Pets and vet bills......where do you draw the line?

We have three cats, all were strays that we took in. They stay inside all the time, but we do take them for yearly vet check ups, rabies shots, and other shots if needed. Normally all is well (other than the male has ongoing IBD issues, but we just deal with the messes). Took all three in today to our normal clinic but saw a different doctor. We were told last year that the youngest has a slight heart murmer and what symptoms of distress to look for, so I mentioned that. The vet today agrees that it is a low grade murmer and then recommended doing tests to get a baseline picture of the heart, roughly $300. Which is doable, but she is still very young and the problem is very mild, so we decided to take a wait and see approach. Then my 13 yr. male cat was diagnosed with several teeth that need to be extracted. And because he is elderly, they need to do additional bloodwork to ensure that his heart and liver can withstand the anesthesia needed for the oral surgery. Total estimate is $1300-$1600! Other than that he is healthy for his age (minus the IBD issues). He does not appear to be in pain and is still eating normally. I love my cat, but that's a lot of money! And I just found out that both of my kids need to start expanders at the orthodontist and we have no ortho coverage. And I also need ortho work because my teeth are shifting. At what point do decide a vet bill is too much? That is a huge bill but we could probably swing it, it would just mean holding off on our many house projects for awhile. But, he is 13 yrs. old, is it worth it? Any vets on here who can chime in with advice? I asked the tech what the outcome is if we choose to not extract the teeth and he just said the problem will worsen and get more expensive, but he couldn't really say how fast the problem would grow or how long til the cat is showing signs of pain.

I don't know. DH took our dog in as he peed multiple times in a short period of time all over the place and we worried about UTI. Several hundred dollars later, tests are normal, dog never peed that much again, then we found out he had eaten entire bag of salami DS had left out. So we're now taking a wait and see approach rather than rushing to vet.

Our previous dog had 2 root canals, but she was younger and had many years left. It's hard to know what to do.


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I suppose my first question is why they need extracted. Are they falling out? Causing severe pain? Affecting food intake? But, it would be a hard sell. Like I'd consider wet food first.

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Originally Posted by lalasmama

I suppose my first question is why they need extracted. Are they falling out? Causing severe pain? Affecting food intake? But, it would be a hard sell. Like I'd consider wet food first.

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During the exam she mentioned that he had several loose teeth (not sure how loose). He also has very stinky breath all the time.

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Originally Posted by lalasmama

I suppose my first question is why they need extracted. Are they falling out? Causing severe pain? Affecting food intake? But, it would be a hard sell. Like I'd consider wet food first.

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Wet food won't help teeth problems. Pet dental care can help a cat or dog stay healthier longer and cats can live much longer than 13 years. But pet dental care is also has one of the widest price ranges and many people we know go to a lower cost vet for dental work. For OP, I would consider it but ask around and get another estimate. It is responsible and standard to do blood work before anesthesia. But prices can vary hugely for dental.


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Yeah sorry, I would not be spending $1300+ on my cat to have teeth removed. I'd let it go and he'll probably be fine.

My brother was responsible for a kitten and he let it out by accident. It ended up getting terribly injured by falling. :( Locally EVERYONE said the kitten needed to be put down, that the surgery he'd need would cost thousands of dollars and it might not even work but my brother just couldn't let it go. He ended up finding a veterinary school 5 hours away that would do the surgery for a fraction of the cost because it was a learning opportunity. He paid the money, the surgery worked great and the cat has lived an active and happy life! I guess the moral is to look around if the cost is a lot. I'd be hard pressed not to treat a pet because of cost but cost would be very concerning for me. It is hard and I'm sorry OP!

ETA: 13 years old is really nothing for a cat! I had two cats growing up that lived to be over 20 years. They live much longer than dogs IME.

Thirteen is not that old for a cat. I think it's a personal decision for everyone. Me, I would do it as I would not feel okay with being responsible for shortening the cat's lifespan. But that is my decision and I know not everyone feels the same way.

I don't think anyone can give you a direct answer here because its YOU that'll have to live with the decision. I will pay for it because I would feel horrible if something happened to my pet due to a decision I made. Believe me, I do understand that its hard to draw the line. I spent $8000 on my 10 year old labrador because I didn't want to make the decision to shorten his lifespan. He lived 2 more years and passed away peacefully at home, I was so happy that I coughed up the money. I must say DH nagged me so much about the money but I held ground. So I totally understand what you're going through. :hug5:

This is so personal and easy to think you know what you would do until you are in that position. I've paid big bucks for my dog to have emergency care and ICU stay (possible ibuprofen ingestion that probably wasn't) and I'd do it all over again to assure that he could sleep curled up on the couch on this rainy Tuesday morning. But really, it's something you and your DH have to decide based on a bigger picture than simply should we have the teeth pulled or not.