Pet insurance/the vets

[Saddlesoap]

Thank you, it’s just been a really difficult situation and has caused a lot of upset of course. The animal was not recovering well after the operation, I wasn’t fully aware of the extent of this and the owner couldn’t afford to keep their pet at the vets overnight. Had I known I would have paid and the pet may have lived. I would like to be able to share exactly what happened but it was not my pet and although I don’t think the owner would be on here you never know so I don’t feel it’s my place to post the full story. I’ve only posted at all because I’m struggling so much with what happened and my husband had told me to phone the vet to check on the pet but I didn’t as I did not feel it was my place to do so. Had I done that though I would have been informed of the situation and paid the bill for an overnight stay. It’s that my husband told me twice to call and I didn’t that I am feeling sick about I am so so angry with myself it’s caused me a huge amount of distress. Just trying to work through it.

It may not make you feel any better, but the vets wouldn't have been able to discuss it with you without the owners permission.
It worries me a little that an animal that was so poorly it died would be discharged.
I imagine there is more to this, but try not to be too upset. To have died the animal must have been pretty poorly.
Take care, try not to be so hard on yourself. x

 

[Gembo]

It may not make you feel any better, but the vets wouldn't have been able to discuss it with you without the owners permission.
It worries me a little that an animal that was so poorly it died would be discharged.
I imagine there is more to this, but try not to be too upset. To have died the animal must have been pretty poorly.
Take care, try not to be so hard on yourself. x

Thank you, that does help. I don’t think he should have been discharged but was because the owner could not afford the overnight charge. My heart is broken that he died because had I known more money was needed to enable him to stay overnight I would have paid. The vet did tell me that even if he had of stayed it could have gone either way but at least he would have had a chance. I’m struggling that I didn’t make that call and really trying to work on the fact it was not my pet so not solely my responsibility but it’s been very hard for me. But thank you I really appreciate your reply x

editing to add that sorry I don’t want to derail but please please do insure and/or save as best you can for any medical bills your pet could incur. Operations can run into the thousands and it can be very difficult if the money is not there.

 

[judgejohndeed]

Thank you, that does help. I don’t think he should have been discharged but was because the owner could not afford the overnight charge. My heart is broken that he died because had I known more money was needed to enable him to stay overnight I would have paid. The vet did tell me that even if he had of stayed it could have gone either way but at least he would have had a chance. I’m struggling that I didn’t make that call and really trying to work on the fact it was not my pet so not solely my responsibility but it’s been very hard for me. But thank you I really appreciate your reply x

editing to add that sorry I don’t want to derail but please please do insure and/or save as best you can for any medical bills your pet could incur. Operations can run into the thousands and it can be very difficult if the money is not there.

It's hard to comment without knowing the full story (totally appreciate why you're not telling it btw) but in my experience vets are quite forthright. I'm sure that if they thought being kept overnight was fundamental to the pet's survival they would have said so. The fact that your friend (?) was able to take the pet home to me means the vet presented this as a choice to them. Whenever I've had a pet have to stay overnight there's no kind of 'you could take them home and see but we think they should stay in' it's always been very much 'they need monitoring, we need to do X Y and Z'. Like I say without the facts it's difficult but I do wonder whether the vet knew really there was not much to be done even if the pet was kept in and so maybe thought it best for the pet to die at home rather than stay overnight and lose them anyway. Please don't feel responsible though, as someone else said they wouldn't have spoken to you about a pet that isn't yours, and I really think if the overnight stay was so important the vet would have facilitated it somehow

 

[Gembo]

It's hard to comment without knowing the full story (totally appreciate why you're not telling it btw) but in my experience vets are quite forthright. I'm sure that if they thought being kept overnight was fundamental to the pet's survival they would have said so. The fact that your friend (?) was able to take the pet home to me means the vet presented this as a choice to them. Whenever I've had a pet have to stay overnight there's no kind of 'you could take them home and see but we think they should stay in' it's always been very much 'they need monitoring, we need to do X Y and Z'. Like I say without the facts it's difficult but I do wonder whether the vet knew really there was not much to be done even if the pet was kept in and so maybe thought it best for the pet to die at home rather than stay overnight and lose them anyway. Please don't feel responsible though, as someone else said they wouldn't have spoken to you about a pet that isn't yours, and I really think if the overnight stay was so important the vet would have facilitated it somehow

Thank you so so much, your words have helped me so much more than I could ever tell you

 

[Barbie2020]

@Gembo please don’t be hard on yourself. You sound like a very caring person and would have done what you could but sadly it was out of your control. Hopefully he’s at peace now he’s passed.

 

[Gembo]

@Gembo please don’t be hard on yourself. You sound like a very caring person and would have done what you could but sadly it was out of your control. Hopefully he’s at peace now he’s passed.

Thank you, I really hope so xxx

 

[TheRoyalHousekeeper]

Sorry a bit off topic but does anyone frequently worm and flea their dogs ? I know when they’re a pup they do but how long do you have to continue to do it ?

 

[jazyblu]

I can go pick up my bunnies from the vet at 6pm after two nights in the bunny hospital!
No insurance and the bill is about £450. She's 4 years old and other than getting her neutered and annual jabs this is the first time she has needed the vet.
I feel like with smaller animals you end up paying the same overall with monthly insurance and the excess vs no monthly outgoings and then the full bill. Obviously some people find the regular insurance payment easier to budget for.

If I had something like a dog I would consider insurance, or maybe just putting the money into a pot every month.

 

[Giggling Squid]

Sorry a bit off topic but does anyone frequently worm and flea their dogs ? I know when they’re a pup they do but how long do you have to continue to do it ?

I have a cat, but I’d assume it’s the same.. we have prescription stuff and it’s every 12 weeks for life. If you stop doing it they stop being protected

 

[Saddlesoap]

Sorry a bit off topic but does anyone frequently worm and flea their dogs ? I know when they’re a pup they do but how long do you have to continue to do it ?

Flea treatment is preventative, so is required as frequently as the treatment lasts. Some give 4 weeks cover and some 3 months
Worm treatment treats the burden (if there is one), but doesn't have any lasting effects, so is recommended every 3 months, unless high risk it young children around, then is recommended monthly.

 

[DCICassieStuart]

I have a cat, but I’d assume it’s the same.. we have prescription stuff and it’s every 12 weeks for life. If you stop doing it they stop being protected

Same here. I don't have a dog, but the cat is done every three months.

 

[Sickofinstacrap]

Just an update, I did the claim with animal friends last week, and god the money back today, actually so easy I just called the vets they did it through something called pawtal and we got it back today, very easy actually I can’t complain at all! I thought it would be a night mare and hours of phone calls I’m with animal friends and my little bubs is much better now thank god

 

[Giggling Squid]

Soooooo I’m currently sat outside the emergency vet, as our kitten decided to eat the elastic from a toy really really hoping our insurance will cover it! Video vet said get her there ASAP and now i feel sick with worry about her. She was so distressed the poor little thing

 

[Gembo]

Soooooo I’m currently sat outside the emergency vet, as our kitten decided to eat the elastic from a toy really really hoping our insurance will cover it! Video vet said get her there ASAP and now i feel sick with worry about her. She was so distressed the poor little thing

Hope she is ok xxx

 

[Tricham]

I've been thinking for years now to self-insure, but it worries me that as soon as we start saving, one of them will get poorly! It is a gamble, but then again, so is insuring!!

 

[it’s not been changed?!]

Soooooo I’m currently sat outside the emergency vet, as our kitten decided to eat the elastic from a toy really really hoping our insurance will cover it! Video vet said get her there ASAP and now i feel sick with worry about her. She was so distressed the poor little thing

Hope she’s ok??

 

[Giggling Squid]

I've been thinking for years now to self-insure, but it worries me that as soon as we start saving, one of them will get poorly! It is a gamble, but then again, so is insuring!!

If it helps the decision making, one out of hours visit was more than our entire annual premium...

Hope she is ok xxx

Hope she’s ok??

Thank you she’s much better today. The elastic is still in her, but no abdominal discomfort so they’re hoping it passes through...

 

[Shinythings]

My insurance for my cat has been really good to be fair. He had a feline coronavirus last year and became very ill and had to be on oxygen therapy as he developed pnuemonia and then was on steroids for a while and fortnightly vet visits for 3 months after as it took him a while to recover. They paid the entire thing which came to well over 2k in the end.

 

[Sunshine&clouds]

My insurance for my cat has been really good to be fair. He had a feline coronavirus last year and became very ill and had to be on oxygen therapy as he developed pnuemonia and then was on steroids for a while and fortnightly vet visits for 3 months after as it took him a while to recover. They paid the entire thing which came to well over 2k in the end.

I hope he's ok now. That must have been so scary.

 

[Tricham]

I've had my own awful experience of the feline coronavirus. Cats can normally carry the coronavirus, but in some cats (usually kittens) it mutates into an awful disease called FIP. There was no cure for it 5 years ago (the wet form at least.. the dry form, I believe, is more hopeful), and we lost one of our kittens 6 weeks after we got him. His sister lasted to about a year old before she succumbed too. They both had the disease when they were still with the breeder, but it is a disease which doesn't show itself, until it has progressed (it is also no fault of the breeder.. she did stop breeding Ragdolls once she knew the disease was in her cattery). Back then, I was definitely glad we had insurance, as we would have had to fork out a lot after having had the first kitten for only 6 weeks! It was a very sad time to lose those kittens. The cats I have now are actually their half brothers.