With the cost of pet insurance seeming like an unnecessary expense to many, the number of cats protected by pet insurance is worryingly low in the UK.
According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) there are around 7.5 million cats with homes in the UK but only 1.3 million are insured. This means that for every cat with insurance there are roughly five that do not have this safety net.
Part of the reason that some people shy away from paying for pet insurance is that they feel like their cat is too young, or that their cat won’t have any serious conditions or injuries. Sadly, this is not always the case, and unexpected vet bills can run up to the thousands.
Pet Insurance provides a safety net that many pet owners may need to protect their cat at some point in their cats’ life. With vet bills rising steadily over the last ten years as procedures become more sophisticated, this safety net has become more important than ever.
This point was driven home for us once again recently when Ryo came to us when his owner couldn’t afford his vet bills.
Ryo’s bladder was blocked and he had developed an infection which was causing him pain and distress, but his owner couldn’t help him because the treatments and long-term care proved too expensive.
Luckily we were able to take Ryo on and have been covering the costs of all his treatments. After receiving treatment he is on the mend and already seems so much happier.
Sadly not every cat who falls ill finds its’ way to a rescue like ours, and stories like Ryo’s show how important it is to have Insurance as a safeguard from distress and heartbreak if they fall sick and you can’t help them.
There are many reputable pet insurance providers out there, PetPlan being the longest standing pet insurance provider, who we provide 4 weeks of free cover with to get new adopters started.
Pet insurance providers can offer different levels of cover, and when chosen carefully these can prove to be a great investment in case your kitty uses one of their 9 lives! Most of us probably wouldn’t notice a small amount of money coming out of our accounts each month and can even factor it in when budgeting, however, I think we would all notice a chunk of £500-1000 coming out of our account if our kitty was poorly!