Do you insure your cats? Who do you use?

kinger8938

kinger8938

kinger8938

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As title really.

We used to when we first got ours, but after 2-3 years we never used it so cancelled

4 years later he's had to go to the vet this week and cost us £400ish (which was the lesser option, if they had to do more for him it would have been £1000)

He's at home on a course of meds but today has started to act unwell again so probably not the end of this ordeal. I understand insurance won't help us with this now as I imagine it would be a "pre-existing" condition going forward.

So that's made me consider looking at it again. Think we had pet plan before. Swings and roundabouts I guess. If we had it from when we got him and didn't use it until now we would have spent £1500-2000 so far over that time.

What do you all do, who do you use etc?

Thanks!
 
I read the title as ‘do you INSERT your cats’

Came in expecting shenanigans. Leaving disappointed. Though not totally as there was a black bin post already.
 
It's something to do with his bladder. He's randomly squatting around the house straining and then nothing comes out. Then he washes his bits for ages/over grooms.

They originally put it down to cystitis brought on by stress after we returned from a week away. So they just gave him pain meds and he was fine, took those for a week. Then a week after than he started doing it again :(

So had to leave him there for the day, they found his bladder was full so potentially blocked. They needed him to wee for a sample. If he did, then it would be £300-400ish.. if he didn't, they would have to put him under and manually get in there and drain it (upward of £1000)

Luckily they managed to squeeze his bladder essentially and he emptied it etc. So was the cheaper option with an appointment booked for next Friday to see how he is.

Few days on and he's acting a bit odd again. Madness.

Will have to see how he is over night and call tomorrow if he keeps it up. Just 7 years of no medical issues at all, think we got too comfortable
 
kinger8938 said:
It's something to do with his bladder. He's randomly squatting around the house straining and then nothing comes out. Then he washes his bits for ages/over grooms.

They originally put it down to cystitis brought on by stress after we returned from a week away. So they just gave him pain meds and he was fine, took those for a week. Then a week after than he started doing it again :(

So had to leave him there for the day, they found his bladder was full so potentially blocked. They needed him to wee for a sample. If he did, then it would be £300-400ish.. if he didn't, they would have to put him under and manually get in there and drain it (upward of £1000)

Luckily they managed to squeeze his bladder essentially and he emptied it etc. So was the cheaper option with an appointment booked for next Friday to see how he is.

Few days on and he's acting a bit odd again. Madness.

Will have to see how he is over night and call tomorrow if he keeps it up. Just 7 years of no medical issues at all, think we got too comfortable
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I had a similar issue with a female cat I took in at the beginning of the year, took her to the vets and they could not really find anything immediately wrong, so prescribed her a course of "CatEase" from Miplan.. from what I understand they basically help chill out stressed cats. Worked a treat for my girl, could be worth a try if it began after you had been away for a week.

You didn't say, was the cat in a cattery for your week away or just fed by neighbors / friends / family? I only ask as perhaps they either picked something up, or didn't agree with the food they were getting if they were in a cattery.
 
Devilman said:
I had a similar issue with a female cat I took in at the beginning of the year, took her to the vets and they could not really find anything immediately wrong, so prescribed her a course of "CatEase" from Miplan.. from what I understand they basically help chill out stressed cats. Worked a treat for my girl, could be worth a try if it began after you had been away for a week.

You didn't say, was the cat in a cattery for your week away or just fed by neighbors / friends / family? I only ask as perhaps they either picked something up, or didn't agree with the food they were getting if they were in a cattery.
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Thanks for the reply, that's a good suggestion definitely worth looking at.

We haven't been away for years so was a big change for him. Bloody worried as we have 4 days away again at the end of July.

We had a family member come by and spend some time with him/feed/let out etc and during that time he was said to be fine. Just when we got back we noticed right away. That was about 3-4 weeks ago then it calmed down and came back then we took him in for the costly visit.

Hopefully by the morning today's meds will have taken off and he may be a bit better but not really sure how this is helping long term if by the end of the course it just starts again.

Definitely will get insurance now, even on a comparison site Tesco's and other big name ones can be had for a fair price per month.

Just not sure if this now counts as a condition as they haven't really nailed it down just yet. Though we wouldn't try to claim on this one now as it's already underway if that makes sense.
 
kinger8938 said:
Thanks for the reply, that's a good suggestion definitely worth looking at.

We haven't been away for years so was a big change for him. Bloody worried as we have 4 days away again at the end of July.

We had a family member come by and spend some time with him/feed/let out etc and during that time he was said to be fine. Just when we got back we noticed right away. That was about 3-4 weeks ago then it calmed down and came back then we took him in for the costly visit.

Hopefully by the morning today's meds will have taken off and he may be a bit better but not really sure how this is helping long term if by the end of the course it just starts again.

Definitely will get insurance now, even on a comparison site Tesco's and other big name ones can be had for a fair price per month.

Just not sure if this now counts as a condition as they haven't really nailed it down just yet. Though we wouldn't try to claim on this one now as it's already underway if that makes sense.
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Yep, hopefully it's nothing medical / serious and just some stress from your visit away. As I say the girl I got as a rescue at the beginning of the year had been abandoned by the previous family, briefly housed by a friend and then I took her in, so she had a lot of disruption in a short space of time and I guess the stress built up. I'll be honest I was doubtful at first that these "CatEase" would really do anything, seemed a bit like a "wishy washy" notion of "oh she's a bit stressed, this should help", but it really did seem to make a difference and she's right as rain since :)

It is worth noting however, that *most* insurance for pets have a "lead-in" clause if you like, typically you cannot really claim for something in the first month or so of the policy, also they can often be reluctant to cover any kind of "pre-existing" condition / treatment the animal may have been undergoing prior to the insurance being taken out, so be mindful of the fact that it may well not cover you for the current issues you are experiencing with your kitty :)
 
Devilman said:
Yep, hopefully it's nothing medical / serious and just some stress from your visit away. As I say the girl I got as a rescue at the beginning of the year had been abandoned by the previous family, briefly housed by a friend and then I took her in, so she had a lot of disruption in a short space of time and I guess the stress built up. I'll be honest I was doubtful at first that these "CatEase" would really do anything, seemed a bit like a "wishy washy" notion of "oh she's a bit stressed, this should help", but it really did seem to make a difference and she's right as rain since :)

It is worth noting however, that *most* insurance for pets have a "lead-in" clause if you like, typically you cannot really claim for something in the first month or so of the policy, also they can often be reluctant to cover any kind of "pre-existing" condition / treatment the animal may have been undergoing prior to the insurance being taken out, so be mindful of the fact that it may well not cover you for the current issues you are experiencing with your kitty :)
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Thanks and yeah that's what I'm assuming regarding insurance. I'm more thinking of taking it for the future, not for what we are currently dealing with as I agree there's grace periods and issues of not cover existing conditions etc.

Just the thought of £1000 bill out of the blue has made me reconsider getting him insured again going forward :)

Thanks for the tips
 
kinger8938 said:
Thanks and yeah that's what I'm assuming regarding insurance. I'm more thinking of taking it for the future, not for what we are currently dealing with as I agree there's grace periods and issues of not cover existing conditions etc.

Just the thought of £1000 bill out of the blue has made me reconsider getting him insured again going forward :)

Thanks for the tips
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Yes absolutely, at the end of last year I had to have a kitty put to sleep due to developing a growth at the front of his abdomen and becoming massively anemic, to the point he almost experienced respiratory collapse. He truly was one of a kind and I really regret not being able to afford the £2000+ bill it would have been to try and save him.

That is ultimately what drove me to insure my new boy, who's a Russian Blue (Thankfully not at extortionate breeder prices) he was owned by a family along with his brother, who unfortunately was killed by a car and the family did not want the same to happen to my boy, so put him up for sale to a quiet country home :) (Seems like they got them as "Covid Kittens" as he was a year old and had still not been neutered!)
 
I have next doors cat, she chills with me in the garden ect craves attention and cuddles strokes ect ,but goes home to be fed and they get the bills really good for mental health
 
I think we're with Animal Friends insurance. I've thankfully never had to use it but it seemed a fairly competitive price.
 
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