cat health insurance..

I have been reading so much lately about cats being put to sleep not because there is nothing that can be done to save them, but rather because the bill would be too expensive, the owner cannot afford it, etc..
This just scares me so much, because I don't really have a lot of emergency vet savings. I have about $200 that's set aside just for a cat illness, that's not nearly enough. Of course I have my credit card which has a more than sufficient credit limit which I would use if it came to that, but I'd be putting myself in a really, really bad financial situation with no job.
Of course I should also mention that I don't have any income, I'm in college.

I've been thinking recently how different it is with people than it is with animals- you never hear a parent to a human child talking about how they can't afford a doctor's bill so they will just have to let their kid suffer through whatever problem they have, in our society that's neglect..Well maybe not everyone feels the same way about their pets, but I certainly do and I know a lot of people on here do as well..I want to be 100% certain that won't happen to my animal..I feel like the only way I can do that is to get him insurance.

I already feel kinda sad because I feel like the whole establishment of veterinary medicine is guilty of neglect, like I know if a little boy is sick, throwing up everything he's eating, you never have the doctor saying "well just keep an eye on him for the next few days, I don't see anything wrong", of course not in humans we investigate the problem until we know exactly what's wrong and if we don't know then we hospitalize people and give them fluids, etc..

But with pets that's not what a lot of vets do based on what I've been reading lately But anyway I am really freaked out and scared by this, mostly based on what I've been reading and based on my own experiences with vets..

So yea sorry for the diversion, I really just want some suggestions for pet insurance. Do you have it, which provider do you use, and how does the whole thing work??
How do they even know that the pet you buy insurance for is the same pet you take with you to the vet??
I am just confused about how all this could possibly work..

No and I wont get it ... I looked at several and all excluded any illness within 6-18 months ( so a uri or uti would not be covered) ... One of mine had surgery a few days ago , with a down payment the clinic is letting me make payments( payments less than a monthly insurence)_

It would cost me a fortune each month to have insurance for all my kitties and my vet is good and if I am struggling lets me pay bit by bit. x

Originally Posted by sharky

No and I wont get it ... I looked at several and all excluded any illness within 6-18 months ( so a uri or uti would not be covered) ... One of mine had surgery a few days ago , with a down payment the clinic is letting me make payments( payments less than a monthly insurence)_

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Do you mean that when you get the insurance, you have to wait 6-18 months for them to start covering illnesses? That really sucks It seems like a really long time.

The one I'm looking at says congenital disorders are not covered. Are there any congenital disorders that don't show any symptoms until the cat is an adult?? If so that's a big problem.

Then the other issue is that it says elective procedures are not covered...well if my vet won't do his job and won't try to get to the bottom of the issue (like a previous vet did for my hamster) then it will be considered an elective procedure

I am looking at VPI pet, there is a plan for only $16 that covers common illnesses, injuries and chronic illnesses, excluding vaccines and routine things which I can take care of..
That seems like very cheap. I am sure I can pay extra for whatever else I may need for him..anyone have this specific insurance and have any experiences they can share?

Basically it is insurence and just like humans the companies for the most part try to pay out the least amount... I looked into it when my 3 two yrs olds were 11 and 18 months . They would not have covered the surgery Sylvie just had calling it pre existing as he had surgery at 8 months

Carolinalima would be one to PM as she has Good experience with insurence

You have to read the policies carefully as well. Many of the pet insurance companies expect you to pay the bill first, then they will decide if the procedure was covered and reimburse you for whatever part they want.

IMO, I think most vets are like most human doctors - they'd love to do everything and anything to help heal a patient - but not every pet parent has the financial resources to manage - and, sad to say, it's the same case with human patients who don't have insurance, or limited insurance, or who don't have unlimited funds in their checking accounts.

Many many health care professionals, vets and MDs, do tons of pro bono or discounted work - but they have staffs to pay and families to feed, just like everyone else. It's not negligence, I think, at least in most cases - but how can your practice spend thousands of dollars and never see reimbursement - over and over again?

You have to carefully examine the insurance policies - and, as said, most, even the 'good' ones, don't pay up front - you're reimbursed for 'reasonable and customary', and take a very careful look at what's considered pre-existing or how they treat chronic conditions. It's heartbreaking, it is - but insurance as it stands now is a business, and not always, or often, a kind business.

I have Pet Plan for my 2 oldest cats. It covers everything except preexisting conditions, which means, if you cat was treated for it before, it won't be covered. Unless it is an illness that is curable, then after it is cured it is covered. Neither of my 2 older cats have anything preexisting. Once you insure them you cannot make a claim for 30 days, but thats reasonable. I have my plan set up so that I have $100 deductible, and get reimbursed 100%. It's about $16 a month and you get a discount for every animal that is chipped or for multiple pets. I researched every insurance company out there and Pet Plan seems like the best there is as far as coverage and getting your money back.

I don't mind paying up front as long as I get reimbursed..

Kit E Cat can you post a link to which insurance company you use? I'd appreciate that a lot- I am looking at this one
https://www.petinsurance.com/

and it seems reasonable..Jake hasn't had any surgeries and hasn't had anything done other than routine vaccines and neutering..so I hope this will be good. But I may have to go my vet to update his record because I went to another vet for his neuter surgery and they haven't seen him since then. I don't know how that will work out.

darlili I don't think any vet has bad intentions towards the animals, but I just feel like the whole establishment isn't as good as we have it with humans- like how some vets will just say "monitor this for the next few days" or prescribe something even if they aren't 100% sure of their diagnosis. In my experience, a lot of times vets are not sure of their diagnosis and they don't investigate, maybe because in the long run they don't consider it to be helpful or something...

ut0pia, I am with you, 100%, unless you have the funds saved up to pay for an emergency, or enough credit, which is not my case and it seems not to be yours either....
Here is a cut and paste from my other post about insurance:
There are many many many threads about this.....
I LOVE my insurance company, and never had a problem with them - always had the best service, and the claims paid super fast, with no complications or headaches at all.
I pay $44/month for my three kitties combined for the most basic plan. I have a $100 deductible per incident, and I also pay 20% of the bill - that is pretty standard. I like the deductible per incident, as I don't pay it again per follow up - so if my pet has a surgery, or a disease that he needs to go to the ve multiple times, I only need to pay that one deductible, and not every time I go to the vet.
This Company is also the only company that will pay the vet directly, if the vet agrees with. All the others I need to pay upfront and then get reimbursed.
The plan I have, the most basic plan, pays a maximum of $2,500 per incident. There are no annual limits, and will pay a maximum of $42,500 per life of the animal.
It covers pretty much everything, all accident and diseases, as long as they are not pre-existing - all tests, hospitals, MRIS, cat scans, emergencies, specialists, cancer, prescriptions, even euthanasia... They also have an optional for wellness, but I don't think it is worth it, unless you need to spay/neuter, or do dentals, that kind of expensive stuff to subsidize the cost.
They do have a multi-pet discount... The key IMO is to enroll them young. IMO it is the best thing I have done for my peace of mind.
Here is the link Pets Best Insurance
PS about pre-existing conditions:
If your cat had a disease in the past, and it was CURED, it is NOT considered a pre existing condition. A cured UTI will not be considered, but a diabetes will. I went through this very carefully with my insurance before getting my plan...
As far as URIs not being covered... I had plenty covered... both with Lucky and Bugsy...
Again, I do love my plan, and I do have peace of mind with it - complete. I hope this helps

carolinalima thank you I have made up my mind lol I am signing up tomorrow for sure. I will have to decide between trupanion and pets best.
Trupanion has 8/10 rating on a reviews site, Pets best has 7.6/10, trupanion covers 90% with no deductible while pets best covers 80% with $100 deductable but the deal breaker for me as well is pets best pays directly to the vet which is amazing no other insurance company does this...
I am so confused, if I am to go with trupanion, I have a few frozen credit cards lol that I can pull out and pay up front with, if I know for sure that I will be reimbursed...but I am not sure that is a smart thing to do, in case they delay processing a claim or anything like that... but then the price difference and no deductible is very tempting.. I guess I'll sleep on it and decide

Yeah... I hear you! My deal breaker was that one too - being able to pay the vet directly. Of course the vet needs to agree with it, but if you have a relationship with the vet, that is easy...
I do understand the problem with the deductible - it will make a difference on the little stuff, but not on the big stuff... IMO we should look at it for for the big stuff, and that is where is will really save us. For that I can tell you, it is priceless, and a very small price to pay. Now, that is not to say that it is not worth it for small diseases and emergencies too - it is... I used Bugsy's and Lucky's insurance quite a bit last year, with both disease and one emergency, and it was a blessing, as any money saved is a saving, when you are unemployed... I would be in trouble if I didn't have insurance...
If you pay a little more, like get the mid of the road plan (few dollars more), your coverage gets much higher too, like $7,500 per incident or something like that. For us, with younger cats, I think the chances of needing that kind of expensive care is very small though... I think once one of mine hits 5 I am upgrading. I never used Trupanion, so I don't know
Mine I can tell you from personal experience... It has been great.
Were you able to get a quote from the link I gave you?

I have PetPlan for Kody--the Bronze Plan-it costs $130.00 a year with $100.00 deductible and 20% copay.

Great company--the coverage for life is a good component.

We haven't had Kody quite 2 years and I have used it twice now..no problems. It is a good company to work with.

Originally Posted by Kody's Mom

I have PetPlan for Kody--the Bronze Plan-it costs $130.00 a year with $100.00 deductible and 20% copay.

Great company--the coverage for life is a good component.

We haven't had Kody quite 2 years and I have used it twice now..no problems. It is a good company to work with.

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Yep, just to confuse you ut0pia, I hear PetPlan is a very good one too!

I have my two kittens insured with 24PetWatch. They are also called ShelterCare. They offered a free, 30-day gift policy when I adopted my kittens from shelters in September and October, and I signed up. I'm GLAD I did: both kittens had various parasites, calicivirus, and diarrhea, and then they got ringworm. There's a deductible of $75 or $100 but that was minor compared to the bills we had. I continued the policy after the 30 days. I'm now paying $32/month for the two kittens together.

I've received more than $600 in reimbursements for one kitten's ringworm and parasite treatments (medications and dips at the groomer really add up) and I will be getting a similar amount for the other kitten. For some reason they rejected one kitten's claim although they reimbursed me for the other, although their diagnoses/treatments were identical. They requested more explanatory paperwork from the hospital and I just need to send that. I have had to pursue them over rejected claims, but eventually they "get it."

I think it's smart to take a 30-day free policy if it's offered when you adopt. It costs you nothing (you'll get a few emails urging you to continue), it simply expires if you decide not to continue — and shelter cats can have all sorts of health problems. This way, they are covered from Day 1.

I have a basic plan that doesn't cover routine care (like spaying and shots) or accidents. Since I have indoor cats and never had injuries from accidents in all my decades of cat "ownership," this seemed sensible.

I am interested in researching other insurance companies, too. But I didn't have 5 minutes to compare any when all the illnesses were hitting us last fall. I'm glad I stuck with them. After I do more research, I may just decide to upgrade this policy.

The staff I've spoken to are intelligent and reasonable. When my cats were sick with the virus, one rep gave sympathy and a nursing tip I found helpful.

I debated for a pet insurance for a long time. One of my coworker has it for his dog, and it was a big help because his dog had a kidney failure last year. But he said the premium he paid all over the years probably is able to cover the medical cost. But honestly, you really cannot time when a medical issue will happen.

My other co worker wishes she had pet insurance. Her cat had constant diarrhea (she said for the first 5 years of her life). With all the money she put into vet visit, she wishes she had one.

I bought mine for my 2 cats last month with PetPlan. It is $16+ a month with $100 deductible and 80% pay. Cheetah came to us with diarrhea and Panther has constant issue of vomitting (we later find out it is food allergy), so it set off an alarm for us.

As much as I love them, if there is any issue, I would like to find out exact what causes it and all possible ways to treat it. So I think a pet insurance is necessary for me.

I went with pets best, I am going to call them and ask them about feline leukemia, chronic heart failure, things like this, because for their pre existing conditions they say:
pre existing conditions, which are claims for accident or illness to the pet that occur or manifest, whether treated or not, prior to the effective date of the policy or during the waiting period"

I am confused, because what if for example a couple of years pass and I'm on this insurance, and Jake shows no symptoms of something like feline leukemia or chronic heart failure, or diabetes, or hyperthyroidism, or whatever chronic illness there is, there will be no way to know the exact date of when something like this originated, when he first got it because he was showng no symptoms...
So would they cover something like that??? I am going to call and ask but I am having a very busy day and I barely had any time to enroll in pets best, so I may have to call tomorrow because I will be home after 5 today..Does anyone have any guesses as to what they usually do in this situation?

This is superb information on cat insurance.I think pet insurance is very popular now a days and Many people who have pets at home they are finding it useful to insure their pets and this is very important.

Originally Posted by ut0pia

I went with pets best, I am going to call them and ask them about feline leukemia, chronic heart failure, things like this, because for their pre existing conditions they say:
pre existing conditions, which are claims for accident or illness to the pet that occur or manifest, whether treated or not, prior to the effective date of the policy or during the waiting period"

I am confused, because what if for example a couple of years pass and I'm on this insurance, and Jake shows no symptoms of something like feline leukemia or chronic heart failure, or diabetes, or hyperthyroidism, or whatever chronic illness there is, there will be no way to know the exact date of when something like this originated, when he first got it because he was showng no symptoms...
So would they cover something like that??? I am going to call and ask but I am having a very busy day and I barely had any time to enroll in pets best, so I may have to call tomorrow because I will be home after 5 today..Does anyone have any guesses as to what they usually do in this situation?

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ut0pia, Jake is healthy, has his shots, etc, right? Plus he is pretty young, chances are he is not going to have diabetes or thyroid problems for a while.
The key on the paragraph above is: "illness to the pet that occur or manifest" If your cat never had a symptom, never been to the vet about it, and there are not records of the disease, the disease never manifested or occurred, making it NOT pre-existing. In a case of a serious disease like that, what they will do, is contact the vets he has seen in the past to get his records to check if he has been seen or treated in the past for this incurable disease. If he has not, then you are fine.
There is a 14 day probation period for disease because of that, and 3 days for accident, before they cover anything.
The insurance will cover all this stuff... That is the point of getting insurance, plus accidents and emergencies, of course.
They are very helpful in there though... They will answer your questions...
Jake is so young and never had anything... I would not worry...