia has its own risks associated with it.

I was wondering if anyone's had this done for their cat, whether the estimate seems excessive or about right, and whether anyone could recommend some places in SoMD to ask estimates from?

thanks...

 

[Sadysue]

My cat had her teeth cleaned last year. I can't find the paperwork, but I don't think it was anywhere near $700. I think it was more like $400.

I had it done at Three Notch Vet on 235.

 

[Sadysue]

However, if your cat has to have teeth pulled, the bill will go up quite a bit...

 

[Chasey_Lane]

I was wondering if anyone's had this done for their cat, whether the estimate seems excessive or about right, and whether anyone could recommend some places in SoMD to ask estimates from?

Do you think you might be able to try and brush your cat's teeth? You could do this for a few weeks to see if there is any improvement. It would save a lot of money.

Maybe there are treats to help with this sort of thing? Try giving kitty hard food to break the plaque loose?

 

[Cowgirl]

I am usually able to flake tartar buildup off with my fingernails. Just wrap kitty in a blanket first.

 

[belvak]

I've got to schedule our 20 pounder for teeth cleaning too. Hope it's not that expensive!! Guess I'll find out tomorrow when I call.

 

[razzle1127]

when i worked for a vet it was never that expensive on a dog or cat with or with out teeth pulled, and being put under isnt always that bad as long as the cat is healthy.

 

[jp2854]

when i lived in ny i paid 500.00 as my cat needed a few teeth extracted. The original bill was 800.00. went down as they didn't have to take out as many teeth as they thought they were going to have to do. when I had my cats done at 3notch it costed me like 300.00 if i remember straight but that was over 6yrs ago.

 

[highnote]

Once there gets to be a tarter buildup, there's nothing you can do at home to fix it. The toothpaste/brushing, treats, etc help in PREVENTATIVE care but they don't help much once there is a problem.

Well Pet Waldorf does dental cleanings for a very reasonable rate. Lowest I've found.

Once you have the teeth cleaned by the vet, please remember to keep up with the at-home brushing, or else the tarter will just build right back up. I learned this the hard way!