Crazy Cat Lady Chapter 4 - The Aftermath 31 December 2019 at 11:00AM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in Debt Free Diaries 1.5K replies 218.3K views

crazy_cat_lady

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. Unfortunately it is the accident prone one that isn't insured... I've decided to cancel. If push came to shove I have an unused, emergency credit card with quite a large limit. It's put away, in case of real emergency. I found £2k for naughty tortie first time round, then another £1k for her second operation. It's expensive business being a responsible pet owner but I do want to be responsible. My vets are pretty good, and I think they would help me in terms of keeping costs down and payments etc. It's a lot of money, that could presently be used elsewhere. I need to get debts paid and then start saving as I used to do.
Pretty quiet day- just getting a little bit stressed about going back to work tomorrow. But it's just the thought of it - I'll be fine once I get there. I'm as planned as I can be without being in my classroom so I'll sort the rest in the morning.
Been to see my mam and caught up with her for a bit - my sister was there as well so a good catch up and natter - good for the soul. I'm home now though, catching up on here then getting ready for work, making sure my bag and clothes are sorted etc. Might have a soak in the bath so I'm relaxed for an early night, and hopefully decent sleep. That's not going so well at the moment.

foxgloves

It's a really tricky one with the pet insurance, CCL. When I adopted my first cat.....a big grey hugely charming tabby whom I loved more than life itself..... This was back in the Spendy Years, so I never had any spare money as was too busy spending it all. I decided not to get pet insurance. My parents had never had it for our family cats, so I thought I'd wing it & just pay as needed. This came to an end when by the end of the first year of owning my stripy grey beauty, he'd cost me over £1000 in vet's bills!! So I insured him in his 2nd year with me (by which time they wouldn't cover the conditions in the 1st year, you know how it is) & was grateful to have the cover as he was a very keen scrapper & was endlessly needing his fight wounds sorted out. We stayed with this insurer (they'd always paid out) for our next cat & I was quite surprised that when he had a problem requiring a special biscuit diet, that they covered us for 6 months' cost of those too. Our current cat is with a different insurer & we haven't had to use them yet, fingers crossed. This is where my questions start, really. Up to now, I'd have said that pet insurance is something I wouldn't be without. But with our current cat, we have been paying in for years since we got him & haven't needed to claim at all. Obviously we're delighted he hasn't needed it, but you have to balance the risk of not paying it, don't you. I think it could be different depending on the cat, maybe, Our current cat has a heart problem, which doesn't need treating yet, but if it does need medication & more vet visits, then having insurance could help with that. But in terms of him ever needing major surgery, I suspect that the vet wouldn't want to subject him to a general anaesthetic with a dodgy heart. Re road accident risk, I remember discussing this with a good friend who had a horse, dogs & cats and didn't have pet insurance. Her view was that if a cat is in a serious road accident requiring the kind of mega surgery & cost we are talking about, then she would always put the kindest option for the cat before her own selfish wanting to save him at all costs. I understand what she means. I like our cats to have the best quality of life possible & that means recognising that in the face of a horrible incident like an rta, that sometimes being pts, however traumatic & sad at the time, is the kindest thing for the animal.
So, my own views on pet insurance are currently wavering. I still have it & will keep it for our current big old boy, but I have also recently set up a 'Meow Fund' savings pot. This will help if an insurance claim is needed, as we are at the stage where his age means we will need to pay an excess & a %, but I will be reviewing it to see if I think just paying more into the 'Meow Fund' instead of insurance might be the way forward in future.
I was shocked at how much you were paying for your cats, CCL. I agree that is a LOT of money to find each year, especially if Naughty Tortie isn't even included.
Anyway, I thought I'd kick in my thoughts.
F x

Buffythedebtslayer

I think your plan is a good one, I have the rabbits and dogs insured but neither insurance covers teeth which is the biggest problem with the bunnies, they are often the reason why I have a credit card bill! The piggies I use savings for.

I am back on Tuesday, I know what you mean, all fine once I am there... XX

SpekySquarehead

Hey CCL!!

I've some catching up to do but I wanted to wish you a very happy new year and a belated merry Christmas, too. As ever, I'm here to cheer you on through lifes ups and downs that we all experience.

crazy_cat_lady

Hello :wave:
I have survived the first day back! It was ok - I was surprisingly productive considering how little sleep I had last night. I was woken by a cat at quarter to three and then I don't think that I managed to get back to sleep properly again after that - just dozed for half hours at a time. As a consequence when the alarm went off at quarter past 6 I was already awake but really not keen on getting up. Anyway, I forced myself up and fed the cats, did the dishes, put the washing in, got ready and was out of the door by quarter past seven. It was still very dark but I can tell it's getting lighter a bit earlier now as it was starting to get light by the time I got to school.
Used my free wisely and got prepped a couple of days ahead, including my cover work for tomorrow afternoon. It's come round quickly but I'm in court again tomorrow afternoon. I presume as I've heard nothing from my solicitor then that means he's heard nothing from the ex. We'll have to wait and see what happens... I get a half day at work (but I think I'd rather be in if I'm honest) and hopefully this time tomorrow I'll be another step closer to getting this situation finished once and for all.
So I'm home, already in my jammies, feet up and waiting for ds to make me a cuppa. He hasn't been back to school today so he should be waiting on me hand and foot. Plans for this evening include nagging ds to pack his school bag, nagging him to have a bath or shower, bit of crochet and then hopefully an early night and a better quality of sleep than I managed last night.

GlendaSugarbean

Good luck for tomorrow!

1LuckyLady

Good luck for tomorrow Ccl. I hope you have a better nights sleep

Honeysucklelou2

Wishing you all the best for tomorrow.

foxgloves

Good luck for tomorrow, CCL. I am so hoping this will start drawing to a conclusion for you. It's gone on for long enough. Fingers crossed for good news.
F x

juliejim

Hope it all gets sorted tomorrow - good luck!

Jue