What is the best cat insurance?

[JingleHell]

We are hoping to get a pair of cats from the local cat rescue v.soon, but I have no idea about health insurance for cats. They have been neutered and had all their injections etc but I don't know where to start. Any advice very welcome!

Oh, and another thing .. the cats we are interested in are a mother (about 2yrs and her son, 1yr). His tail is a bit bald near the end - the man at the cattery said it had only happened recently, maybe due to stress. They have been at the cattery since October. Both cats are very friendly and don't seem at all nervy. Any ideas what this could be? Thanks again!

Gosh I would be very careful that this a well run shelter or you could be in for a pile of trouble. I would recommend you go to something like the Cats Protection League or RSPCA or if you are near London, Battersea Dogs Home to get your cats.
I have got my cat from a local cat shelter and have any end of problems.

Re insurance, I would stay away from Tesco, I have it and I never will again. Too much hassle to get reimbursed. Strange as it seems, Argos has a pet insurance and they say on their site that you can arrange to have them pay the vet directly which is a great idea. Of course, an insurance is only as good as its small print so really look at it before buying.

It's a small animal charity which doesn't have its own premises, so the cats are kept at a local cattery. The cats all seemed very happy and well looked after when we went to visit, and the owner of the cattery was very helpful and spent a lot of time with us so I feel quite happy about that.

I will look into the argos insurance, thanks. I'd seen the advert for Tesco insurance on their website when I did some online shopping, thanks again for the words of warning!

I started off with Jardine, who were good but put their prices up fairly aggressively. I used Tesco until my eldest moggy was approaching eight - never claimed a penny from either insurer as neither cat was ever ill! I then switched to Petplan, to cover them for life, and didn't claim for years. I was considering stopping the policy and then - wham- moggy no 2 went into kidney failure, was at vets for 5 days having dialysis and cost me £500! So glad I kept the policy going. In summary, Petplan are good, paid out no problems but they increase premiums quite sharply now knowing that I wouldn't be able to get my now 16 & 15 year olds insured anywhere else. Good luck with the cats.

Thanks Cambridgeferret, having spoken to a few other cat owners, it seems that most people don't think it's worth getting insurance for young cats - like you say they all found that they never needed it. But I can see that the insurance for life would be worth it once they are a little older. Still not sure what to do .. anyone else??

I am also rehoming two cats this week. We are looking at Argos Pet insurance. It is coming out at £7.50 pm for the two cats for us (around £90 pa) and you can get £20.20 cashback with Topcashback so seems a bargain to me!

BTW that is for two 6 month old girls with are neutered and microchipped in SE England

Thanks Ben10, after much searching, Argos does seem to be one of the best. also ASDA was pretty good. We are also in SE, but the cats aren't microchipped

Another vote for Petplan here. My cat recently had cholangio-hepatitis and they are covering all over her £500 bill (less my excess). My vet faxed the forms, they're in the process of settling as we speak.

I recommend them also because they cover you for vets fees per annum, for life as long as your policy is valid. So if your cat developed a long standing illness like diabetes etc, then the cover continues. Cheaper insurance often only covers for 12 months. Only thing is, you have to pay the excess for EACH CONDITION , not per year........:(

Whilst they are not the cheapest, they seem to offer the best cover, imho anyway. And as I'm a tightwad I check every year to see if I can get the same cover cheaper anywhere else, then sigh and resign myself to forking out.......although now my mog has actually used her insurance for the first time at the age of 10, I'm definately stuck there as nowhere else would cover a pre existing condition.

Good luck!