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Nightingale

ATTN: PET OWNERS: Don't do what I did!!!!!

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I'm going to keep them insured til I build up a nice little nest egg, and then will re-evaluate.



That's just perfect. But don't wait to re-evaluate, have a game-plan in mind from the start. The sooner you are self-insured, the sooner you are no-longer giving away money for nothing. Check out the program:

1) Figure out, on your own, "What is the maximum, reasonable amount I could see on a bill if such an event or worse were to occur to one of my pets."

2) Begin your health insurance policy for them at the some $17/month each.

3) Put away your $30/month (and whatever you can spare) into a "kitty emergency fund"

4) Once you've Saved up the amount determined in step 1, take one of the cats off the insurance. At this time, you will be accustomed to paying the what? $17/month/cat for insurance and $30/month for slush fund?. Keep paying $30 to the emergency fund and start putting the extra $17/month in there too.

5) When you've accumulated enough to cover any emergency for BOTH cats at once, enjoy the $17/month x 2 that you are no longer paying for insurance, and cut down the $30 to say $15 so it continues to grow... Hey, it'll be a hidden savings device.



My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

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I dont have any pets due to my constant out of apt living;)


but wouldn't a turkey baster clear that infection?:o

Of course I am kidding but It stikes me like a brick that we have let the inflation of medical expenses get to the point where we would have to insure our pets!

maybe we can put them on some kind of Social security benefits package too.

(Im not saying you shouldnt take you pets to a doctor. I am just saying they shouldn't be competing for my jump money!:D)
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Well, I sure could've used that insurance this weekend. My kitty got very sick with a urinary tract blockage (the vet says this is somewhat common in neutered male cats) and had to have surgery and a catheter put in, with an IV for fluids. Between the x-rays (have to check for kidney stones and the like), blood tests (must check kidney function because the tract was blocked), anesthesia, IV, fluids, emergency after-hours exam, and all that, the vet bill totals more than $900.00.



We took my baby/nine-year-old male cat to the ER this weekend. He had a UTI--no blockage, no stones (they checked for both and also did the blood, IV, etc.) Our bill (payment is expected up front) was $1,050 with a $34 balance when we picked him up. I did not think twice to hand over my card, but I did notice the donation box for those--whatever their situation--who cannot do the same. I donated.

While, for me, I would not advocate pet insurance, I did remember this thread (I have an awesome memory) and wanted to reiterate planning in some way, shape or form for these types of things.

My advice would be more one of "When in doubt, check it out." My angel seemed to be using his CatGenie more often than usual, but he was otherwise acting normal. It was not until the evening we spotted a very muted pinkish spot in his bowl and--after Googling male cats and the possibilities--we were not going to wait until morning for our regular vet to open.

Our regular vet would have charged much less and would have probably gone above and beyond hours, if necessary, for much less as well.

My further advice would be to just go pay the $30'ish visit fee with your regular vet if you notice a change--however small--in your pet's behavior. If God forbid it is something serious, you will certainly save money and have even more peace of mind (we would have felt a LOT more comfortable with our regular, beloved, vet than the ER, even though the ER vet and staff were very nice).
"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

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My sister got insurance for her dog. Three months later he suffered heat stroke. 48 hours and $4000 later he was gone. Not only did the insurance not cover any of his costs, she was locked into a contract FOR A YEAR of premiums. Not sure if she got out of that, but I just remember that right when she had to deal with losing her best friend, she was told that she had to continue to pay an insurance premium on a dog who had already died. Sad.
:(

See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus

Shut Up & Jump!

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My sister got insurance for her dog. Three months later he suffered heat stroke. 48 hours and $4000 later he was gone. Not only did the insurance not cover any of his costs, she was locked into a contract FOR A YEAR of premiums. Not sure if she got out of that, but I just remember that right when she had to deal with losing her best friend, she was told that she had to continue to pay an insurance premium on a dog who had already died. Sad.
:(



Sounds like she went with the "prepaid veterinary" thing rather than insurance. If it's through Banfield (there are a few others, but Banfield is the most notorious), it's not insurance. It's a prepaid vet plan that just spreads out the cost of exams and vaccines over the year. It doesn't cover any kind of emergency medicine, just basic care, which is why the heatstroke wouldn't have been covered.

If I want to cancel my policy, I call them and cancel it. I just renewed my policy and ASPCA has confirmed that I can cancel at any time.

My policy covers almost everything except preexisting conditions and genetic diseases, and almost any treatment except elective stuff. Covers vaccines, spay/neuter, exams, emergencies, all that.

I just took my cat to the vet twice over the last few weeks. First visit was a little over $500. Second visit was about $270. So, close to $800 total. And after I get the insurance checks (I can check online...I can see the amount and they're in the mail!), my cost will be about $160. My premiums are $67/month (total $807/year). Since it just saved me $640, I'd say it's totally worth it, since this hasn't been our first vet visit this year.


Pet insurance has been the best decision I've made for my critters. We've had it for three years now, and it's been wonderful!

Also, please ignore the link posted above. We found a much better company that doesn't limit their reimbursements to a fee schedule.

www.aspcapetinsurance.com

I've recommended them to several friends, and they've all been very happy with them. They're a little more expensive than VPI (the company in the other link), but they cover a lot more and reimburse a lot more, so it's worth it.

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My advice would be more one of "When in doubt, check it out." My angel seemed to be using his CatGenie more often than usual, but he was otherwise acting normal. It was not until the evening we spotted a very muted pinkish spot in his bowl and--after Googling male cats and the possibilities--we were not going to wait until morning for our regular vet to open.





We have a cat genie too, and the only downside to it is that you can't monitor for changes because the cat genie takes care of it. So, once every month or so, I put out a pan of this stuff, as a bit of a checkup.

http://www.petproductnews.com/industry_profiles/health-meter-cat-litter.aspx

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We have a cat genie too, and the only downside to it is that you can't monitor for changes because the cat genie takes care of it. So, once every month or so, I put out a pan of this stuff, as a bit of a checkup.



Yes, we we had to go out and buy an "old-school" pan, litter and scoop so we could be sure he was peeing after we brought him home.

On the plus side, however, we would have never spotted the very tiny trace of blood had it not been for the genie. The clear granules made it obvious, while we could not detect anything in the pan. We knew he still had traces of blood in his urine, however, because every time we would clean the pan, he would use the genie and we could see it.

I am so happy to have retired that pan to storage now. I LOVE our CatGenie. Most importantly, I am so happy my precious angel checked out well at his vet appointment yesterday and seems to be steadily returning to normal. Thank goodness we caught it early, as he never showed any signs of pain and was purring even in the ER. Next time I notice him using the restroom more often, I will not hesitate just to take him over to our vet and have him checked out. Unfortunately, it was not until 7 p.m. we discovered the blood. The ER experience was a tough one for me and I am glad it is over.
"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

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You think 900'is bad. Ive watched my aunt drop 15 GRAND in a month for kitty vet bills. Not even joking. [:/]

Thanatos340(on landing rounds)--
Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet.

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"1. Put a good chunk of the tax refund that will be showing up in a few weeks in a savings account. About $1000.00. This is my emergency fund, for kitties or anything else. "

this just happens to be step 1 of Dave Ramsey's "baby steps" to financial peace. maybe you should check it out.

we have spent thousands to care for our dogs, (boxers) but i will never buy insurance. mark my words, when the insurance people get into an area of business, this ultimately leads to higher prices. we are doing it to ourselves...again. :(



________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

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With the recent advances in vet care, $1000 doesn't go very far. Turns out that the kitty I posted about above was considered "uninsurable" by VPI due to the above problem. I didn't know better and didn't keep looking, and he got cancer later on, which was totally unrelated. It had an odd presentation and was difficult to diagnose, so it ended up running me somewhere around $10K. Most of the cash went to diagnostic stuff over a period of about two months, and only the last $3K or so was getting the final diagnosis and treatment. If I'd done my research beforehand, ASPCA insurance would've covered 80 percent of that for me. $2000 is a lot easier to handle than $10,000.

When I got my critters, I took on a responsibility to them, and when doing what's best for them conflicts with doing what's best for my wallet, they win. If insurance helps me make sure that I can do what's best for them, that's what I'm going to do.
As the above post said, my point was mainly that people need to plan ahead because vet care is a lot more expensive than a lot of people realize until they see the bill.

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I know I'm a shithead, but I won't spend any more in a single vet bill than what I paid for the dog. [:/] I guess being severely allergic to most mammals keeps me at an emotional distance.

What you say is reflective of your knowledge...HOW ya say it is reflective of your experience. Airtwardo

Someone's going to be spanked! Hopefully, it will be me. Skymama

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I know I'm a shithead, but I won't spend any more in a single vet bill than what I paid for the dog. I guess being severely allergic to most mammals keeps me at an emotional distance.



Maybe you shouldn't own a dog.

- Dan G

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I know I'm a shithead, but I won't spend any more in a single vet bill than what I paid for the dog. [:/] I guess being severely allergic to most mammals keeps me at an emotional distance.



Perhaps mammals are not appropriate companions for you, then. Perhaps a goldfish?


My beta fish died after a year, I was a terrible fish mother. Patrick wants a dog. I think he needs to get out of the army before that happens... If I could kill off a fish in a year, imagine what might happen to a dog while he's deployed B|:S[:/]

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Yes for Dave Ramsey! He really does have solid financial advice. We're almost to our target of 6 months salary in the bank as a rainy day fund. It really is nice to have that amount of cash on hand for the "unexpected events" that we know will occur. I think being independent of insurance companies as much as possible is a money saver in the long run!

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

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... They gave me a terrible time about it. "$900! FOR A CAT?! You should just put him to sleep! ...




Just remind them that at some point they'll be much older, likely in a "managed care home", possibly peeing on themselves and it will be YOU that will decide if some $$ amout is worth it for them or just put them down...

:o

:S

:P

:)

:D


* runs *

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You think 900'is bad. Ive watched my aunt drop 15 GRAND in a month for kitty vet bills.



:o

There goes your inheritance. :)


Haha. Oh dont worry i already know the farm and inheritence is goig to the cats. Lol. I never stood a chance.
Thanatos340(on landing rounds)--
Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet.

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I got free insurance coverage for 3months through the AKC when I bought and registered Boomer (my 4month old English Bulldog). It covers accident/injury stuff but not general/preventive care.I'm socking money away here and there for all his expenses but I might look into insurance after the AKC coverage runs out.Whether its insurance or just saving up out of pocket it is very important to be proactive for your furry friends.:)



"...just an earthbound misfit, I."

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I got free insurance coverage for 3months through the AKC when I bought and registered Boomer (my 4month old English Bulldog). It covers accident/injury stuff but not general/preventive care.I'm socking money away here and there for all his expenses but I might look into insurance after the AKC coverage runs out.Whether its insurance or just saving up out of pocket it is very important to be proactive for your furry friends.:)



My roommate and I both have ASPCA insurance, and we've been very happy with it. They have plans that start at just the accident/emergency coverage, or plans like the one I've got that covers routine care too. While I don't really need them to cover routine care, I picked that plan because the limits were higher on the accident/emergency coverage.

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You make some very good points about having an 'Emergency Fund', even if you have insurance you should still have an E-Fund. I'm not a big fan on the DIY route when it comes to pet insurance. I had a Dobe who got bloat a few years ago, she had to go to the dog ER since bloat can kill within hours and at the end of the ordeal the bill came out to close to 4,000. The pet insurance pretty much covered it all. Move on to my second dog who got cancer and over the year she was in treatments the insurance covered close to 80% of the bills, not to mention regular check-ups, shots and spay or neutering. IMO pet insurance is a good deal, even if I saved 20 a month it would've taken me over 16 years to save up the money I needed to cover the first surgery.

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Kids own the dogs. Because I love my kids, I deal. One of my dogs is a Bichon Frise, (mostly hypo-allergenic), the other is an outside German Shepherd. I'm not cruel, just not overly emotionally vested.
What you say is reflective of your knowledge...HOW ya say it is reflective of your experience. Airtwardo

Someone's going to be spanked! Hopefully, it will be me. Skymama

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10k ! Wow ,,that could have fed or helped a lot of humans...:S



Lets not take this into speaker's corner, but suffice it to say I've never had a kindness to an animal come back to bite me, literally or otherwise, and I certainly can't say the same for humans.


You have obviously never tried to help a cat that was just hit by a car, and not declawed.[:/]
I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

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