Pet Insurance: My Personal Story

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To Insure or Not Insure

By DIANA WALDHUBER

To insure or not to insure, that is indeed the question. Our pets are a huge part of our lives, but many people don’t insure their pets.

Of course, it’s a personal decision and it can get quite expensive with an older pet. But when my cat suddenly got deathly sick, I more than felt the pinch.

Marvin, a domestic shorthair, nearly died when I rushed him to my local vet with a lower urinary tract blockage. It was, as you can imagine, a horrible time for me. The vet told me that if I had waited a few hours longer, then I wouldn’t have had a cat.

The thing was, I’d been freelancing and work had been scarce at the time so the money exactly rolling in. The vet visit only cost a few hundred dollars, but the stay in the animal emergency hospital quickly ran up a bill of $2,000.

Lucky for me, I had some friends and family who were able to help out. Again, it wasn't a question of whether to spend the money to prolong a life for a few months or weeks. My cat was given a chance to fully recover if I went ahead with the treatment. And well, to lose your pet because you can't pay for expensive vet bills is just wrong!

Marvin, thankfully, is home now on a different, better diet, and running around like a kitten (when he isn’t sleeping or eating, that is). And insurance? You bet. I understand that pre-existing conditions aren’t covered, but if I have an emergency with him, I want to make sure my furry best friend has all the chances in the world. He deserves to make it.

So for me, yes, to insure was my definitive answer. What’s yours?