Our poor kitty has what is most likely an abcess on his chin area. He doesn’t seem to be in pain, and is eating and drinking normally, but a large bump formed very quickly in that area, which although about half the size today than it was yesterday, is still there, so we took him into the vet. The vet examined him, and said that it was most likely an abcess, and that he would need surgery. His front staff gave us an estimate of $980. Now, if that is what our kitty needs, we will do it. The thing is, Mr. Jeeves is on disability right now, and I am a full time student with a part time job, so we don’t exactly have extra money. Please teeming millions, tell me if we should go back to the vet or get a second opinion on cost. Unfortunately, the vet we knew and trusted has moved from the area.
Yikes. That would be very high for my area of the country. I can’t be sure about vet fees in your area, of course.
We had repeated surgeries on a cat’s abscessed ear, and the total for all three surgeries, plus lab costs and medication to use at home afterward, was less than $500.
You may want to get another estimate.
My cat used to get abcesses pretty regularly. I’d drain them myself (even when I was about 14) and clean it and put a little antibiotic ointment on it. They always healed up just fine. It was important to keep it open to drain and let it heal.
StG
Get a second opinion from another vet. It may be possible to ooen and clean it without surgery - altho I am sure antibiotics will be needed. Do get it seen about as soon as possible - those things are really nasty if they break.
Ask your vet if they take Care Credit , and if they don’t, find a local vet who does. That way, if you do decide to go ahead with the procedure, at least you can extend the payments over time at no interest. It’s been a godsend to me with my kitty’s illness over the years (she’s got CRF ). Good luck and I hope kitty’s feeling better soon.
Sounds high. When cwKitty developed a mass in her belly, we were quoted high $900’s - $1000 for open abdominal exploratory surgery, including prep, tests, anaesthesia, the works. We’re in a major metropolitan area where everything is expensive.
15 years ago (that long ago?) I spent about $150 for an abcess on a cat leg.
At $980 your starting to wonder how important that damn cat is.
Or another cat.
Hi,
Is something else going on with the cat? I can’t see an abscess being more than $200-$400 unless there are other conditions (i.e they suspect cancer instead of infection & want to do extensive diagnostics-or abscesses caused by very bad teeth decay, etc) that are there or suspected. Even those things are not usual more than $400-$600 in my area.
Not a vet- just manage an animal hospital.
Having had several abscesses over the years, I’ve never paid more than $200–but I’ve never had one on the chin.
There might be more going on then you are telling us (or even know). Did you get an itemized estimate? Facial abcesses sometimes are due to dental disease. Dental radiographs will add a couple hundred to your bill.
Also, remember…location, location, location. I currently practice in a rural area of Pennsylvania where the average cat abcess is under $100. Five years ago I practiced in an area where cat abcesses ran around $200.
My advice…second opinion.
Second opinion.
That’s really expensive for an abcess in a non-life-threatening spot.