is pet insurance worth it for a cat/kitten?

Deals_2

tesco and get the points too? or ist there better around? thanks

Deals wrote: »

tahnks for any tips

74jax

I'm a believer in any insurance is only worth it if it pays out. Yes you have peace of mind in having the insurance but if you don't claim you're effectively out of pocket. My parent;s insist on the most expensive household insurance 'just incase' then had a leak int he roof, and had completely redo the bathroom. They wouldn't claim as they didn't want their policies affected???!?!?!? I even had one chap from the local office phone them to say they were covered and this is what insurance is for. I have dog insurance and within aout 4 months they had to pay out almost £3k for my poorly pup.

If yu don't actually need the insurance as you could cover any 'minor injury', why nt put the money away each month, earn interest and if you need it then it's there, if you don't you can spend it in many years to come.

wannabepennypincher

One thing to remember about insurance as well is that if your cat gets sick suddenly then that condition is exempt from all future policies. You may have enough put by for the intial treatment but if you cat gets something like diabetes then the costs really stack up. My cat devolped diabetes after an almost lethal bout of pancreatitis (sp), and everytime I pick up his meds I'm so grateful that it's there.

It's also worth asking your vet beforehand is they accept direct payments from any insurance companies if you don't think you would have the money to hand if the worst happened. My vet only takes direct payments from petplan so we went with them. Even though it really really annoyed me at the time we got 6 weeks free for all 4 moggies and when we got the bill for £1.400 I was really glad I checked beforehand.

It is a gamble but even young cats can get ill with things like cystitis or run over so it's not just something for older cats prone to illness.

cazcox

I personally dont use pet insurance, never really looked into it, but i may be a bit tight!a couple of people i know have insurence for there dogs and cats and have never had to use it, its a lot of money to spend.

catflea

To date, I have paid out approx £54 in premiums and claimed over £800 back. So well well worth it for me!

I've opted now to go for petplan as my vet will deal with them directly and its a little more expensive. The way I view it though is that for £11 a month (whats that, 3 pints?) I know that Dave will be able to be treated for anything that happens and I wont be left scrabbling for pennies. Also, that £800 claimed back effectivly covers him for the next five and a half years and I simply cannot believe that he wont do something silly (like headbutting a moving car!) again in that time scale.

Conversely when I was a young'un we had Charlie the rescue cat. Throughout his entire life he was never insured and aside from the regular visits for vaccinations etc he never went to the vet, that is until his last month or so - where he racked up a bill of about £400 - but for a 13 year old cat thats equiv to £2.50 a month by my calcularions so significantly cheaper than insuring him.

Its swings and roundabouts really. I guess its a matter of how lucky you feel and how you would pay if the worst happened. Personally, I am in favour of insurance.

kr15snw

YES YES YES!!

My brothers kitten managed to climb out of their window (still not sure how he got out a space that small) which was on the 3rd floor. He broke his spine and 2 legs. Brother couldnt afford the full treatment and he wasn't insured

Poor little thing.

rita-rabbit

Depends

I have never taken it out for mine - years ago there was alot less medical intervention for pets & my longest living cat wore a flea collar, & was spayed, only after she got old (over 10) & into a fair few scapes: RTA & fight damage did I start taking her for annual vaccs & checkups. She had access to a garden but was v homely (ie didn't wander far).

I now have two cats - one is a sometimes outdoor - when he can b bothered (or I cannot be entirely sure how many nights he sleeps out due to the catflap) & the other is a housecat. I looked into insurance & discovered it's run along similar lines to car insurance! They are both senior cats now - approx 10 & 8 and every year they get older I think about it.

Indoor cats are less likely to come to harm. However wear & tear through age & illness that develop cannot be predicted in any pet - indoor or not.

I would be interested to know if there are different policies for indoor or other cats actually?

crackerberry

wannabepennypincher wrote: »

One thing to remember about insurance as well is that if your cat gets sick suddenly then that condition is exempt from all future policies. You may have enough put by for the intial treatment but if you cat gets something like diabetes then the costs really stack up. My cat devolped diabetes after an almost lethal bout of pancreatitis (sp), and everytime I pick up his meds I'm so grateful that it's there.

It's also worth asking your vet beforehand is they accept direct payments from any insurance companies if you don't think you would have the money to hand if the worst happened. My vet only takes direct payments from petplan so we went with them. Even though it really really annoyed me at the time we got 6 weeks free for all 4 moggies and when we got the bill for £1.400 I was really glad I checked beforehand.

It is a gamble but even young cats can get ill with things like cystitis or run over so it's not just something for older cats prone to illness.

I've just renewed my policy again and before doing so rang my vets. Looking at my cat's medical history she mentioned conditions which wouldn't me covered. The one that my ears picked up on was that according to them because I'd had the cat there before because she wasn't eating/was off her food and losing weight (thats what they have on their records - the actual reason was she was off her food because of tooth decay and later had some teeth removed) she wouldn't be covered for anything now that involved her not eating, losing weight and being off her food.

I hope that woman was being just a jobs worth because otherwise that exclusion would pretty much mean a heap of illnesses wouldn't be covered if a symptom of it is that the pet is off its food?

medini

We always put off getting pet insurance for one excuse or another and didn't think we would ever need it.

Last November something terrible happened. We had a 2 year old male cat and a 6 month old female cat. Both of them somehow managed to drink anti-freeze whilst out and about within a day of each other.

Both got taken into the vets for emergency treatment. My poor little girl Noodles didn't make it and died in her sleep after struggeling on for a week in agony. My boy Ozzy was going the same way, but through some sort or miracle managed to pull through and survive. We got him back after a 3 week vet stay, he was weak and had lost so much weight you could see his ribs. He was coverd in bald patches as the vet had shaved him to put a drip in. The Vet said he had seen larger animals with a lower toxin level not survive and he had no idea how he had managed it!

Thankfully we have a fantastic amazing vet who only charged £400 for the treatment and vet stay, he even let us pay in two paymnets, but even then we struggled to pay the bill.

We now have insurance on both Ozzy and our new cat Lola. I realise I was incredibly lucky with having the vet that we do and I feel stupid for not taking it out sooner. It made me realise that with any other vet I could have been forced to decide between paying for treatment or having them put down, and that was a choice I could never make.

rita-rabbit

I would be interested to know if there are different policies for indoor or other cats actually?

Indoor cats are less likely to come to harm. However wear & tear through age & illness that develop cannot be predicted in any pet - indoor or not.