Insurance for a nearly 17 year old cat? What would you do?

bacardi66

Hi

I really would welcome some advice. My mum and my friends I have asked all have given the same opinion that I should cancel my cat insurance but I have doubts.

My cat is nearly 17 appears to be in good health, still enjoys life etc etc. I recently got the renewal for his insurance and it is over £50 a month :eek: I am really struggling financially at the moment with a massive mortgage and also threatened redundancy so am trying to save all I can.

I really don't know whether to carry on with cat insurance or just to put the money in a savings account in case he does need treatment for something. Because he is old and has had a great life tbh if he was in a road accident or got something like cancer I would have him put to sleep as I wouldn't want him to suffer or live a life that wasn't 100% enjoyable. Plus he is absolutely terrifed of vets and strange environments so the stress would probably finish him off if nothing else.

I just can't decide what to do. It's not just a financial thing, I love him to pieces and wish I could have him with me forever. If something did happen to him and it was easily treatable but expensive I wouldn't think twice about putting it on my credit card. Im more than happy to buy him the best quality food, pay for regular check ups at the vet and everything else he needs.

But now Im paying over £600 a year for something that (hopefully) I will never need.

Oh Im so torn!!

Please tell me what you would do :undecided

Many thanks

sarabe

I would feel the same as you do that if anything was to happen that needed expensive medical treatment you just wouldn't put a cat of his age through it.

Minniethemoocher

We had an uninsured cat that lived to be 24 years old.

The last year of his life he was on blood pressure pills and thyroid pills plus steroids. His veterinary care was very expensive and I regretted the fact that he was not insured, but he was 17 years old when we got him so too old to insure then.

SnowyOwl_2

I think your £50 per month would be better in your own pocket rather than the insurer's. Did they put up the excess as well by any chance? If you go the self insure route and your cat continues to enjoy good health then that money is in the bank. If he doesn't enjoy good health you still have the vet's services at your disposal, and some money to pay for them. You mention that you'd use your credit card, so of course using MSE you could shift that debt around to the best card available should you need to put some vet bills onto it.

bacardi66

Thank you for all your replies - I think its confirmed what I was veering towards doing and I will cancel the insurance.

Snowy Owl - the excess is £50, Ive never claimed on his insurance since I took it out (probably when he was about 3) the last time I took him for veterinary treatment (other than annual jabs, worming etc) it was for an abscess which cost £52! So little point claiming on the insurance!

Minniethemoocher - thanks for your reply although I can't imagine what the insurance premium would be should he live to be as old as your cat, if its £50 now (£10 more than last year) and he isn't even 17 by the time he was 23 it would be astronomical!:eek:

geri1965_2

I think you might be doing the right thing. I've always had my cats insured, and I never claimed until Spook got cancer, and we spent about £200-£300 on vets bills (claimed back from the insurance) in the few months before she died.

With the benefit of hindsight, I'm not sure the couple of extra months we kept her alive for was worth it, it was upsetting for us and I'm doubtful about the quality of life she had. If I had to go through it again with one of my others, I think I might opt for no treatment and just decide to put to sleep.

bacardi66

geri1965 wrote: »

I think you might be doing the right thing. I've always had my cats insured, and I never claimed until Spook got cancer, and we spent about £200-£300 on vets bills (claimed back from the insurance) in the few months before she died.

With the benefit of hindsight, I'm not sure the couple of extra months we kept her alive for was worth it, it was upsetting for us and I'm doubtful about the quality of life she had. If I had to go through it again with one of my others, I think I might opt for no treatment and just decide to put to sleep.

Thank you for your post Geri - Ive had friends who have been through similar experiences which made me think that in certain instances I would opt to put my cat down rather than prolong his life if it was of dubious quality. Its so hard though because you love them you want to keep them with you for as long as possible.

Mice_Elf

My cats are 15 & insured & to be honest we were grateful(-ish) of it when one came home with a broken leg. My policy document stated £99 excess (with no asterisks or anything to suggest additional information should be used), but then in the dinky small-print, hidden amongst the rest of the War-and-Peace sized blurb, was that if the cat was over 12, then 35% PLUS policy excess would be required.

So, we received treatment for Jamie-cat. Unfortunately his back leg had to be amputated, but it only cost us around £250 with all the x-rays, medication & overnight stays he needed before the operation, rather than nearly £1,000. However, the 35% of the bill was a bit of a shock as I was expecting just £99. He too still has a great life, doesn't look or act 15 & was still hunting. In fact everyone at the vets couldn't believe that he was that old, as they thought he was around 4 or 5. I've had him since he was 10 weeks old & his mum was a friend's cat, so I know he's definitely that old!

He's now happily hopping around on 3 legs & I hope has a good few years left in him yet. Not sure if he's still hunting, as the tumour only happened at the back end of Sept / early Oct last year. Had been older or with an already low quality of life, we would probably opted to have him put down. As it was we were uncertain how he would deal with the anaesthetic at 15.

That said, we only pay £9.82 for each of our 3 15-year-old cats & £9.27 for the 13-year old one. I'm not convinced that it's worth paying a lower monthly premium if the treatment bill will be higher, or to pay a higher monthly fee to make treatment cheaper. Or even if it's worth having the insurance at all! I suspect it is, really. Although I could put £40 in a savings account each month & receive the interest, small though it will be.

becky4131

What insurance company are you with if you don't mind me asking?

50 pound is a lot of money each month for insurance of a cat. My last cat was 18 when he died and i only paid 13 pound a month insurance right up until his death. I claimed for the last 7 years of his life (hyperthyroidism) but the premium never changed much.

bacardi66

Hi Becky

Im with Tesco insurance - am beginning to wonder why Im paying so much as you paid so much less than me and mice_elf only pays £9!!:think:

My cat is just an ordinary moggy not some exotic pedigree, he does go out so I dont know if that affects the insurance? Also I live in London so don't know if that makes it more expensive?!

When I first got the insurance out (for two young cats) Tesco was the cheapest quote I got - obviously not so cheap in the long run! The thing is now its impossible to get insurance for a cat over 10 or 11 so I wouldn't be able to take it out with another company

Mice_Elf

Try Animal Friends Insurance - that's who I'm with & they insure for over 10/11 years old. I only started with them in the last couple of years.

That said, do bear in mind that you will pay 35% of the final vet's bill as well as the excess.