Pet Health Insurance

[GSLeloo]

So since I adopted a shelter cat and the group worked with PetFinder.org, I get two months of pet insurance for free. My question is, should I keep going after two months?

The one I would do is QuickCare for Indoor Cats. It's 9.95 a month and covers...

Cancer, Urinanry Tract Disease, Infectious Disease, Feline ASthma, Diabetes Mellitus, Foreign Body Ingestion, Bone Fractures, Defined Poison ingestion, Feline High-rise syndrome, Bite Wounds and bite wound abscesses, and burns.

Should I do it?

[Tendarian]

Its up to you but ive had cats for well over 15 years and ive never had one have any of those.

[Weedmage Princess]

If your cat is an outdoor cat, I completely recommend it. A lot of various illnesses cats get are easily transmitted from cat to cat, so if the cost is not a matter of concern ($9.95/month doesn't seem expensive at all) then I'd recommend it.

However, check with your vet. A lot of the vets will tell you they have a hard time getting the money from these insurance companies, so they might require you make the payment first, then you'd have to wait for a reimbursment check from the insurance company. That's something that should factor into your decision.

[Wezas]

Jesus, wonder if I could get that for my Newfoundland. Probably be more expensive, but I spend ~$100 for a vet visit this week because she sprained her front left leg.

Bite wounds and broken bones included in there? That might be worth looking into if your budget can afford. Better $10 a month then a $150 vet visit when something bites your cat.

[Weedmage Princess]

I spent $900 on my cat one year. She broke her leg, kept getting urinary tract infections and had some weird parasite in her stomach that made her unable to eat.

I wish I had opted to get the pet insurance. Then you have people like Tendarian who hasn't had any problems with his cats. My friend Wayne spent over $2500 for his cat towards the end last year. It's the luck of the draw, really.

Again though, I'd talk to the vet about their policies concern pet insurance.

[GSLeloo]

See if the cat had to get a surgery or anything that totalled 2500, I'd have to put it down or just opt to ignore it because I don't have that kind of money.

I (AND I AM PUTTING MY FOOT DOWN ON THIS) am keeping the cat an indoor cat so as long as he remains indoors, he'll have bites from the dog at most.

And there is a gold plan that covers more (the one I listed is only for indoor cats) and it's like $40 for a specific breed and $30 for a mutt (that's just dogs). For a cat it's like $20.

[Tendarian]

All my cats are indoor cats as well(3). And im also in the situation that i dont have $2500 to spend on a pet but have always been pretty lucky.

[GSLeloo]

I should've made this a poll... I can see the use for it but if as someone said you find it hard to get reimbursed and... I don't know. I can just so see myself saying screw it and then getting a $3,000 bill for something that would've been covered.

[Weedmage Princess]

Heh I know, a lot of people don't have that kind of money...which is why the insurance would be a good idea. My friend initially opted to decline the insurance when it was offered to him. After that whole nightmare (he lost his cat anyway, had to put her down) he got insurance for the others.

[Tendarian]

After that whole nightmare (he lost his cat anyway, had to put her down) he got insurance for the others.

If i scrounged up $2500 and the cat died anyway i might have to stalk that vet or egg his house or something.

[Weedmage Princess]

Haha!!

It was sad though...she had actually been responding to all the treatments and seemed to be doing a lot better. All of a sudden she relapsed and in the end, died.

[GSLeloo]

My aunt spent 6k on her dog for about 10 years... I would've put it down before the first 6k.

Our vet is this great great vet, can basically save any vet but he'll charge you a mortgage for it.

Felix bit my toes and then my ear so I decided tomorrow he's gonna go get bitten by a vet.... my dad said he'd pay for the first vet bill.

[Ravenstorm]

Both my cats are indoor ones and both have been (now) pretty healthy. I don't have insurance for either. However...

One of them developed a colon problem early one once he was done growing and after a period of a year (at which point he was ending up at the vet twice a week) he had surgery. Cost: 3k. Not including the prior year's bills. Fortunately, he's had relatively no problems for the last seven years.

My other cat has been fine, all told. Although she just lost a tooth due to gum disease and we had to take her in to get her teeth cleaned.

It's not too bad an idea if you can afford it.

Raven

[Jazuela]

$9.95 per month - even it out to $10 because it's easier to do the math.

That's $120 per year.

Average life expectancy for an indoor -neutered or spayed- cat - 15 years (males don't live as long as females on average), and some cats can hang on into 20 years old and even longer.

120 x 15 = $1800 total.

Ask yourself how much you should expect to spend during your cat's lifetime for the thing that insurance company covers, considering it is an indoor cat, and (hopefully) will be spayed or neutered.

Whichever is the higher sum, go with the other option.

But as Weedie points out, make SURE the vet you go to will accept the insurance. Not all do, and not all insurance companies will pay on "non-approved" vets. Some of them work kinda like HMOs. If you go to a vet on their list, it's covered. If not, you're gonna pay anyway.

I had 2 cats, one lived to 18, the other 17. Other than getting them fixed and declawed, only the 18-year-old ever had any expenses worth mentioning. She had a tumor in her back, but she was already 18 by then and all they would do for her was cut most of the tumor out, clean it, and stitch it up. We knew it would come back but we only wanted her last days to be as comfortable as possible and the tumor was extremely painful.

That cost around $400 and as I said it was the most expensive thing I had to do for either of them.

I didn't give them rabies shots or FeLeuk or any of that stuff because they were indoor cats and never exposed to any of that stuff anyway. Twice, each of them got their teeth cleaned. Once, the older one had an absess from a bite from another cat in the house. I saved money by taking the stitches out myself when it had healed.

Keep a bottle of tea tree oil in the house, use crushed marigold petals (that's the main ingredient in most of the more popular flea powders these days), and you'll save a bundle on the occasional nick scratch scrape. General "first aid"-type problems don't need a vet at all. Witch hazel to clean, tea tree to disinfect, and leave it open to drain and heal.

Plus with the tea tree, it tastes SO nasty that they're much less likely to lick the wound and reopen it.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<($9.95/month doesn't seem expensive at all)>>

It stopped a lot of people from playing GS.

Then again, we're paying a minimum of $14.95/month now.

[Edaarin]

I need to remember to kick my neighbor's cat when I go home. Bastard still owes me pizza money.

[Bobmuhthol]

I must suck, because I don't think any of my cats lived for even ten years. But they were outside a lot and just kind of died.

I've got four young cats now, and none of them are ever leaving the house. Let's hope they live. No insurance on any of them.

[Edaarin]

The idea of you being responsible for a living thing scares me.

[Bobmuhthol]

f u i <3 my kitties

[Latrinsorm]

Originally posted by Jazuela
Witch hazel to cleanWitch hazel tastes really nasty. Blech. I bet it stings too.

[SpunGirl]

I say get the insurance, Leloo. My cat broke her leg as a kitten an it cost us $500 to fix her. It would've been more had the cast not reset the leg properly. And this isn't a rebuke, but if you say you'd rather put the animal down than pay for something it needs, get the insurance. Animals are a responsibility, they're not toys that you can just throw away when they break.

-K

[GSLeloo]

It's not that I'd want to it's that there'd be no way to afford it. Our dog hasn't even had her yearly shots yet because there hasn't been any extra money to get them.

[Caiylania]

Our cats and dogs don't have insurance yet but we plan to get it. I have health and mortality insurance on my horse. For $300 a year they cover up to 20k in vet bills a year and if he dies or is stolen they pay me his full value dollar wise. Emotionally I would be devastated. Ugh :(

I totally agree with pet health insurance. But look for a reliable company. Many pet insurance policies are actually backed by very good banks and human insurance bearers. My horse's policy holder is backed by a very reputable human company.

Either way, I hope your pets enjoy a happy lonnnnnng life.

[SpunGirl]

I'm glad you're looking into getting the things that your pets need, Leloo. They're like kids, IMO - don't have them if you can't afford them.

-K

[Fengus]

Shelter cat = free
health insurace for said cat = worthless

Just get a new one, if that one breaks.



:saint:

[Jazuela]

Witch hazel doesn't sting. It feels cold and can actually sooth the sting of the wound temporarily. It also makes neat looking bubbles when it comes into contact with blood.

:)

As for the general topic at hand - I'll chime in with whoever said that if you can't afford it, don't get it. Owning a pet is a responsibility. If you aren't prepared or able to handle it, then don't do it. I didn't neglect getting my cats their shots because of any financial difficulty. They'd get their medical needs met before I had supper that night, if it came down to it.

I intentionally didn't get them their shots because they simply didn't need them. And when I -did- need to bring the animals to the vet, our state law -requires- that the vet not allow the animal to leave the office until they are updated on rabies. And so I would fork over the cash to comply with the law. I was just very fortunate in that my animals didn't need veterinary care more than a half dozen times in each of their 17+-year lives.

[Atlanteax]

Originally posted by GSLeloo
It's not that I'd want to it's that there'd be no way to afford it. Our dog hasn't even had her yearly shots yet because there hasn't been any extra money to get them.

How can you not be able to afford the $30-50 dollars worth of shots each year? :wtf:

Basically is just a half-day of labor.

But, if this is the best you can do...

You're a horrible dog owner!! :nono:

[Meos]

Ever seen old yeller?