Hello Folks, my partner and I have four cats (12M, 6M, one female, and a 6-month-old male kitten). They have all received recent examinations and immunizations and are well-cared after. They enjoy good food, clean water, monthly flea treatment, clean litter boxes, plenty of cat toys, and entertainment, and they are only allowed indoors.
Of course, I understand that this does not eliminate the chance of disease and harm, therefore I am here to solicit honest reviews and thoughts on pet insurance.
My old man is getting up there in age, and while he still plays, eats, and drinks well, I am concerned about the risks associated with cats’ aging, such as kidney problems, cancer, arthritis/pain, and so on. We’ve been lucky enough to be offered a living situation in which the cats will have more space to call their own, and we will save over $800 per month, so money will not be an issue. We are also saving at least $5-10K as a vet emergency fund to have on hand.
With all of this possibly unnecessary information out there, what are your thoughts on pet insurance? Is it worthwhile, or is it primarily a scam/waste of money? What are the pros and cons of pet insurance?
Any more advice would be greatly appreciated. All I want is the best for my babies.
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If one of my babies has cancer or any dreadful disease, I don’t want to have to determine if I can pay to preserve them. I’m willing to pay the monthly charge only to know that they’ll be taken care of in the event of an emergency.
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That’s a great way to look at it, thank you!
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A warning tale: In the last ten months, here’s what I’ve dealt with having four Huskies (ages 4, 6, 7, and 7).
- intestinal blockage. After portion died and needed to be resectioned. He ate a sock and it got stuck. 6 year old dog. $10,000
- x-rays for the 4 year old dog. He ate part of a toy. It eventually passed. $500
- throwing up a foreign body to avoid obstruction, $300 each time: 6 year old dog again (his nickname is “sock eater”), 7 year old dog (half a corn cob, stole it out of a teens hand)
- spindle cell tumor. Surgery was $5,000, then we had to wait for it to grow closed because it was on his leg and there wasn’t enough material to sew it closed. 9 weeks of bandage changes every 4-5 days at $85 each. 7 year old dog
- severe crippling arthritis in the hips. X-rays are $500, and new monthly shots are $85 each for the rest of her life. 7-year-old dog This is on top of annual checkups, vaccinations, fecal exams, internal parasite prevention, and the daily hormone our girl gets due to spay incontinence.
I am not saying you should obtain insurance; it can be costly. However, here’s what a horrible health year with numerous pets looked like for us.
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Last summer, my 5-year-old dog experienced an Addisonian crisis, resulting in a $6K overnight hospital stay and blood transfusion.
Get the insurance while they are young and healthy, or set up a separate savings account for vet care.
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Not a cat or dog, but Nationwide Pet Insurance has refunded me literally hundreds of dollars over the period of five years for all of my bunny’s health difficulties. Nationwide is the only pet insurance that covers exotics (at least at the time), and I pay $12 per month. Also, with your cats in good health, now is an excellent time to have them covered. Obtaining coverage when they are sick may result in various exclusions from their healthcare coverage.