As a pet parent, you do a lot to care for your pet- feeding, bathing and providing shelter. Have you considered signing up for a pet insurance plan? There are a number of reasons why this is a good idea for cat parents, and we want to share with you the top five:
1) You Save Money
If your cat suffers a serious injury or contracts a major sickness, then it is possible that the treatment costs would be astronomically high. It’s not uncommon to have to pay thousands of dollars for treatment in these cases. Pet insurance can greatly reduce and even eliminate those costs for you.
2) Peace of Mind
As your cat ages, it is more susceptible to serious inquiry or disease. If you want the option to be able to treat your pet immediately when it needs treatment, then pet insurance allows you to do that. You won’t have to worry about whether you can afford treatment, and you can rest easy knowing your pet will be cared for.
3)Cover Costs You Would Normally Second Guess
Pet insurance doesn’t just have to cover treatment for an injury or an illness. It can also be used to cover behavioral therapy. Without the insurance, you might not consider taking your cat in for behavioral treatment, but if your insurance is covering it, then you won’t have to second guess it. Your cat can enjoy a better quality of life, and you’ll have a cat that is pleasanter to be around.
4)Eliminate the Euthanasia Option
You want your pet to live as long as possible, but there may come a time where your pet needs treatment that is prohibitively expensive. If you have pet insurance, then you don’t have to consider euthanizing your pet and you can give your cat the treatment it requires.
5)Ideal for Older Cats
Senior cats need more medical care, and they are more expensive to treat than younger ones. They tend to have more health problems, but you can ensure your cat is taken care of while keeping your costs down with pet insurance.
To find out more about pet insurance for cats and what it can do for you, read this guide from All about Cats.
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I don’t know what you have for pet insurance in the U.K., but at least you have the humans covered by the government from birth through death.
Marc, pet insurance is a much more complicated topic than you present here. When I have looked into it over here, none I found excepted senior animals. Like the human plans, there are plenty of exclusions, coverage limits, pre-existing conditions, age limits, deductibles and the like to either disqualify or seriously impact the monthly fees, if a plan is available. No discounts for multiple cats. Not even the vets do that. Many multicat households, especially in rural areas, are people who take in strays, or have had animals dumped off on them, etc. and are trying to do the right thing by these animals instead of dumping them back into shelters. Especially now, as you have reported, shelters are experiencing an explosion older animals being dumped, as well as an increased birthrate at shelters from unfixed animals. Pet insurance is not going to fix that problem. Seems there is a crisis brewing and there seen to be a need for low-cost or no-cost neuter/spay.
Like human insurance, pet insurance drives up the fees for service. Insurance companies are for-profit entities, and they have their own actuarial tables they use to formulate plans and figure out fees. They are not in the humanitarian business.
That does not mean pet insurance does not have its use, and place. It does mean, especially over here where we do not have European type socialized medicine ( we have Medicare for age 65 and up and Medicaid for qualifying younger people) functional healthcare it is unattainable for many. Deductibles on monthly affordable human plans are in the neighborhood of $8800. One human event even with insurance, can land one into some serious debt. I know, I have been there. Even under ObamaCare, doctors, especially internists, can refuse to see Medicare and/or Medicaid patients because they say it pays them too little. Old people and old pets often have very, expensive health care needs. Pet insurance plans, if they will accept one’s pet, come at too great a price when food , shelter and transportation are primary concerns.
Given all the above, there are other options such as putting money aside, assuming one is able to, or companies like CareCredit, assuming one can qualify. Many vets here will take CareCredit now.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a thorough review of the problem. It looks pretty bleak from across the pond.
Pet insurance for owners with multiple cats is a very expensive proposition.