Pet Illness - Foreign Travel Curtailment

India_Trip_Pet

Dear Fellow Members,

I hope this message finds you well and enjoying your day!

I wanted to reach out to discuss a concern regarding our upcoming trip abroad, as I will be leaving my beloved cats in the care of a pet sitter here in the UK. The sitter will be responsible for feeding, playing with, and cleaning up after them while we’re away.

I am wondering if our current insurance policy provides coverage for travel curtailment due to unforeseen illnesses that might affect our cats while we are traveling. Specifically, I’m curious if we need to seek separate coverage, as I could not find clear information on the policy regarding travel disruptions related to the health of our furry family members.

Any guidance or insights you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your assistance!

 

FlorayG

There are travel insurance policies that cover you having to cancel because your cat or dog is ill, sorry I can't remember which ones specifically but you will need to search; if your current one doesn't specifically cover domestic pets then no, it won't cover you
I tried to get this for my horses but they only cover 'domestic pets'

India_Trip_Pet

Thank you for your reply and much appreciated. I will look up travel insurance and also ask my Bank which covers certain elements of travel related issues including curtailment if a family member falls ill or have to return home if an elderly person falls ill. It doesn't mention anything about pets nor the existing pet insurance says anything about pet owners cover when they travel. 

India_Trip_Pet

I just found out with my Pet Insurance and they do cover when one is traveling abroad and leaving their pets behind with a pet sitter. The amount is very low especially if one is traveling abroad and the costs are much higher if they were to curtail their trip due to any unforeseen illness or pets go missing. 

elsien

Realistically though, are you going to curtail a trip because your pet is ill?
I’m an pet owner and when I go away, I’ll leave my dog in kennels but with strict instructions with whoever my emergency point of contact is to follow the vet’s recommendations - I trust my vet not to do necessary expensive treatment.
If there was a query then most people are contactable while away so my emergency contact or my vet would call/video call if necessary to discuss the options. 

If it’s an emergency, to be perfectly honest, it would usually be sorted by the time you managed to get back anyway. 

My last girl unfortunately had to be put to sleep while I was away. My friend made the decision not to tell me till I got home because it would have achieved nothing and my dog was too poorly to wait till I got back. She was suffering, contacting me wouldn’t have changed anything. 

mr_stripey

realistically if such a policy is available it is likely to be very expensive. The chance of a cat becoming ill or some other emergency is quite high probability wise and the cost of bringing you back from overseas (India, judging by your forum name) is very high.

As Elsien suggest, would it not be better to put life or death decisions into the trust of the sitter, or other family member, to decide on you behalf?

sheramber

When I left my elderly dog with my friend I told her I trusted her and my vet to do what was required , if she bacame ill.

She also had my contact number if necessary.

You should be leaving your pet with someone you trust to deal with any emergency.  You should also guve them authority to act as necessary.

You can also advise your vet that you have given XXX authority to agree to any treatment , if necessary. 
Obviously, your vet doesn't want a complaint about paying for treatment when you are away.

Pet Insurance policies tend to only cover if your pet needs life saving emergency treatment in the days before you go or while you are away, depending on the policy. Your policy document should have a section on ' curtailment of holiday'.

Goodtogo travel insurance do offer some cover on some policies. NOT A RECOMMENDATION. 

Katiehound

in the past I have left an elderly dog  with a trusted person and told her to follow the vet's advice in an emergency. I also contacted the vet and told them who was acting in'loco parentis' if there was an emergency .

 Luckily all was calm. My old girl got to aged 16 with very few vet bills and no insurance over her lifetime.  (I am in the fortunate position that I could fund expensive bills if needed)