Baby Pouf: A Lesson in the Importance of Pet Insurance

Pet Insurance for Cats – What is Your Financial Limit If Something Happens?

Do you know what your financial limit is to save an ill cat?

It is easy to say that no expense it too much, but what if the treatment is prohibitively expensive and there is no guarantee of recovery? Would you have $11,000 to spend on treatment? Sure you could charge it, but would you be able to make the payments? Would you be able to make your mortgage payments if you had to pay for expensive treatment? What if you lost the home that your children or other pets depended on? These are some questions that you should ask when you consider whether or not to get health insurance. I just read a story by a woman that will never have another uninsured pet for just this reason.

Cynthia Basinger in Davis, California writes about her wonder blue mackerel tabby Persian, “Baby Pouf.” Baby Pouf was named for her mother, Mama Pouf because he was the spitting image of her. Cynthia and her husband adopted the beautiful cat in May 2002, affectionately referring to the cat as Pouffie.

Pouffie lived a healthy first two years, but then one day looked a little under the weather. Listless and uninterested in food, there seemed to something wrong so she was taken to the vet. She had a blockage that had to be removed, an expensive surgery. It wasn’t long after that when she contracted a urinary infection. Soon after so had full blown Hepatic Lipidosis, feline fatty liver disease.

After spending two weeks at the UC Davis Veterinary Hospital, Pouffie came home with an esophageal feeding tube. Cynthia and her husband spent 8 weeks tube feeding her and their beloved kitty miraculously recovered – for a while.

In January, Pouffie had a bad case of kitty breath and seemed to have trouble eating. Back at UC Davis, tests showed that she was anemic. She spent two weeks there, but left the vets stumped. She was tested for everything and treated for her strange case of autoimmunity. Even after blood transfusions though, nothing increased her red blood cell count. After a long fight, Cynthia lost Pouffie and left her broken-hearted.

Cynthia notes that if they had health insurance all of Pouffie’s expenses would have been covered. This would have been a substantial amount of money. In 2003 the cost of her treatments was approximately $11,000. Of course, the wonderful feline was worth every cent spent, but what if the Basingers hadn’t have had the money? Cynthia says that from now on she will always have pet insurance. Why risk the possibility of not being able to pay for the well-being of your best friend?

Unfortunately, every pet has a financial value. Some owners say they will spend anything to make their cat well but when the bills start coming in and the savings account starts to dwindle…that changes. Even if they want to keep going – the house payment, car payment and other expenses come due that can’t be avoided.

Having insurance for your cat can really help you do the best thing for your cat if a problem occurs. Many cat owners think it won’t happen to THEIR cat but it does. Things do happen.

Pet insurance for your cat is something you should strongly consider.