Common Surgeries Your Cat May Need & What They Cost

Taking your cat for regular veterinarian visits can help ensure they stay as healthy as possible. While we’d love for our feline friends to never have to undergo surgery, sometimes, it’s necessary to give them a better quality of life.

Whether you want to be financially prepared in case a cat surgery comes up or if your cat is scheduled for one in the future, knowing the potential cost can help. Keep reading for a list of common cat surgeries and how much they may cost — as well as how pet insurance can help make these costs more affordable.

A MetLife Pet Insurance policy can help reimburse vet bills for expensive cat surgery costs. A Preventive Care plan add-on can even help cover spay and neuter costs and oral care, such as teeth cleaning. 

Common Cat Surgery Costs

How much cat surgery costs will depend on your vet, your cat’s specific needs and health condition, your location, and the procedure being done. Other variables that can impact the overall cost of a surgical procedure are pre- and post-operative needs, X-rays, ultrasounds, bloodwork, diagnostic testing, anesthesia, a potential hospital stay, surgical complications, and other necessities.

Spay or neuter

Spaying or neutering your cat is a very common procedure. A spay can cost $200 – $500, while a neuter can cost $100 – $300.¹ But you may be able to find a low-cost clinic that charges less for either procedure. When you add our Preventive Care plan add-on to your insurance policy, you can get coverage for spay and neuter procedures.

Oral surgery

Cats can be prone to dental diseases, including periodontal disease, gingivitis, and tooth resorption.² This can lead to more extensive dental work needing to be done, especially in senior cats.

If your cat needs a tooth extraction, this can cost $50 – $130 per tooth. If your cat needs something more serious — like jaw reconstructive or removal surgery due to damaged tissue, abnormal cell growth, or unhealed fractures, (aka a mandibulectomy) — this can cost $1,500 – $4,000.³ Cat teeth cleaning can also be considered a form of surgery, since it may require anesthesia, and this procedure could cost around $100 – $400.

MetLife Pet Insurance policies come with dental insurance coverage for dental care related to an accident or illness. And with our Preventive Care plan add-on, you can get reimbursed up to 90% of routine teeth cleanings and associated costs.

Mass removal

Skin lumps and bumps, as well as internal masses, may need to be removed if they’re affecting your cat’s health and well-being. Costs can depend on whether the mass (tumor) is on the surface of your cat’s skin or if it’s internal, along with the location on their body (close to vital organs, joints, face, etc.), what kind of mass it is, and its size.

Surgical removal of a tumor could cost around $500 or more, and can rise if cancer is involved due to the severity of the procedure and recovery.⁴ MetLife Pet can typically help cover these expenses, as long as they’re diagnosed after enrollment and applicable waiting periods.

Bladder surgery

Cats may develop feline lower urinary tract disease, which encompasses a few different conditions. One of these conditions is bladder stones. If they’re small enough, stones can typically pass through urination or be removed through less invasive methods. However, when the removal of bladder stones in cats requires surgery, the cost for a cystotomy can be around $900 – $4,000.⁵ With MetLife Pet’s coverage for illnesses, you can typically be reimbursed for these types of procedures.

Wound surgery

If your cat has been injured, a vet may need to close the wound and repair any internal damage based on the type of injury. The procedure to clean and suture a wound may cost $800 – $2,500; however, if your cat’s injury requires surgery, it could cost you $1,500 – $5,000 or more.⁶ The more extensive the damage, the more likely the cost will rise. But thanks to our coverage for accidents and injuries, you can worry less about the cost when you have a MetLife Pet policy.

Orthopedic procedures

Cats may need orthopedic surgeries to repair fractures, broken bones, joint problems, ligaments, and more. Costs typically vary based on the specific procedure needed, the severity of the problem, and the weight of your cat. Because there are so many variables in these types of surgeries, costs could range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. MetLife Pet Insurance can help make these costs easier to manage with our reimbursements of up to 90% on covered accidents and illnesses.⁷

Foreign body extraction

Foreign body extraction surgery usually involves the stomach or intestines, although it could be elsewhere in the body, depending on the situation your cat has found themself in. Your cat may have ingested something that got stuck in the gastrointestinal tract, or they could have been punctured by an object that’s now stuck in their body.

Procedures for removing foreign bodies may involve ultrasounds, X-rays, endoscopies, and surgeries. Depending on the severity of the damage done by the foreign object and where it’s located, surgical procedures to remove them could cost around $1,500 – $5,000.⁶ But you can typically get reimbursed for those diagnostics and surgical procedures with a MetLife Pet Insurance policy.

Eye surgery

There are a few different types of cat eye surgeries you may encounter. These expensive surgeries can typically be covered thanks to MetLife Pet’s coverage on a variety of illnesses and conditions — even hereditary, congenital, and chronic conditions.

Cataracts can develop in your cat’s eye(s) — either one or both — as eye lens proteins degrade with age or due to genetics. Surgical procedures to remove the cataract and replace the eye lens so blurry vision is restored may be possible. Cat cataract surgery can cost around $2,000 – $3,500.⁸

Sometimes, if there’s too much damage to a cat’s eye(s), the best way to give them a better quality of life is to remove the eye. Enucleation, or cat eye removal surgery, can cost around $1,000 – $2,000.⁸

Cherry eye — a prolapse of the third eyelid — isn’t as common in cats as it can be in dogs, but surgery may cost around $300 – $1,000 to correct. And if your cat has eyelids that roll inward or outward, surgery to correct that can cost around $500 – $2,000.⁸

MetLife Pet Insurance Can Help Cover Costs

While these estimates can help you better prepare financially, contact your veterinarian for a more accurate cost estimate for your situation. Depending on the surgery and recovery efforts your cat needs, your vet bill may end up in the thousands.

Having a MetLife Pet cat insurance policy can help you get the care your cat needs without sacrificing the quality due to cost barriers. Our policies may be able to reimburse you for up to 90% of covered costs related to surgery — like exams, diagnostics, the procedure itself, hospital stays, and medications.⁷ However, pet insurance typically doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, so enrolling while your cat is still healthy is a great way to ensure coverage later on when you need it.

See if MetLife Pet Insurance is right for you and your beloved cat by getting a personalized quote today.