Pet Insurance

We're getting a new kitten! This will be my first ever cat here in England and I'm taking it very seriously. I've been looking into pet insurances and have so far found that Tesco does the cheapest (around six pound a month). I've checked ASDA and even gone on compare.com.

Was wondering if anyone has experience when it comes to this? Can anyone suggest a particular company over another?

Thank you!

We use M&S for our pet insurance (two kitties : brothers who will be three years old in june).  We chose M&S because our plan has lifetime cover, even for chronic illness - meaning that if one of the boys should develop something like diabetes, the insurance will cover him after the end of the annual term in which the condition was diagnosed.  I think PetPlan does something similar.  Ours is something like £12 per month for both boys.

I use Tesco as well (cheapness factor, purely), but I've never had to make a claim or contact them, so I can't really give a review either way!  (they're also one of the few that would cover our older cat for a reasonable price)

Ooh, good and very timely thread - we let ours lapse and I need to shop around for a new plan.

Meg, does M&S give anything toward vaccinations?

I'm leaning toward M&S as well (I picked up the Tesco leaflet and, besides the fact that I HATE HATE HATE Tesco and really don't even want to give them a few quid a month, I didn't think the coverage looked all that good).

I'm actually not sure - we've chosen to stop vaccinating for the time being, since our guys are indoor-only and Xander had a really scary reaction to either the rabies or the distemper last year.    I'm pretty sure we paid for our vaccinations last March, though, even though we had the insurance. 

I've looked at a few different companies (Tesco, ASDA, PetPlan...compare.com is great!) and I'm considering going with Tesco. It's the cheapest (less than six quid a month) and the standard cover looks no different to anyone else's standard cover.

I didn't know M&S did pet insurance. I'll have to look into that. I'd prefer to have lifetime cover, as well. Thanks!

Speaking of indoor kitties...My own will be an indoor only and I had said that you don't necessarily need vaccinations if they don't go outside. My niece (who is somewhat haughty and thinks she knows all), claims you still need to get a cat flu vac.

Any idea what vacs are a MUST even for indoor kitties?

Wouldn't they need to be around other cats to get cat flu?  Like with URIs? 

That's what I figured...*shrug*

Oh - I found a nifty site - www.petplanet.co.uk

They sell loads of stuff for all sorts of pets. Their selections are that wide, but they carry the necessities and then some. Thought some of you might be interested. 

Speaking of indoor kitties...My own will be an indoor only and I had said that you don't necessarily need vaccinations if they don't go outside. My niece (who is somewhat haughty and thinks she knows all), claims you still need to get a cat flu vac.

Any idea what vacs are a MUST even for indoor kitties?

The community of feline medicine practitioners has definitely been moving towards the "less is more" approach when it comes to vaccines for kitties. However, the FVRCP (Feline viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia) vaccine is still recommended to be given regularly. Annually if your kitty ever boards at a vet or cattery. I personally give my (indoor only, but occasional boarding) kitties the FVRCP and Rabies vaccines, annually.

Kittens are a whole different ballpark...

Wouldn't they need to be around other cats to get cat flu?  Like with URIs? 

Some viruses can survive in the environment and be picked up and brought into the home. I think Rhinotracheitis is very fragile, while the Calicivirus is heartier and can last for days outside the host. So if there is a viremic cat around outside, and sneezing...there is the possibility, although it is probably slight.

The community of feline medicine practitioners has definitely been moving towards the "less is more" approach when it comes to vaccines for kitties.

That's good to hear!  I'd hate to think I was harming (or rather neglecting) my kitties in any way, but at the same time, they're indoor only and I don't board them - when we go away, we hire a petsitter so they can stay at home.  So they really aren't around any other kitties or animals at all.

My guys had all their vaccines when we lived in the the US, including (obviously, or they wouldn't be over here) rabies - which is one that often has to be pre-ordered here in the UK.  I don't know if that is what nearly killed Xander last year, or if it was the distemper, but it was one of them - by the time we got home from the vet, he'd swollen up like a watermelon, then puked eight or nine times in ten minutes, then sacked out on the floor being totally non-responsive while I called the vet in hysterics.    All I know is that we're not going through THAT again!

Speaking of indoor kitties...My own will be an indoor only and I had said that you don't necessarily need vaccinations if they don't go outside. My niece (who is somewhat haughty and thinks she knows all), claims you still need to get a cat flu vac.

Any idea what vacs are a MUST even for indoor kitties?

My sister works in a veterinary hospital and she has advised that our exclusively indoor kitty does NOT need any further vaccinations.  The UK is rabies-free, so obviously there's not that one.  She never has contact with any other animals and never goes outside, so what could she catch anyway?  Just adding in my story; this isn't professional advice (well, it is, but only 2nd hand )

One of the vets over here told us that even though they may be indoor cats, they still need their shots because you can bring some of the viruses home simply on your clothes. If you had been outside and petted a neighboring or stray cat those viruses could come with you. But saying that, when we prepared out 2 cats to come over our vet in the states gave them a 3 year vaccine and we haven't renewed it. We have let it lapse for the last 2 years and both are as happy and healthy as can be.

I've yet to encounter an outdoor kitty in this area that doesn't run like the dickens when I (or anyone else) approach.  I hate to think why the cats around here are so scared of people.

I've yet to encounter an outdoor kitty in this area that doesn't run like the dickens when I (or anyone else) approach.  I hate to think why the cats around here are so scared of people.

Really?  DH is forever laughing at me because I am always stopping to pet the neighborhood cats! lol