Pet Insurance

My boyfriend and I took one of our cats, Jazmine, to the dentist the other day because she has red gums.

First off, we found Jazmine on the streets a few months ago and took her in. She had bite marks on her side from another larger animal and she had a chipped front fang tooth, and the vet through that could cause a problem later on. We noticed her gums were red lately, so we took her in.

The dentist said she has juvenile pariodontal disease, and two teeth should be pulled along with some other things he may need to do (he would also be cleaning her teeth, too). We are getting this done along with her spay so that she only has to be put under once - our other two cats have not liked that experience (who would?) so we don't want her to deal with it twice.

The total for all of this work (spay + xrays + dental work) totals over $600. My boyfriend and I are college students and barely getting by on what we have, so it would be months before we could even think about affording this.

We were wondering if pet insurance would cover some of these costs, and if it would be cheaper to go through them? If so, what companies are good - what do we look for when choosing one?

Sorry, I can't give any advice on pet health insurance, because we've never had it. Since I live in Germany, I participate in German cat forums, and many people here have reported negative experiences with German pet insurers, e.g., "pre-existing conditions" not being covered, or cancellation of policies in the case of chronic illnesses. What a lot of people here do is open up a savings account and deposit a fixed sum of $5 or $10 dollars a month in order to have a "reserve" to cover vet's bills. That, of course, wouldn't help Jazmine at present, but I think you should really look into whether neutering and preexisting conditions like her paradontosis would be covered.

I think you have to research each company's policy carefully. Many don't cover things like dental, shots or spay/neuter. Others only cover costs to a certain $ amount. Some require a vet exam before they will offer the coverage and then only to a healthy animal. I also think there are age restrictions too so if your cat is older they might not cover it either. You may be able to work out a payment plan with your vet however to help ease the pain of a big bill

Most of the pet insurances don't cover dental. However, there are a few that do for an additional charge. I looked into it for my cats and best I could figure it just wasn't worth it. If you find a good one let us know!