Are these vet charges excessive or not?

[debodun]

I took my two 11-year-old cats to the vet last week. He said everything was fine except for some dental problems. He gave me an itemized breakdown of what it would cost - $359 to $408 and that is for EACH cat, so that means I could be spending anywhere from $716 to $816 on cat teeth. I wanted to know if these charges on the list are on the high side and what, if any, are "padding".

Hospitalization    -                $23
Mini-Chem profile    -             $59
Anesthesia, Feline Grade 3  -  $82
Dental Prophylaxis, Grade 3 -  $65
Extractions per tooth/difficulty - $25 to $75
Pen G injection             -       $22
Metcam injection           -      $25
Subcutaneous fluid inj.     -     $27
Other antibiotics and pain meds -$30

[nancyjac]

I agree with the other posters.  These charges are typical and for a couple of items even on the low side.  The anesthesia charge seems a bit high, but depending on your vets practices the charge could include some other stuff, like monitoring vitals, reverser, and other precautions when using anesthesia.  Depending on the time required for cleaning and extraction, that could also affect not only the amount of anesthesia required, but also the method of delivery and precautions required.

[aligator79]

Sounds about average for a cleaning.  The extractions are what get you.  The most recent time It cost me $1600 to have two done with 8 extractions total.  One had some nasty problems that took extra time to deal with including a biopsy.

I've had 5 cleanings total on 3 cats. One of them now has very few teeth left, but it was totally worth it to have them done.  I didn't realize two of them were in so much pain until they were home and felt better.  

[Jade59]

Blu is right, that's a good average price.  My cat just had her teeth cleaned and that's about what we paid.  You'll also want to factor in the cost of the bloodwork done prior to the cleaning (unless that's already been done).  My kitty is the same age as yours so bloodwork is very important to make sure kitty is healthy and up to the anesthesia.  

Best of luck!

[BluCrystal]

This sounds right to me, for a vet who cares about your pets, and wants to give them the best possible care. - Blu