Every stage of your cat’s life presents different health challenges and concerns. Kittens need vaccinations, adult cats need preventive care and senior cats can face any number of age-related problems. Ongoing and unexpected veterinary treatments for your cat can quickly add up and become a financial burden. That’s why VPI provides coverage for accidents, illnesses, prescriptions, surgeries, hospitalization and much more.
Kitten Health Needs
* Spay/neuter
* Vaccination/booster
* Foreign body ingestion
* Injuries
Adult Health Needs
* Dental disease
* Upper respiratory disease
* Bladder infection
* Vomiting/diarrhea
Senior Health Needs
* Hyperthyroidism
* Kidney disease
* Diabetes
* Cancer
Most people are better off forgoing pet insurance and instead putting the money they would have spent on premiums into a savings account. Pet coverage can cost $2,000 to $6,000 over the life of an average pet, and the chances are slim you’ll ever need to shell out that much for treatment. However let me say that breaking a leg can cost a very pretty penny!
Vets have access to increasingly sophisticated and costly diagnostic tools, such as MRIs. Such screenings not only boost the cost of exams but often detect problems that once would have gone unnoticed and untreated.
The oldest pet insurer, Veterinary Pet Insurance, has seen its revenue climb at an average annual rate of 26.8% since 1998. The company, which has about 71% of the U.S. pet insurance market, had gross sales of $149 million in 2007.
But if you’re the type of person who would do anything to save your pet, including spend thousands of dollars on medical care, pet insurance might be a preferable alternative to going into debt.
What’s changed in recent years is the state of veterinary science, as well as the economics of running a veterinary practice. Vets today can offer treatments that were unheard of just a few years ago — and at prices that could make you howl.
Average fee for vet bills:
1. Intervertebral disk disease
$2,844
1. Foreign body ingestion (small intestine)
$1,629
2. Lung cancer
$2,032
2. Urinary tract reconstruction
$1,399
3. Gastric torsion (bloat)
$1,955
3. Foreign body ingestion (stomach)
$1,391
4. Foreign body ingestion (small intestine)
$1,629
4. Rectal cancer
$1,011
5. Cruciate rupture
$1,517
5. Bladder stones
$989