All quite different from when (1970s) and where (UK) I grew up. Pet insurance wasn't even on the radar, and injured pets were routinely put to sleep if it cost too much to treat.

I think it depends a lot if you always use the same vet. My daughter is a vet and when they have people that they have never seen before, they have to ask for the money up front cos so many people didnt pay or even gave false names and addresses, having said that don`t think she would let an animal suffer cos they couldnt pay

My vet is the same. There was a case where a cat was still in the prime of his life apart from requiring an operation to fix him after an accident and the owner was unable/unwilling to pay; they fixed the cat at own cost and then rehomed the little chap. I guess you can't afford to do this too often and I think there will be cases where some agreement is reached to allow the owner to keep the cat.

You never know why someone has ended up unable to pay - in my case it would be that I don't work sufficient hours to earn the sort of salary that allows you to save a lot of money in the first place combined with shelling out 900 francs a month for school. Someone else may have just had to raid their kitty kitty to pay for some health thing not covered by insurance.

I'm glad to see that this thread has sprung back to life, as it is so important to highlight the need to plan ahead, including thinking about finances should (doG forbid) an emergency crop up.

Savings, insurance, credit cards, family who can help out if needed - think about what you would or could do if suddenly faced with a bill of several thousands. A beloved pet facing a serious (and treatable) illness is an emotional wringer itself, don't add to your stress by scrambling to figure out the finances at the same time.

A good relationship with your vets helps. If as a long time patient of the practice you find yourself in the situation where in one partiular instance you cannot pay all at once, ask if you can put X down and then pay the rest in regular installments. And then make darn sure you stick to the agreement. While many practices have had to get strict wrt payment policies, a long time customer facing an extraordinary situation, who is known to be trustworthy, can sometimes work out an individual arrangement.

But if you are new to the practice, don't expect the same consideration. Too many irresponsible people have ruined it for the rest of us.

As mentioned earlier - my dogs did not have many vet expenses in their younger days. But as they grow older the bills get heftier, that is to be expected.

The golden oldie days (and bills) might be far off for many of you, but take the time now to think about how you will finance Fido's golden years. Or the unexpected emergency, which can happen at any time.

Regarding the above - my cats' insurance company only accepts cats as new customers up to the age of seven, after that they are considered "senior" and thus higher risk. This seems ridiculous to me as my cats are turning six and they are as healthy and playful as ever.

Premiums go up a little as they age but there is also a no claims deduction, so if the case of never needing to make recourse to the insurance indeed occurs, well then you just don't pay as much.

I don't know what the cut-off point for dogs is, might depend on the breed. From what my sister said there is also pre-existing conditions to factor in, but I didn't study it closely as I knew I would be insuring my pets from the start.

Something to consider, especially in the light of how quickly circumstances can change, be it for the owner or the pet.

Which is why I advocate having a separate bank account instead. When I first starting doing this most pet insurances only went up to age 8 and then you couldn't have insurance any longer. Most have now either extended the age limit or as you say increase premiums as your pet gets older. With a bank account you put in as much or as little as you want when you want. Total flexibility, no age restrictions, no increased premiums, etc, etc.

True.

Whilst we would no longer be able to get cat insurance I believe as our cat is too old.
If I think how much I have spent on vets in total over the years, it doesn't come close to the total in premiums that we would have had to pay, without even considering the excess.

We have on a couple of occasions when our regular vet was on holiday. However it wasn't because they didn't know us, there was a sign that said immediate cash payments only.

Hi there, im tagging on to this tread rather than start another...

We have a Main coon, she is 1.5yrs old. We didn't think we needed insurance as she is an indoor cat from a breeder and has a full family history (with no known disease)
But on a recent trip to the vet she suggested that we get pet insurance as she will have to have all her teeth out at some point
Apparently this is an ongoing issue for Maincoons - although through my research I didn't read anything about that

She also tends to get persistent ear infections, anyhow so now im researching pet insurance, and I have not found one that includes dental?? Am I looking in the wrong place (comparis) or is this simply not something that is covered?

Im torn between putting say 50-100chf away per month and hoping that anything serious comes later rather than earlier... I think the vet suggested when she is about 4 years old for the dental.

Any thoughts on pet insurance that I haven't thought about?

We had our Bermese for 10 years in Australia - bought from a pet shop looking back now I didn't even consider how dodgy that was!
I never had any insurance and as an outside cat, we only went to the vet once when she had a fight with a possum!

The in-laws adopted a cat from a Spanish shelter, and the poor animal was constantly in pain due to teeth problems.

They had to remove all the teeth (with the exception of the canines).

The extraction was in total 2000 chf. (all the previous consultations extra)

I believe the condition you are referring to is Stomatitis. But before accepting a full-mouth extration as inevitable, I'd want to do a lot more research, gather opinions from several vets, and discuss this with other main coon owners.

That said:

As in my previous posts, I do not have pet health insurance. It simply is not cost effective for me, as my dogs were adopted older, some with pre-existing conditions.

(Do make sure you understand the fine print definition of pre-existing condition; including whether or not breed would be considered a pre-existing condition.)

Several of my dogs have had some very expensive illneses, in fact I'm waiting for Hooligan's recent Tierspital bill and will be thrilled if it is only in the four figure range.

Still I would not consider insurance, I would rather not deal with the bureaucracy and navigating my way through restrictions and limits when I can pretty much accomplish the same goal by putting what I'd have to spend on premiums into savings. In doing so I have a nice emergency fund built up over the years.

When my dog is fighting for her life, I don't want to worry whether X or Y is covered. I feel better with finances under my own control.

YMMV.

But do speak to other vets and main coon owners about the dental issue... Fingers crossed your girl doesn't develop this condition.



ETA:

Looking over Haifisch's records, he had all but 4 teeth extracted by a vet in France while he was at the homeless shelter. The bill was ca. 400 Euros. This was in 2007. OTOH, extracting 6 teeth plus bone biopsy (and maybe some other stuff) while the Belltie was gravely ill, requiring an anesthesiology specialist to boot, came to ca. CHF 2000. This was 2016.

So another suggestion would be to compare prices.

And think about timing, if there is an elective component to the decision. When an animal is already ill additional precautions are often needed, making surgery more complicated and possibly more expensive.

All the best to you and your kitty.

I totally agree with meloncollie regarding pet insurance. Even if I were to have a puppy or kitten with no known issues, and took out insurance at that point, I'd still have a pet bills savings pot as back up.

Two points...

A year ago, our cat had a feline arterial thromboembolism (F.A.T.E.). the first thing the vet advised us upon diagnosis, was that the condition is not covered by any form of pet insurance that he's aware of, so we would definitely be looking at a tierspital bill of CHF 2k+. We were in the fortunate position of being able to say "Whatever it takes. Money isn't an issue." That was the 3rd time I'd had a pet with a condition that wasn't covered by the insurance.

Secondly, I looked after a wonderful 6yr old Maine Coon in the UK for a number of months whilst her owner was recovering from an illness. The cat had fallen out with her litter sister and was refusing to stay at home. When she adopted us, I knew absolutely nothing about cats, so did a hell of a lot of research and spoke to 2 vets I know by email. I never heard of, or was particularly made aware of, this breed having a particular issue with their teeth.

Good luck with your beautiful cat. I'd have another Maine Coon in a heart beat.

It's worth having a family discussion regarding what you be prepared to spend in a pet emergency, and at what point you need to stop spending?


One of my friends had his beloved dog unexpectedly to the vet, and when each operation had complications, a CHF 24,000 bill had been racked up in 2 weeks. At the time, being so distressed about his beloved dog, my friend just kept saying yes to each vet suggestion for more treatments, without the ability to think clearly about the financial consequences.


Another friend racked up CHF 32,000 in operations for emergency & other treatments over 2 months for his dog, and wound up having to sell his car to pay the bill.


Absolutely I understand that for some of us, these critters are beloved family members and that in turn means we'll keep forking out cash to pay for treatments. But I wonder if people get themselves into real financial difficulties as a result?

Probably a silly question, but is as expensive the treatment in other countries? Such as Italy, France, Germany...

It's been quite a while since we had anything serious with any of our cats, but the surgeries that we've had in France cost nothing like the figures quoted here. Things like treating a broken hip and in another case amputating one leg (to slow down spread of cancer) were in the order of a couple of hundred euros, perhaps up to three or four including drugs and multiple visits. I can't begin to imagine how serious something would have to be to rack up a multi-thousand bill for surgery.

From my own experience, routine care here still seems to be rather a bargain. For routine care (vax, worming, check-ups, common illnesses) I am paying less in Switerland today than what my Chicagoland friends do.

Specialist care, emergencies requiring the 'bells and whistles' can be expensive here, certainly - but seemingly on par with, and often less, than what my friends Stateside report.

We have a level of expertise, and the bells and whistles that go with it, readily available to us here in the Zürich area that is well above expectations for such a small country. For which I am so thankful - and frankly, happy to pay for. Haifisch, the Belltie, and now Hooligan - very different outcomes to life-threatening emergencies than I had been braced for, thanks to the immediate accessibility of top flight expertise here.

Yes, that expertise is certainly available back home, heck most of the specialists here have also trained in the US. The difference is proximity - a veterinary emergency is one time I am grateful that Switzerland is such a geographically small country.

Hooligan just spent the longest 10 days of my life hospitalized. The first 5 days, an emergency admission on a holiday and then weekend, were at the local clinic. 5 days, 24/7 care - the cost was only CHF 800. A bargain in my eyes. She was then transferred to the Tierspital. Treatment there included MRIs, ultrasounds, tests, 24/7 ICU. I expect the bill to be larger - but it won't be ruinous.

I was impressed at how well the Tierspital doctors handled the issue of costs. Each step was discussed as to why it might be recommended to help Hooligan. The doctor in charge of her case was upfront about not only risks vs benefit but also costs vs possible outcomes - the discussion was handled in a very sensitive way. At no time did I feel pushed to do anything.

I've never felt that costs were out of line with treatment here, either at the Tierspital or any of the local clinics or practices I have used. I honestly can say that the vets I have seen have my dogs' best interest at heart; they have told me frankly when a procedure was not worth doing, so I trust the vet when he or she tells me that X is recommended it is indeed the right thing for my dog.

I may whine about the Hochpreisinsel in other spheres, but veterinary care is one thing that I consider a very good value in Switzerland. Emphasis on the value - we are fortunate to have this level of expertise readily available.

So I just got the Tierspital bill - and was delighted to see that it was under 2500, of which the MRI was only ca 800.

A veritable bargain, no doubt about it.

We are fortunate to have a world class university that promotes this level of expertise, to have the teaching hospital as a resource, and a system where local practices, clinics, and the university work together to do the best for the animal.

That's one bill very happily paid.

it's definitely interesting that people could spend a lot of money to save the life of one animal while they see other animals as consumption goods. it's a strange world.

I did, but it was coincidence that my dog's arthritis was diagnosed a couple of weeks after separating from my husband. Her monthly vet's bill accounted for more than half of my budget for food, loo roll, etc... There were several pay day loans involved, but I didn't begrudge it as she was my priority. It was purely bad timing, and it's amazing how many dishes you can make from a pallet of budget tinned tomatoes and a bag of onions.

Slightly off topic...

My job didn't work out (I had a mental health crisis, was made homeless, was housed and lost my job all in the space of a few months).

However being in my own place, feeling low and lonely, my parents told me to get a cat and that they would help me if necessary.

So Talitha and I have been living together very happily for almost a year, and I wouldn't give her up for the world. Sometimes knowing she needs feeding has been the only thing that has got me out of bed.

My vets have a payment plan where I pay £13.50 a month and all of her vaccinations, flea and worming treatments are covered. I also got a discount on having her spayed, and she gets a free six-month health check and unlimited free claw clipping (where they are also happy to answer any general questions).

I have managed to both pay for pet insurance and put money aside for cat sitting and trips to the vets, so hopefully (paws crossed) I won't have to make difficult decisions if something happened to her. It means I have less money for other things, and if my benefits ever get cut I might need to reevaluate... but for the moment, I manage.

And she's worth it!

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How very kind! Glad to hear they are supportive, as you've been through a lot.