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Hi. My GF has a cat that for five years in her care has had yearly tooth cleanings under anesthesia. We recently moved to Oregon and found a vet nearby our new home. It is time for his yearly cleaning and she inquired about them doing it. She was quoted a price that is more than double what she was used to paying. When she asked about that we discovered that their price includes all kinds of diagnostic procedures that we elected to do without to save on costs. A new estimate was done and a price was agreed on. We took him in this morning and since then it has been one thing and the other and our cat has a heart murmur out of nowhere and we had no choice but to authorize the blood work and the thyroid panel and the ECG. Of course I got on Google and discovered murmurs have degrees of severity and as I suspected everything came back negative and the cleaning won't be done today but take him back tomorrow... ... I'm upset. After everything the price is exactly back to the figure we said we couldn't afford. Is this unusual? Are there vets in the Portland area that do not nickel and dime clients unless it is absolutely neccessary? Should we even take our cat back tomorrow to have the cleaning done?? My GF doesn't want to put it off but I am not getting a good vibe from this clinic. Any thoughts? TIA
I don't know if 5 is the cat's age or only how long she's had him? An older cat should have the work-up to be sure the anesthesia is safe. That does seem like a lot to me but vet costs vary widely over the country. For ex, I pay $6/bag of IV fluid for a sick cat but I heard from someone who pays $22/bag and that is standard for their area.
Since it is your gf's cat, it is really her decision. I have found veterinarians are extremely expensive unless you can find a local sort of mom and pop one. Teeth cleaning is important and as is the thyroid test. While none of my cats were hyperthyroid until they were much older than 5, the meds are expensive. It is really better to make sure that everything is okay. Since this is scheduled, I would pay the price and then start looking around for another vet.
I don't know if 5 is the cat's age or only how long she's had him? An older cat should have the work-up to be sure the anesthesia is safe. That does seem like a lot to me but vet costs vary widely over the country. For ex, I pay $6/bag of IV fluid for a sick cat but I heard from someone who pays $22/bag and that is standard for their area.
Thanks for the replies thus far. Yes, it is her decision but she knows that I have asked the C-D community for advice. She wants some input on this. Anyway, we just got back from picking him up. As I said he does have this murmur that he did not have last year. Thyroid is fine as is the other blood work. ECG is inconclusive. Bottom line, they won't do the cleaning without an ultrasound from a cardiac specialist and/or a chest x-ray.Today's bill $250 to tell us he has a Grade 2 murmur, and we are left to figure our way forward from here by ourselves. They won't even give us a ballpark for what an ultrasound may cost. Anyway, since they don't want to do the cleaning tomorrow we have time to get a second opinion. Thanks again.
To the OP: there are a couple of veterinarians in our area (PDX) who will actually answer general questions over the phone, and do not charge for unnecesary work. I will DM you with their info.
Wow, what you are describing sounds very much like price gouging. And I've been "played" on like that - we all may have been, because we love our pets, don't we? You might try to DM ViralMD, another poster on CD. He or she seems to know an awful lot about pets' medical issues.
I don't know about PDX but any area has choices for vets. If you are not comfortable with the quality of care, definitely go to another one and drop this one like a hot potato. You should have confidence in both the medical care given and that your vet has the best interests of your pet in mind. Amazingly, there are some vets out there who just don't like cats. Just go to another one.
Heart murmurs are strange. Sometimes they may be misdiagnosed or a fleeting thing. Sometimes they are harmless and others are deadly.
Out here, my last cleaning was about $250 as I elected to get the blood tests for one that is 10. The cleaning and anesthesia charge is $160.
Just an fyi to everyone - I worked at a vet for several years and ran the lab (all that expensive labwork you hate). And I just want you all to know - I can't even begin to estimate the number of very serious health problems that were caught with pre-op bloodwork on (outwardly) perfectly healthy animals.
I know vet costs are painful - my entire household of 4 cats came down with a highly contagious upper respiratory disease which almost killed all of them. My final tally after that 2 month ordeal was over was well over two grand - only because I was a former employee of the clinic and was getting some supplies at cost.
It's always a shock to our system when we get those vet bills because we're all used to paying our $20 copays at the doctor's office, but when you consider that most of the equipment and medicine being used on your pet is actually HUMAN medical supplies - it's a bargain.
That being said - there are some dishonest vets out there who will OVER charge you. There's nothing wrong with getting a second opinion or calling around for quotes.
Hi. My GF has a cat that for five years in her care has had yearly tooth cleanings under anesthesia. We recently moved to Oregon and found a vet nearby our new home. It is time for his yearly cleaning and she inquired about them doing it. She was quoted a price that is more than double what she was used to paying. When she asked about that we discovered that their price includes all kinds of diagnostic procedures that we elected to do without to save on costs. A new estimate was done and a price was agreed on. We took him in this morning and since then it has been one thing and the other and our cat has a heart murmur out of nowhere and we had no choice but to authorize the blood work and the thyroid panel and the ECG. Of course I got on Google and discovered murmurs have degrees of severity and as I suspected everything came back negative and the cleaning won't be done today but take him back tomorrow... ... I'm upset. After everything the price is exactly back to the figure we said we couldn't afford. Is this unusual? Are there vets in the Portland area that do not nickel and dime clients unless it is absolutely neccessary? Should we even take our cat back tomorrow to have the cleaning done?? My GF doesn't want to put it off but I am not getting a good vibe from this clinic. Any thoughts? TIA
H
Unless there is a severe (and I mean SEVERE) medical problem, I do not take my pets to vets. "Routine" dental care is the biggest scam on the planet. Put your cats on a raw food diet and you won't have any of the build up and problems that grain/corn based catfood causes.
The big pharma people and vets have come to the realization (thanks to the example led by the AMA) that pet care can be a multi-BILLION dollar business and if you think that their motivation is in any way connected with anything else but money you are smoking wacky-tabaccy.
Unless there is a severe (and I mean SEVERE) medical problem, I do not take my pets to vets. "Routine" dental care is the biggest scam on the planet. Put your cats on a raw food diet and you won't have any of the build up and problems that grain/corn based catfood causes.
The big pharma people and vets have come to the realization (thanks to the example led by the AMA) that pet care can be a multi-BILLION dollar business and if you think that their motivation is in any way connected with anything else but money you are smoking wacky-tabaccy.
20yrsinBranson
I partially agree with this. I think there are some animals - particularly older cats and dogs - that need regular dental care. Persian cats and diabetic cats in particular will have severe dental problems that affect their overall health and eating habits.
BUT - I also don't think that if your cat is in perfect health, it needs a dental every year. Remember that the anesthesia they use to perform the dental procedure comes with risks that can be much worse than having bad teeth.
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