but one big difference is that a cat has to be put under anesthesia in order to have its teeth cleaned. A person doesn't even need a local anesthetic to get his/her teeth cleaned.

I never payed more than a hundred bucks for this with my fur kids. sounds like someone trying to rip off a client.

So, either you're seeing greedy assholes, or your kitty has a dental problem that goes beyond normal tartar buildup.

Ask them to explain the specific dental issue they're seeing, and then do some research on their explanations.

OTOH, if they say "no that's just for regular cleaning/tartar removal" find an ethical vet. Here's some additional suggestions:

Ask good shelters in your area for referrals, explain the issue if they have time.

Find a school of Veterinary medicine in your area, ask whether they have a sliding-fee program for feline dentistry.

Check with friends and/or rescue organizations working in your area for vets who regularly do rescue rehab, which often includes dental work and/or routine cleaning.

Finally, start caring for kitty's teeth yourself. A dental care kit shouldn't cost too much, and you can get them at any good pet supply outlet. They usually include a "finger brush" you can slip over a finger, a smaller version of a regular toothbrush, and paste that is flavored so kitty will lick it.

With my kitty, "teeth brush time" is part of his weekly grooming. He doesn't like it much, but he's gradually realized that I'm not killing him, and he does like the taste of the paste, so he allows me to "sit" him between my thigh and the soft chair arm, and hold his head with my finger and thumb at the jaw hinge, encouraging him to open his mouth. My last kitty preferred the finger brush, this one prefers the smaller regular brush. You may have to experiment.

Don't try to actually "brush" at first. Let kitty get used to the brush coming near her/his mouth, touch a little of the past on the brush to the nose so they lick it off, then offer the brush for them to lick and maybe even chew.

Once they get used to the idea that the paste tastes okay, s/he may allow you to hold the head and open the mouth a bit and just smear a bit of past on fangs and molars.

Eventually you might be able to actually "brush."

Once they're used to letting you mess around in the mouth, you can sometimes "pop" accumulated tartar off easily with a thumbnail, but I wouldn't try it right away.

Possibly the vet can help you learn that skill, too, if you can find one who cares more about kitty's well-being than setting up an expensive procedure.

helpfully,
Bright

that I would never go back to the vet who quoted that. Unless you are in San Fran or NYC or some other high rent area. I go to one of the higher cost vets in my area, and my cat had stomatitis which meant not only cleaning but removal of all the teeth. That cost me less than $500 for all the extractions.

I have had cats since the 1980's, and I have never had a vet who removed the tartar without doing the full cleaning under anesthesia until just a few years ago when I went to a vet who has a reputation as the cheaper in town...and that is what he did. I was shocked at how easy it was. But that was just a spot or two, not the full teeth and not under the gums. I don't know if it matters how bad the teeth are or not. I could not do it to any of my cat's teeth, but that is just because I have never had tolerant cats...I bet you could do it if you have the right cat but watch out and try to have someone help hold the cat.

I'm amazed by some of the responses posted her to your request for advice on kitty dental work. I'm sure not an expert here on the subject but nearly all my many home cats have very much needed a dental of sorts by age 14 years. Accumulated plaque on the cats teeth is a normal condition as the cat go through life. One of the best indicators on judging a cats age is by observing the amount of tarter on the teeth. The appearance of gingivitis and infection of the gums is what gets my attention when the cat goes in for a routine Vet exam. I discuss with the Vet when its time for a dental cleaning and yes its a big invoice for sure. Mostly worth it I think. My biggest fear with my cats dental health is when its feline stomatitis which in my experience can get very bad very quickly. My older cats I normally every few weeks feel around the jaw for any swelling and sensitivity to to touch. I will tel you, a good Vet can not easily see deep into the cats mouth during a routine exam. I'm always looking out for the loose or missing teeth in the old cats. My thoughts on your Vet's estimate is that its very much in line with what I have been paying recently. I think that the amount quoted you is likely including 1-2 major extractions, 1-2 minor extractions and 1-2 dental radio-graphs. Probably a pre-op blood chem also. What you could/should expect is for the final invoice to be lower if its just a dental cleaning that was needed and no oral surgery. This should have been fully explained to you when yo got the estimate. I think I could get one of my cats in and out for a dental cleaning for somewhere around not much over $600 today.

Here below I will post one of my latest invoice detail for feline dental cleaning and surgery. Note that I find that on the senior cats first dental we commonly find problems at the back of the mouth that could not be seen beforehand. Only once did I have a cat not need any extractions. As for the vet chipping away large hard clumps of tarter with his thumb nail, yeah, I saw that trick just last week and it's not comparable to the hard scrapping and ultrasonic polishing all the teeth above and below the gum line. Good grief!

Here compare with what your Vet estimated and remember that the Vet should explain how it could be an over estimate. Could also be a underestimate. Notice here I saved $80 by not having the pre-op blood chem which I requested to be omited. I had a cat a few years back have all but one canine and the tiny front few teeth cut out and it was not known day before the surgery how terrible her dental condition was. She does well.

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On your total invoice that you cannot pay all at once, you could ask about that "Vet care credit" or what ever it is that Vets are offering today. I could never pay all at once either. If the Vet knows you, I wold think it likely possible to do payments but I know how for many of us $600-$1000 plus for our kitty's benefit is not doable sometimes.
My Timber died less than 4 wks after the dental which I was so sure would be of great benefit to him but sadly didn't play out like that. Just had another cat in for dental surgery 10 days ago and today got a very bad looking lab report returned on her.

It will be between $203 and $238, and that includes extracting one decayed tooth. She's 12 and it does include anesthesia. It doesn't include blood work which we already did, for $55.

Never a thousand bucks! Go somewhere else. I too have stayed with the wrong vet too long. But its worth switching I'd say!

one extraction ( I noticed Majik had puffy red gums) and they were both together under $1000. Shop around.

When Hershey had to have several teeth removed and got fixed and had medicine for an infection it was about 800. I would definitely get a 2nd or 3rd estimate.