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.