Implications of taking on kitten recovered from cat flu

Kittenonthekeys

I'd really welcome people's thoughts and experiences of such a situation.....
In a few days' time we're due to bring our beautiful rescue kitten (about 10 months old) home from the centre.
When she was found, she was suffering badly from cat flu and almost didn't make it, but the dedicated rescue centre nursed her through it and now she's fully recovered and thriving. They told me she would be a carrier for the rest of her life but it wasn't until just now that I learned what serious implications this would have on insurance and finding a boarding cattery willing to accept her if and when we go on holiday in the future, since she would pose a danger to other cats as a lifelong carrier of cat flu.
The boarding issue isn't really a problem as we could get a local pet sitter to come and feed her, but my questions are:
* Do you think it's still worth getting insurance for her (with the exclusion in place) as although anything relating to cat flu would be exempted, the insurers could doubtless manage to find some kind of link to it, in order to wriggle out of paying out any future claim for even an unrelated condition?
* Has anyone here got/had a cat that has survived cat flu, and if so, have they found it to be an ongoing/costly problem if it flares up?
Although we can easily afford all the associated costs of owning a 'normal' cat, and have fallen in love with this one, we sadly don't have the means to cope with the extra costs of a lifelong illness (eg antibiotics for secondary infections, etc) that cannot be insured against .
We still have a few days to 'backpedal' if need be - much as we don't want to - and find a different cat with no issues.
Any advice would be very very much appreciated.

jenny-wren

Our cat turned up on our doorstep just under two years ago so we have no information about her past health. She has a discharge from one eye on and off which our vet reckons could be due to having cat flu as a kitten. She doesn't need any treatment for it other giving the fur below her eye a wipe with a damp face cloth. Our insurance (Pet Plan) won't cover her for anything eye related (or the dental and possible kidney problems) that she had before we took out insurance).

Congrats for welcoming a rescue kitty into your family. As long time cat lovers but first time cat slaves we can't imagine life without our little monkey!

Person_one

If you can't afford to pay for vet treatment without insurance, then this isn't the right cat for you. You can't risk being in the position of having to try and rehome an older, sick cat that needs costly treatment.

If you can, consider taking out a credit card with a big limit and then saving each month to build up a 'vet fund', that's what I did when I first got my dogs.

If not, I would speak to the rescue centre sooner rather than later. Your concerns are valid, and its more sensible to plan ahead and recognise that you may not be able to meet this particular cat's welfare needs for its whole life.

Bear in mind though that if you do get a kitten that is healthy and fully insurable at first, it may have health problems later on that would result in your insurance premiums going through the roof, or companies refusing to insure at all. Is that something you can manage if it happens in 5, 10, 15 years?

Slinky

My childhood cat caught flu in a cattery when we were on holiday, in the days before there was a vaccine. We nursed him through it and he was fine afterwards, never had any problem relating to the flu.


There must have been millions/billions of cats that survived flu since the dawn or time, the vaccine wasn't available 40 years ago.

Kittenonthekeys

Thank you both - two different slants, both very valid and helpful. Jenny-wren, it's good to hear about your positive experiences with your little cat, apart from the insurance exclusions.
I suppose taking on any pet is always a gamble since It's impossible to predict the future.

Person_one, I have two credit cards with different banks, one of which I rarely use, and just keep for emergencies; it would be ideal for that purpose. I'm sure the bank would agree to increase the credit limit if need be.. I always clear any balance each month and have no other debts.
Were you suggesting saving for self-insurance in *addition* to paying insurance premiums for other issues that are not related to cat flu?
Since posting, I found a newly-established insurer, Lifetime Pet Cover, who will insure existing conditions (at reasonable cost) provided the cat has been free from that particular condition for 24 months. So far they seem to have had good reviews (as opposed to some of the big players) so I may consider insuring through them.
Tbh, we'd be heartbroken to reject the cat at this stage, as we've been through so much to get her, home visit, etc. Apart from the flu issue (which I understand many cats have, then recover from - although of course they can be carriers for life) - she's perfect for us in every way, has made an excellent recovery against all the odds - and is growing into a fine young cat. She's got a gentle placid nature and we've fallen in love with her!

Thank you Slinky, crossed posts - that's great to know.

Person_one

Kittenonthekeys wrote: »

Person_one, I have two credit cards with different banks, one of which I rarely use, and just keep for emergencies; it would be ideal for that purpose. I'm sure the bank would agree to increase the credit limit if need be.. I always clear any balance each month and have no other debts.

Were you suggesting saving for self-insurance in *addition* to paying insurance premiums for other issues that are not related to cat flu?

That would be a decision you'd have to make based on your own circumstances, and your attitude to risk!

I've never insured my animals, I started out with a credit card with a £9000 limit on it that I would have used if needed. Then as I earned more I kept a 'vet fund' that I added to each month. My dogs were older, with unknown histories when I got them, so insurance premiums would have been pricey, and even though one dog has cost several thousand in vet bills in the last year and has wiped out most of the fund, I reckon between the two of them, I'm still better off.

That could have been very different of course, but it was a risk I was willing to take and I know that my dogs would never go without treatment because one way or another, the cash would be there upfront even if it needed paying off later. If I had any worry at all that I wouldn't be able to pay for anything they might have needed, I would have insured.

noelphobic

Person_one wrote: »

Bear in mind though that if you do get a kitten that is healthy and fully insurable at first, it may have health problems later on that would result in your insurance premiums going through the roof, or companies refusing to insure at all. Is that something you can manage if it happens in 5, 10, 15 years?

If you take out lifetime insurance and stay with the same insurer then you shouldn't have any problems renewing, although conditions that existed before you went with that particular insurer wouldn't normally be covered.

That doesn't mean the premiums couldn't rocket though.

Kittenonthekeys

I've just emailed that insurer I mentioned above, explaining the situation and asking for more details as to how they classify cat flu. It's a funny one, as it's not exactly ongoing or chronic....
If the worst comes to the worst and they do classify it as a 'chronic' condition, then of course they won't ever cover it, so I think I'd probably end up just taking out a general insurance policy for 'everything else' and opening a savings account to cover the 'flu' elements I can't get insurance for.
But I'll wait and see what kind of response I get from them.

emzi27

We got our cat Mog in 2004. He was a very poorly kitten and the vet advised us to not take him on but we kept him and almost 12 years later he's alive and kicking. The only issues he has had is that he has a low white blood cell count. He's needed anti biotics in the past as he likes a scrap with the neighbour hood cats and has had trouble healing his cuts and scratches. Apart from that no problems at all.

pinkteapot

Are you sure that catteries won't take her?

All the catteries I know insist that cats have an up-to-date flu vaccination. If all their customers are vaccinated, they shouldn't catch cat flu anyway. Ones around here only ask about vaccination history, not whether they've had illnesses in the past... A lot of people with rescue/rehomed cats have no way of knowing if their cat has ever had cat flu before, so the cattery could never know for sure.

You could ring a couple of catteries to check, so you know whether cattery will be an option if you ever have trouble getting a sitter... I know insurance/medical bills is the bigger priority, but I'm not sure that catteries will be the issue you think.

HappyMJ

You can get insurance for the cat against accidents. That certainly won't be linked to previous illnesses. I don't think it would be worth it though but something to consider.

I personally self-insure my pets by putting £50 a month into a savings account set up solely for this purpose. If I claim on the account in the early years then it's highly likely I'll need to use a credit card to make up the difference and if the cat dies before the money is used up then I've saved and the money can be kept for a future pet. The £50 every month covers everything including food, litter, flea and worming treatments (all of which is ordered online using the debit card as payment), annual vet bills for vaccinations and health checks so although it looks like it's more than insurance it also covers regular costs not covered by insurance. £50 a month may not even be enough depending to what extent you would go to if your cat became seriously ill.