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Rescue car insurance

10 replies

Jessica60 · 08/04/2023 09:26

We have just got a rescue cat. Aged approx 10 years old female. We haven't been given any passed history other than she was taken from previous owner, I am guessing possible neglect. Anyway is it worth getting an insurance policy for her or not. I don't know date if birth or any passed illnesses. The vets say she looks very healthy.
What do others do in this situation?

OP posts:
Jessica60 · 08/04/2023 09:28

Obviously I mean CAT insurance. Why can't I edited on mumsnet?

OP posts:
Beamur · 08/04/2023 09:33

Insurance is useful but realistically could be quite high for an older cat.
I'd get a quote and see if it's affordable. If it's very high, I would suggest saving money every month so you have a vet fund for any emergency.
Just a standard visit is £30-40 quid, out of hours can be £100+
Some vets offer healthy pet schemes which cover vaccination, flea treatment and one or two check ups plus reduced costs on such as dental treatments.

Toddlerteaplease · 08/04/2023 10:07

My indoor cats ran hip
Bills of £23k. Get insurance! Tesco have been amazing.

Toddlerteaplease · 08/04/2023 10:08

Just seen she's 10. Might be a bit more costly. Or you could self insure. Hats off to you for taking on an older cat.

Allergictoironing · 08/04/2023 10:16

I think it depends very much on your circumstances - financial, where you live and how you intend the cat to live.

If you have a good amount of money put aside and can afford to pay out what could be up to a £10k bill, then you probably don't need to worry.

If you intend for the cat to be indoor only, there is much less chance of major injury or catching anything. That said, Boycat developed CKD and would have cost me about 5 years worth of premiums in the 4-5 months between diagnosis & him being PTS if he hadn't been insured. This at a time I was out of work and couldn't have afforded it really. And Toddlerteaplease's indoor Persians cost her insurance company around £24k over a few years!

If you live in a busy built up area, an area where cars/lorries charge through at high speed, or a "rough" area where there can be unpleasant teens roaming around, then I would definitely get insurance as these all lead to higher chance of injury.

If you do insure, get lifetime insurance. DSis didn't have insurance for one of hers who developed epilepsy, and he was costing her much more per month in meds than the insurance premiums would have in the first place. And as this went on for a few years, Lifetime would have covered it as an ongoing condition whereas without Lifetime they will stop paying after the first year an illness is contracted.

As Beamur says above, do look into a vet scheme if yours does one. No it won't cover any accident/injury/illness, but if your cat is going to go out then monthly flea treatment/worming can add up. As mine are indoor so only get flea/worm treatment a couple of times a year, they just have one annual visit for jabs and MoT and it's only just cheaper for me not to have the plan.

Finally, please pay the cat tax. Photos of recently acquired cats are mandatory on The Litter Tray! 😁

Allergictoironing · 08/04/2023 10:17

Oops xp with Toddler re hers!

Jessica60 · 08/04/2023 23:53

Thank you for your replies. Someone has mentioned Tesco being good, anywhere else that I can try?

OP posts:
coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 09/04/2023 08:10

Insurance for older cats is expensive - realistically it depends on how much you have in savings and what treatment you're willing to put them through, as well as whether you can afford ongoing treatment for a "minor" but life-long condition like diabetes or arthritis.

Just don't underestimate how quickly cats, even indoor ones, can run up massive bills in a very short space of time!

We're with Tesco - we pay for their highest level of lifetime cover for all of ours. It's around £35 a month for all three but our oldest is a senior boy now so I suspect it will start to rise pretty fast over the next few years.

It's worth it though and means we never need to worry about whether we can afford to take them to the vets.

halfsiesonapotnoodle · 09/04/2023 08:25

There won't be too many companies that will insure a 10 year old cat for the first time, so just Google and go from there.

FurryBoots99 · 09/04/2023 08:27

I would suggest it, my indoor 8 yr old cost us £6k in 6 months.

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