Pet Insurance

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Pet Insurance
4
Wed, 02-22-2006 - 12:22pm
Hi, all. Do any of you have pet insurance? Have you used it? Well, I had to take the one cat in--dehydrated, vomiting, fever, etc. So, the vet said we can submit the bill to the pet insurance company. Here's hoping they're better than "people" insurance. Am glad I have it. Whiz.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
In reply to: whiz2005
Wed, 02-22-2006 - 1:33pm

Our dog is 4 years old, and he's in relatively good health. He is a very easily-upset toy breed, so if he gets upset about anything (losing at tug-of-war, etc), he'll vomit. If he has to be boarded for any reason (or is taken out of the house for any reason), we end up with a week of bloody diarrhea while he works to calm himself down. He's had this so many times that the vet finally just gave us a written sheet on what to do for him each time it happens to save us some vet bills. Also, he has allergies that require perscription medication to control. We havent had any major bills, though.

We have a savings account for him. Every month, I put $100 into it, and I hope that the amount we save will be enough to pay for whatever treatments he might need as he gets older.

Let us know how the pet insurance works out for you, and I hope your cat is feeling better.

Pat :-D

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
In reply to: whiz2005
Wed, 02-22-2006 - 4:31pm

Hello,

I take my 5 year old dog to Petsmart, which has a Banfield pet hospital location inside. Banfield offers a wellness plan that covers the cost of all of my dog's vaccinations / shots / comprehensive exams. If my dog gets sick from any of the shots, or comes down with one of the diseases that he gets vaccinated for, the pet insurance covers all of the cost. The cost that Banfield would charge for this stuff if my dog wasn't on the wellness plan would be over $300. I use a groomer and occasionally board our dog, so he has to keep up with all of his checkups.

The monthly cost for the plan is 15.95, but this is much less than I would end up paying for the checkups and vaccinations. (I can see the true cost on the sheet they print out during every visit). The only thing I'm "charged" for when I take my dog there is the cost of heartworm medication or teeth cleaning if I ask for that service.

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2006
In reply to: whiz2005
Thu, 02-23-2006 - 12:06am
I don't have it but am seriously considering it since we had a scare with one of our cats recently. She had her rabies and another required shot and had a reaction at the rabies site. Vet said it was probably a bad lump, but he'd never seen one so small and so soon after the vaccination. He gave me an estimate of about $600 just for lumpectomy and biopsy of the lum. YIKES! We don't have that kind of money for vet bills. But I searched the internet and found that the bad lumps usually take longer to develop and if this went away within a month not to worry about it. Thankfully, by the time vet and I got ahold of one another with the estimate the lump had resolved and she is OK till next annual visit is due. So with 2 cats I'm considering it to head off any future emergency bills, but I think once we are debt free we would have emergency funds so I might rethink it then depending on the cost of the plans I could find.
Pam

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
In reply to: whiz2005
Thu, 02-23-2006 - 4:43pm
Hi, Pat, Lindsay, et al. I have the Petsmart Pet Insurance (for both animals). The vet bill is going to be astronomical----bladder stones. IV, catheter, antibiotics, boarding, etc. So, I am going to call them about submitting the bill. Will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for your input and experiences on this. Whiz.