They say that a cat uses up eight of his nine lives in the first year of life. With their intensive curiosity that is not yet tempered with caution, it is not unusual for a first year kitten to experience a number of haphazard falls and bumbles throughout that first year. Out of all the reasons to purchase pet insurance for a cat, this would be the most obvious.
Whether ultimately a friendly little lap kitty or an aloof, run amok through the neighborhood type of cat, all cats should have some sort of protection to help deal not only with the situations they get themselves into, but the situations that life hands them. A healthy cat should be expected to live anywhere between 12 and 15, sometimes even 20 years. That’s a long time to be laden with joy, playfulness, and of course, feline mishaps.
Cats have become an intrinsic part of our daily world. We rely on them for their endearing personalities, for their companionship, and for their loyalty of the heart. They so often comply without heed that we forget that they ask so little of us. They ask for their basic needs, a little comfort from the world outside, and our commitment to their daily life. In our worst moments, they simply ask to be fed and a few minutes of our time and attention before they are just as happy to curl up and listen to our woes of the day. They can not offer us their thoughts or their opinions, thus instead they seek to offer us comfort. We become “used to it,” and even silently expect it after years of their daily devotional acts.
Cats are not as prone to accidents as dogs. Dogs, with their blind faith, are the first to run recklessly out into the street or bound ahead of us on the trail only to be sidelined by a freak fall or an unpleasant encounter. Cats, of course, go off with more dignity, and are rarely the victim of such accidents. However, cats are far from perfect and may very well take a tumble from the rafters or God forbid, take flight from the hands of a curious child. Just because of the tremendous likelihood that the cat will land on his feet doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the guarantee against breaking on of those feet.
It is never fair to be forced into making health decisions for any member of the family, including the family cat, by considering both the best health alternative and the best financial alternative. In most cases, the two alternatives are not one in the same. Life saving medical care can be costly. The medical care necessary to sustain a high quality of life can be costly. The most honest and urgent reasons to purchase pet insurance for a cat is the simple fact that we love them, and we want them on this earth with us for as long as humanly possible. It really is that simple.
If your cat could talk, he would never ask much of you. He would simply hope that you would always make the best decisions for him as possible. Naturally, you would like to think that as well. Cats are basically inexpensive to own on a day to day basis. They require little, their cat food and litter usually only add up to about $50 to $75 per month, and their basic toys might run an additional $50 per year. Cats are often acquired for free, unless of course you choose to purchase a purebred cat or adopt one from the shelter.
Many humans are notorious for deciding very quickly that the stray kitten they found in the back alley or that a kitten from the litter the neighbor’s cat had should stay. We make these fast decisions and never really consider the scope of what we are doing. When we take a kitten into our home, we are not simply providing it with refuge. We are offering them the promises of life that we would offer any other family member. Pet insurance is one way of ensuring our promises are kept.
Some cat policies cover only emergencies while others will cover routine and urgent care for a slightly higher premium. Some cat policies offer everything from their first shots to their final services and cremation and everything in between. Most will have an addendum written in regarding common cat illnesses like diabetes and cancer. Just like human insurance, cat insurance does not offer full coverage of the costs regarding serious illnesses, but it can certainly put a wicked dent in the costs to make them affordable. Dental care, even dental extractions are often covered in part or in full, preventative medications, and even long term prescription drugs. Everything can usually be written into the policy to help offset of defer the costs associated with veterinary care. It almost doesn’t make sense not to carry health insurance for your cat.
We live in an unpredictable world. Our fuzzy friends live in this same world with us, by our sides as our constant and faithful companions. Our love for them is all the reward they ask. And we honor that in many ways. Keeping our feline companions as healthy as possible for as long as possible is our promise to them, as well as ourselves, no matter how they made their grand entrance into our lives. This promise, this desire we have to keep them near to us, even when we are too busy to remember what kind of cat fanatics we can be, is the best reason to purchase pet insurance for a cat.