Complete Care for Your Aging Cat - Amy Shojai [12]
“At one time, she was getting a little chubby,” she says. Lately, she started losing weight. Deborah figured out Kyrie could no longer eat the hard cat food. “We started giving her the soft cat food and she’s starting to pick up some weight again,” says Deborah.
“I’ve also had to switch to having two litter boxes,” says Deborah. The family lives on three floors. Kyrie never goes to the bedrooms on the third floor, but does travel between the middle floor and the basement. “When you get older, just like all of us, you can’t always make it.” The family continues to make allowances for the aging cat, to keep her as comfortable and happy as possible.
Insurance and Care Plans
Although the cost for medical care for cats is much less than comparable human treatments, paying for chronic care can be a financial burden for dedicated owners. In most cases, veterinarians are sympathetic and open to arranging payment plans when the cost exceeds your ability to pay. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the U.S. spent more than $12 billion on veterinary care last year.
Chronic care for aging cats is one of the costliest periods for owners. Insurance gives older pets a better opportunity to get the service they need, by offering a way to pay a portion of the cost. As of 2010, there are 12 pet insurance companies in the nation selling under 15 brands, which include Hartville, Embrace, Petfirst Healthcare, Petplan USA, Trupanion, VPI, AKC, Pets Best, 24PetWatch, PurinaCare, ASPCA and Healthy Paws. A representative sample is included here.
Jack Stephens, DVM, founded Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) in 1980 with the support of 750 independent veterinarians. Since that date, a number of regional pet insurance companies have become available in both the United States and in Canada. Now affiliated with Pets Best Insurance, Dr. Stephens says the purpose of pet insurance has always been “to make the miracles of veterinary medicine affordable.”
Pet insurance typically works by reimbursing the cat owner for a predetermined amount that has been allotted for the specific veterinary service, after it’s been performed. For example, you would pay your veterinarian in full, and then submit the receipts to the insurance company in order to receive payment back according to the amount designated by your cat’s particular coverage schedule.
Health programs like Pet Assure are not true insurance companies, and simply offer a percentage discount on any veterinary care across the board, regardless of health status, age, or preexisting condition. The Pet Assure service is limited to only those veterinarians enrolled in the program. Similarly, VetsMart Clinics (located across the country in many PetsMart stores) offer Banfield’s Optimum Wellness Plans that discount many preventive care services to about 50 percent, with memberships that can be paid on a monthly basis. CareCredit, based in Anaheim, California, offers the clients of participating veterinarians the option of paying for expensive services on a monthly installment basis.
The amount covered varies from company to company, from plan to plan, and from city to city. Like human insurance, pre-existing conditions may be disallowed, so you must buy the insurance before the cat develops the problem. Age also influences the cost.
Most policies like the PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance do not have a policy specifically for senior pets, but most cover “old cat” illnesses such as cancer and renal disease. Pet insurance typically insures pets regardless of age, excluding pre-existing conditions, but premiums go up as the animal ages. For example, for about the same kind of coverage, a cat that’s one year old might cost $234 a year, while a cat that’s twelve costs $492. That’s no different than life insurance people where you pay a whole lot more if you’re fifty than if you’re twenty.
PetCare Insurance offers QuickCare Senior coverage for accidents and illnesses common to older cats, including coverage for cancer, stroke, seizures