Pet insurance for cat.

Soldato
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Had my cat for 21 years without insurance and dogs 16 years but in yorkshire where i lived ,the vets was also a place that trains new vets so it was ridiculously cheap ,i took my amazing dog there from home when i visited parents ,full check over and meds under £20 .
not sure if theres any more around the country but for anyone who is interested ,lives near,just look for Richmond and Bone vets (not joking)
 
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Our 12 year old cat got her ear clawed by a local tomcat a last month so took her to get it checked. That plus antibiotics equaled just over £70. They noticed she had a few dental issues that needed some looking at, which isn't surprising as she she suffered injury requiring multiple extractions few years ago.

We booked her in for that on a follow up for her ear but before she got to it a couple of weeks later she started vomiting. Went back and they checked her, probable gastritis or acid reflux, meds for five days and she how she goes (£70 ish). Thankfully everything settled down.

She went in for the dental work and ended up needing three teeth out and she had a full scale and polish while she was out.

With the health club (£12.99 per month) discount it was about £460. We pay £29.99 for Pet Plan Lifetime cover with £125 excess and 20% to pay on any treatment. We put a claim in but not holding my breath.

The only time I was glad I had insurance was when she was attacked about six years ago and suffered what turned out to be permanent tendon damage in her back right leg. The bill for that with x-ray etc would have been a few thousand and that was put through directly by the vet. Never had any treatment hit the threshold since due to red tape or issues with out of hours vets, and that has mounted up over the past few years.
 
Soldato
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Think it has already been suggested but PetPlan is the only pet insurance I would use and recommend.

Your premiums won't increase due to a claim, not sure of any other pet insurance that does that. Also lifetime cover, with the correct cover.

Also the two vets we have used have just dealt with PetPlan direct, one of the vets said they have trouble getting claims paid with anyone else.
 
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Pretty much guarantee an increase every year once you get past ten years old even without any claims. Existing conditions that will likely increase the risk later in life just increase the amount.
 
Soldato
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Hey guys,

I have a cat 11 years old, I suspect she may need some dental work soon and did have a rough quote from a vet recently at £600 if she needs extractions.

I don't have pet insurance for her, but was wondering is there some kind of insurance I can get to soften the blow of £600!

Anyone any experience with pet insurance? Having look, it appears to be more confusing than car insurance!

Ouch I'm guessing London prices? Both my cats needed dental work, cleaning and extraction and it was £400 for both of them.
 
Soldato
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I know of no pet insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions, at least not without exorbitant fees. At this point you're closing the barn door when the horses have already bolted, at least for this bill. I feel for you; it's potential situations like this that have led us never to have a pet without insurance. Even the rabbits are covered.

I'd highly recommend you insure your animals if you want to avoid wince-inducing bills like this in the future. We use PetPlan's Platinum cover. They've been absolutely excellent with ours; payments are very reasonable, and we've made multiple claims for lifelong conditions.

They're even covered for things like Hydrotherapy and Acupuncture :D
 
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Soldato
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I know of no pet insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions, at least not without exorbitant fees. At this point you're closing the barn door when the horses have already bolted, at least for this bill. I feel for you; it's potential situations like this that have led us never to have a pet without insurance. Even the rabbits are covered.

I'd highly recommend you insure your animals if you want to avoid wince-inducing bills like this in the future. We use PetPlan's Platinum cover. They've been absolutely excellent with ours; payments are very reasonable, and we've made multiple claims for lifelong conditions.

They're even covered for things like Hydrotherapy and Acupuncture :D

Yeh mate, it's definitely been an eye opener regarding the insurance! Funny though, we don't even bat an eyelid at the costs when it comes to our pets, I'd pay anything to make sure she is ok.

With all this talk of the little furball, thought I would share a photo!

A1h564G.png
 
Soldato
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Yeh mate, it's definitely been an eye opener regarding the insurance! Funny though, we don't even bat an eyelid at the costs when it comes to our pets, I'd pay anything to make sure she is ok.

With all this talk of the little furball, thought I would share a photo!

A1h564G.png

Absolutely gorgeous :D

I don't doubt for a second that you'd do anything to make sure she's happy and healthy. People who don't have pets don't seem to understand that they're family, just as much as a human.

I think most people have been in the same boat Tbh, we certainly have. You'd do anything to look after them properly, and it's only until you've had a vet kick you in the knackers that you think "should have had insurance".

I know some see it as a rip-off, or unnecessary. The way we look at it, we'd rather have a monthly charge we know we can afford, than end up with a bill that either a) makes your knees go weak, or b) God forbid, we couldn't afford.

I recently had a change in circumstance; I had to sell most of my gadgets, huge lifestyle adjustments and very careful consideration and cutbacks on our finances. One of the few things we decided we absolutely had to keep, was pet insurance. If anything, it's more important than ever.

Really glad you're little one is OK mate. As before, highly recommend PetPlan; they do multi-pet discounts, and fees are very reasonable without sudden claims. They're not the cheapest, but they're fast to pay out, give great service, and offer multiple tiers depending on what suits you.

Everyone we know highly recommends them, and our vet (a keen cat lover!) raves about them :)
 
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Thanks a lot Wanton! I think I was always a bit lax about the insurance as she was a house cat from birth and thought she was less at risk, just keep vaccines up to date and she'll be ok!

I will definitely have a look at PetPlan as I am still within the 14 day cancellation period for pure pets.

Will update this thread when she has her procedure on Friday morning! Cheers guys.
 
Soldato
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How did everything go mate?

Hey buddy, sorry forgot to update this thread! Mad few months haha.

Cleo had her procedure, they removed 5 teeth and it cost about £600, she's been great ever since and much happier.

She did have a week back in May where she was vomiting every night for 5 days straight a foamy clear substance, so i took her to the vet and they did a urine dip and check up and said no kidney problems, gave me some omeprazole for her and she#s been fine ever since, cost £140 though!

Thanks for concern mate, Cleo is all good now and it's kinda cute when she yawns as she has one upper fang on the left and one fang on the lower right lol.
 
Soldato
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Hey buddy, sorry forgot to update this thread! Mad few months haha.

Cleo had her procedure, they removed 5 teeth and it cost about £600, she's been great ever since and much happier.

She did have a week back in May where she was vomiting every night for 5 days straight a foamy clear substance, so i took her to the vet and they did a urine dip and check up and said no kidney problems, gave me some omeprazole for her and she#s been fine ever since, cost £140 though!

Thanks for concern mate, Cleo is all good now and it's kinda cute when she yawns as she has one upper fang on the left and one fang on the lower right lol.

£600 isn't quite bad really, our cat had £14k worth of ops over 2 years.

Glad to hear it went well though! A nice piece of good news for a change!
 
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