? NEW HERE - Need cat insurance UK

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Juliette Peucelle

Member Since 2020
Hello everyone!

I'm new here, as my Sushi MAY have diabetes. She hasn't been tested yet, but we'll probably do it soon as she's overweight (even tho I'm doing me best to make her lose weight...) and is an old lady (nearly 12).
I wanted to take an insurance before it is declared as any insurance would not cover any already ongoing disease.
I have found the PetPlan one that looked ok, but was wondering if anyone had a suggestion? Or do you think maybe an insurance is not worth it for diabetes? I can really found how much it cost monthly for the insulin etc?

Thanks in advance for anyone that will help me!

Juliette
 
Hi and welcome.
I can’t help you with the pet insurance sorry, but I’m sure someone else may be able to help you.

12 years old isn’t an old lady......we have cats here that are 20 years old. A 12 year old cat still has many years.

If you suspect that Sushi may have diabetes, I would not leave it to have her checked over. If she does have diabetes, she needs to be started on insulin.
It is important that cats eat every day so don’t withhold food if you are trying to get her to lose weight. It has to be done very slowly.
 
Hi Juliette
The issue of pet insurance divides people - I have always had it for my cats as a peace of mind thing, but plenty of other people don’t have it and just pay for vet treatment as they need it. The dilemma is that vet treatment is very expensive, but so is insurance. I currently pay £30 a month for my nine-year-old civie, so £360 a year - sounds quite a lot but that wouldn’t go far at all if she needed treatment and I had to pay the bills myself. I’ve paid out a lot in premiums without needing to claim, but I might have done - so I personally think’s worth it.

As far as insurance companies go, there are many of them. Pet Plan is a good one, yes, and I’ve heard good things about a company called Bought by Many. You can search for others via a comparison site. I think you’d have to be very careful though about taking out a policy and then shortly afterwards taking your cat to the vet - almost all insurance policies won’t cover pre-existing conditions and some may not cover conditions that are diagnosed within a certain period of insurance being taken out... for obvious reasons.

So to answer your question about is insurance worth it for diabetes - yes, if you have cover already, but possibly not if it’s a suspected but yet to be diagnosed condition. I would suggest that you get your cat checked out sooner rather than later though, for her health’s sake, and then investigate costs - insulin and testing supplies being the main ones. It’s not too bad and we can point you in the direction of where to find the best prices.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.
 
Hi @Juliette Peucelle - Welcome!

Waving to you from Surrey!

Can't help with cat insurance info, have never used it. But I can help with general UK diabetes info.
As Bron has said, 12 years isn't old for a cat. And with care and a wee bit of luck many diabetics will go on to live long, happy, and healthy lives. If Sushi does have diabetes then it's wise to start dealing with that as soon as possible.

What makes you think Sushi may have diabetes?
Is she drinking and peeing a lot? Does she have a dandruffy coat? Do her back legs seem weak? Is she wanting to eat a lot, or alternatively, too little..? Is she peeing inappropriately..? If she seems 'off' at all then it would be wise to get a vet visit to get her checked over, get some general blood tests done, etc. She 'may' have diabetes, or she may have something else.

What is your kitty eating at the moment? If she's eating any dry food then this is the perfect time (before she starts on insulin) to switch her to a low carb wet diet. That can reduce the blood glucose quite a bit...

Many of us test our kitty's blood glucose at home. (Much easier than it sounds!). And if you're willing to learn this you can just use ordinary glucose meters made for humans. There are also pet meters available but these are much pricier to use. Many UK folks use the SD Codefree meter. But there is now a new 'improved' version of it called the Gluco Navii. Any other human meters are just fine too.

If you can't get a meter quickly then you may still be able to get some urine test strips from a pharmacy. If you get Keto-Diastix test strips then these test for both urine glucose and 'ketones'. If the urine glucose test is positive then it is quite possible your cat is diabetic. But if it's negative it doesn't necessarily rule out diabetes, it just means that your cat's blood glucose level isn't high enough to be spilling into the urine (which would be a good sign).
Hopefully the ketone result will also be negative. But ketones are serious in diabetic kitties so anything above a 'trace' level is a reason to talk to your vet ASAP.

How is the Covid situation affecting your access to vet visits? Can you still get an appointment OK?

Eliz
 
Hi everyone, thanks for all the answer !

To answer to @Elizabeth and Bertie, we don't think she has diabetes, it's just that the vet thinks she might have it at some point from being overweight. She does have so dandruff but she also has food allergies so it's mainly coming from that for sure, and therefore I cannot change her food. Our vet is still open if we need to bring her in, so no issue on this side.

As for her weight loss, I'm following the vet advice on how much she should get each day, so don't worry I feed her every day !
Thanks @Diana&Tom , I will have a look at this !
 
Juliette Peucelle said:
we don't think she has diabetes, it's just that the vet thinks she might have it at some point from being overweight.
Click to expand...
Aha.... Well, yes, obesity does put her at increased risk... (The diabetic girl I adopted last year was a real pudding when she first came here...)
What are Sushi's food allergies? Do you know? ....If it is at all possible to switch her to a low carb wet diet that in itself would be really good 'insurance' against diabetes....

And do consider testing her blood glucose or urine glucose periodically. It could save you a lot of time and effort if you do manage to pick up raised blood glucose early on...

Eliz
 
Don't know if the terms are the same, but in DK it's illegal to say your cat is wel, when you suspect she's not.
And since she's almost 12, it's kinda too late. In DK the cat needs a vet certificate that she's well, and since she's not she would get coverage for everything else than the suspected diagnosis.

However insurance is freaking awesome. I pay 20% of all vet visits, insulin, syringes and testing gear. I would really recommend it to everyone if it's a possibility! Mine was insured for 8 years without ever using it and then the diabetes hit. And it hit hard!
 
Did you get insurance sorted yet?

If not the one thing I would say is that you get what you pay for! I would avoid the cheap policies, they are cheap for a reason. The cover will be limited and in my experience, the insurer will make it as hard as possible to make a claim. I would also add, avoid Animal friends! I won’t go into detail here but I had a dreadful experience with them firstly for my dog (I threatened legal action for disability discrimination after the reason they gave for refusing a claim) and then for Polly before she was diagnosed.
 
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