Spill the beans... on how to care for Fido or Tiddles for less

superlative

Another vote for diatomaceous earth, both for fleas, by putting it both on the coat and in their bedding/around your home, and for worms, putting it in their food. Natural, non-chemical, and pretty cheap.

The only caution is it can be drying to their skin.

I got mine from: http://diatomx.co.uk/

rising_from_the_ashes

MrsAverage wrote: »

Any tips on how to get my cats to eat garlic?
One seems particularly allergic to either fleas or flea treatments

Please do your research before doing this (loads of info online).

Garlic can be toxic to both cats and dogs so you do need to be careful with the amount given (if you still want to give it knowing that!) http://www.petsbynature.com/Garlic-Can-Be-Deadly.html

ericthelobster

If you buy a pedigree puppy, chances are it comes with 4 weeks' free insurance courtesy of the Kennel Club. "Great" you think; that gives you 4 weeks to do all the research and find the optimum policy.

But no. False economy.

My new labrador puppy came with the 4-week policy. During that period, she had a urine infection which was treated, and cleared up. (Cost was below the policy excess, but hey...)

Come the end of the 4 weeks, when I'd done all me insurance research, I found that to renew the Kennel Club policy would cost over £35/month for their basic no-extras policy (nothing to do with the infection which I hadn't even mentioned). I got quotes from a lot of other insurers; the next most expensive was only £25; but I ended up buying one from John Lewis at £16 for lifetime cover, £7,000 cover per year.

The rub is that by taking this cover, I will never be able to claim for any treatment bladder or kidney related during the lifetime of my dog, due to the recent urine infection. The only way to cover that would be to stay with the KC insurance, at their whopping premium which I can't afford - so I'm going to have to take that risk. If I hadn't had that damned policy, I would have taken out the John Lewis policy on day 1, and would now be covered for anything waterworks-related.

So there's my top tip...

krlyr

I'm surprised that insurance companies would rule out anything 'waterworks' related because of a bladder infection as a pup - it's not as if it's a lifetime condition in itself. It may be worth seeing if they will accept a letter from your vet stating that the UTI was a one-off, not caused by any deformity or kidney problems, to see if John Lewis will decide to cover these issues.

Jemma130

If you have leftovers from your dinner, feed them to the dogs - ours love spaghetti bolognaise or leftover fish pie. Also, use up every part of the chicken's meat when having a sunday roast - all our cats and dogs get a bit!

ericthelobster

krlyr wrote: »

I'm surprised that insurance companies would rule out anything 'waterworks' related because of a bladder infection as a pup - it's not as if it's a lifetime condition in itself. It may be worth seeing if they will accept a letter from your vet stating that the UTI was a one-off, not caused by any deformity or kidney problems, to see if John Lewis will decide to cover these issues.

Well - having been wise to this issue I checked the small print from lots of insurers, and this 'feature' was universal as far as I could see.

And have a look at this post:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=1073289&postcount=12

Having decided on one particular policy (regardess), I don't see any value in getting into a 'what if' discussion with them about the rights and wrongs of whether I'm covered for specific waterworks problems; hopefully my dog won't have any such problems but I can assure you if she does, the insurers will have a fight on their hands!

Missconduct

snowman2 wrote: »

That doesn't apply to all vaccinations and for Feline Leukaemia in particular is way too long to leave between vaccinations - you wont have full cover. There are several other posters who are giving dangerous advice about vaccinations who are not vets. Animals will die because of some of the advice given. Vaccination protocols are something to discuss with your vet with relation to the area you live in, diseases that are common and your pets personal circumstances.

Vaccination saves lives. Talk to your vet about it, don't read dangerous threads on the internet

Talk to the person who has a vested financial interest in selling me annual boosters, you mean? That said, I have asked my vet for an explanation and the evidence for their having advocated the same for the years that I have been their client, and am still waiting.

Can you please provide the evidence for your statements.