Could use some good thoughts...and questions about pet insurance

[floweredangel]

Things have been tough lately. My male cat had crystals, and that was $1000.00. We just spent another $100.00 for followup tests we're waiting for. Now our female cat is now in for testing for "fatty liver" because she's not eating and her eyes are jaundiced. That was $650.00 and could be more

I have savings, so I'm not maxing out credit cards or going without food, but previous to all this we had a wonderful vacation in Edmonton, which of course wasn't cheap.

It just seems like this is all coming together really close and with trying to save a buck here and there it's like a penny saved is now $100's of dollars spent and our poor animals are getting sick. It's heartbreaking to watch them suffer and it's coming to a point where I am getting concerned about my savings and don't know if I can continue to afford these vet bills. If more of this comes up in the next little while there may not be much for Christmas.

Right now I could just use some really good thoughts and prayers my way for my little Maiden who is at the vet getting tests done. If all goes well then she will need some medication for a while and watching to see that she's eating. We're hoping this is the case.

If anyone knows anything about pet insurance and where would be a good place to start looking more deeply into this, it would really help.

[walkonby]

Would pet insurance really help if the animals are already kind of ill? I have always felt the pet insurance was a bit of a scam in that you pay premiums and many things are not covered. I'm sorry this is costing you so much money, but I know that our pets become our babies and we find it hard not to get them the best treatment.
I hope you do find something that can help with the costs.

[lekate]

Since your pets currently have health issues they may not be eligible for pet insurance, and most I've read up on don't cover many illnesses anyways....

Just out of curiosity what kind of food are they on/were on?

[floweredangel]

Would pet insurance really help if the animals are already kind of ill? I have always felt the pet insurance was a bit of a scam in that you pay premiums and many things are not covered. I'm sorry this is costing you so much money, but I know that our pets become our babies and we find it hard not to get them the best treatment.
I hope you do find something that can help with the costs.

My pets are my babies. I'd do pretty much whatever I could for them. They're both about 9 years old and prior to this we thought they were in great health! In the years we've had them (7.5) they've never had any health problems except my little girl Maiden is overweight. Guess it's catching up to her now?

Since your pets currently have health issues they may not be eligible for pet insurance, and most I've read up on don't cover many illnesses anyways....

Just out of curiosity what kind of food are they on/were on?

Guess I'll have to approach an actual company that offers it to find out more. Both cats were previously on completely dry food. My male cat is on prescription wet food and my female is on Friskies or Whiskas wet food now. It's been a month since they were switched to completely wet food. Maiden was eating the wet food (though not very much and has lost weight), but over the last couple days she stopped eating entirely.

[ginger150]

Pet insurance does not cover existing conditions. Otherwise people would sign up only once their pet got ill, that is how it was explained to me.

[MillieH]

Pet insurance is best purchased when you get a kitten or puppy.. My personal experience has been that its great to have the first year because they tend to be mischievious but past that unless something shows up in the first year its best to pay the amount into a savings account and save it only for emergencies not routine checkups.. I transfer over 109$ a month for my dogs in case something comes up. I have used pet insurance on my other dog but I found that the vets have gotten like the medical drs.. they really don't listen well, they don't know whats going on and they do random tests that just seem to cost money without producing results. I got a bit disillusoned when my last dog died but I still bought insurance for those two I have now. However I cancelled it when something arose with one of the new dogs and it was handled badly.

With insurance they won't cover pre-existing conditions.. thats a given.. they also charge more for older pets.. I think cat insurance is roughly $10 to $15 a month.. if any anytime in the future you get a new cat just transfer that amount into savings monthly and you'll have a cushion when something happens.

I'm really sorry to hear that you are facing this situation... our pets become our babies pretty fast..

[FallenPixels]

Given the age of the pets, they will ask for a full blood workup for insurance and exclude both pre-existing conditions and anything that can be caused by low or elevated levels shown in the bloodwork (and my perfectly healthy cat has always had some levels show above norm, its normal for him so I am very glad we had a baseline and it doesnt shock and mislead us if he ever does get sick)

The type of cat insurance at $10 a month covers nothing, the ones at $25 have better coverage but at that point you are better off putting it into savings

[lekate]

At least they're on wet food now... Dry food is the worst for cats, I'm...unsure why it's a thing? A word for the wise for anyone reading this, don't want to deal with a diabetic cat? Get them off dry food. Don't want to deal with FUTI? Get them off dry food. Seriously, I'm under the impression vet bills cost more than giving your cat a species appropriate diet (not to mention the health and happiness of your cat)...

Prescription food is a waste, I calculated for a customer the other day that it would cost half as much to buy a 'mid-range' holistic wet food case at my store with quality meats/ingredients vs. the bland crap peddled as 'prescription' food...

Cats are carnivores! Corn covered in animal fat (looking at Whiskas dry specifically) is not a species appropriate food!