Sigh...cat's tooth, and insurance

TripleH

We noticed our cat would only eat food with one side of her mouth which is how we worked out she had a tooth issue (when we took her to the vets).

It fixed the problem but sadly we think she never fully recovered and passed a few weeks later. It was worth the better quality of life at the end looking at the photos of her.

sheramber

dgerrard said:

Groan...about 4 months ago, vet told us that our cat has a bit of tooth decay, and she recommended she have the tooth out before it gets worse.  Cat isn't showing any sign of pain & we've been busy, have now booked to have it pulled on 4th March.

Reached out to double-check today, and found out that the John Lewis pet insurance we've been paying £60 a month for since 2020 on their top tier plan, doesn't cover dental work unless it's the "result of an accident". Their new policies all do, of course, but we're apparently on the OLD plan even though they charge us more every year.

So now have to choose between, ignoring the vet's advice that we have our cats tooth pulled now as there's some decay (although she shows no signs of discomfort). Or ponying up £1000 to have it pulled, on top of the ~£4000 we've spent on the insurance that helps us nought.

Anyone ever dealt with similar? I can't imagine there's any way I can convince them to cover...maybe bribe the vet to say it's caused by an accident? 😅

If you don’t get it removed you may have an even higher bill if complications develop.

sheramber

DullGreyGuy said:

elsien said:

Many policies don’t cover dental work as a rule. I will disagree with DullGreyGuy though – to those that do cover it you don’t need to see a dentist every year. 

Then tell JL/RSA that they are wrong as its note 3 at the bottom of their website https://www.johnlewisfinance.com/insurance/pet-insurance @elsien... wasnt talking in general but explicitly the policy the OP is referring to.

A dental check up is normally a normal part of your pet’s annual check up when any booster vax are also given. 

You do not need to book a specific dental check up unless you do not get routine annual check ups. 

You also need to check how strict 12 months is applied.  It has been known for a claim to be refused because the check up was 13 months later instead of 12 months 
.

KittenChops

We took in my grandparents' cat when my granddad died some years back, she was probably around 8-10 years old at the time.  Within the first year or two, she had 2 (maybe 3, I can't remember now) vet appointments to remove teeth - on the last one they removed all of her teeth except her fangs (oh she was in so much pain after that and was on opiates for pain relief - but once healed up, she was fine & lived for several more years.
My grandparents fed her Felix wet food, and it was the only thing she would eat (and then, only one specific type and only 3 flavours) - if you look at the ingredients for this & similar products, there is very little meat/fish in them (4% per pouch) - some people say it's the equivalent of only feeding your kids McDonalds.  I am almost certain that the reason for her extreme tooth decay was down to this type of food, packed with sugars. 
The cat we have now, is only fed decent, high protein food - so once you've sorted this issue, I would recommend that you think about changing your cats diet if it's currently eating similar wet food.

TripleH

Although the only one of our cats who eats high quality food all the time can have atrocious halitosis and has to have a toothbrush.