chartreuse

Excellent! From the quotes I've been getting they seem to be the best value.

I'm going to get a couple of things in writing - it's amazing what a lot of plans won't cover - things like like chronic conditions (one plan offers an extra option for them, but then sneakily excludes things like chronic renal failure as "hereditary") or even prescription meds administered at home.

Also, when you get into the small print a lot of them have page after page of qualifiers, exceptions etc with tiny limits for the most common conditions. Perhaps this lot are cheaper because they don't need to employ an army of analysts to deal with all of that rubbish!

Poppy girl

Well if I have missed something be sure to let me know!

chartreuse

Well, I'm still waiting for a reply, but one thing occurred to me. Petplan say that they'll pay what is listed as a reasonable fee in the "American Animal Hospital Association Veterinary Fee Reference Guide".

So, I might need to ask our vet if he thinks the prices in there are reasonable...

Also - there's a 30% co-pay if you get referred to a specialist or university facility. As those are the only places round here who have the fancier kit, that might be more likely for us than for folks in big metropolitan areas.

But that's going to be $200-$300 for something like radioiodine, which is still better than $700 to $1000.

Interesting article here and I found a comparison site here.

nettlebed

Carnivores' diets are higher in phosphorus than herbivores. There is much more phosphorus in meat than there is in plant, since it does much more metabolizing.

chartreuse

That's true. I think it's only really an issue when you're dealing with kidney problems.

nettlebed

Yep: the problems cats often have is that they don't drink enough or drink too much milk. Ours have water and nothing else. We have one of these water fountains, which they both like, but it needs to be cleaned properly every week at least. We had to get one of these reservoirs as well, since they drink so much. The litter box certainly tells the tale. Lilly like to drink from dribbling taps too, and her nickname (or one of them) is Wet Head, though she doesn't go over the top like Maru.

chartreuse

Precisely. Also - cats shouldn't be drinking milk, once they're no longer kittens. Part of the problem, IMHO, is dry food. Cats are designed to get much of their water requirement from wet food.

We have one of these fountains. The Kitten got one for Christmas a few years ago and we bought an identical one when we moved to TX.

I'll be setting it up for Velvet in a bit, so we'll see how she likes it.

chartreuse

Also - interesting powerpoint presentation on insurance, from a vet, here.

She plumps for petplan - but the presentation seems to have been written before the moved to using the AAHA fee guide to determine "reasonable" fees.

PepsiChic

kittys dont have insurance yet but ive had a snoop around a bit most plans seem similar.

All 3 of my cats drink water from a fountain bowl like yours, I feed them whiskas wet food (pouches) twice a day (morning and night) and dry food at lunch time.

One of the kittens gets a little bit of dry food with her night feed because her sister steals her food if you dont keep an eye on them.

They all get vitamin supplements from walmart, and now that they the oldest (5) is an indoor cat they get furball remedy too once a week which has worked amazingly.

They have a floor to celing scratching post too with platforms, numerous toys and about 50 places to sleep (even though they still choose the computer chair)

one thing id suggest is look for reviews on the company you wish to go with before you take out any plan!

just type in pet insurance reviews in your search engine and have a good read!
http://www.petinsurancereview.com/

Kaffy Mintcake

We feed Felidae. It's one of the few companies that was never recalled.

Kaffy Mintcake

Not always true. We have a kitty who has always been underweight where the real priority is getting her to take in calories. Milk is highly recommended for her.

chartreuse

If it's all you can get her to take then absolutely! You've got to get cats to take on food. I'm honestly not criticising, but, personally, I would really prefer an alternative.

Aside from the other issues associated with milk, 100g gives 65 calories and contains 3.3g protein, 3.8g fat and 4.7g carbs. If my arithmetic is correct, that's 13 calories from protein, 34 from fat and 18 from carbs.

That's not only less protein (which is key for an obligate carnivore, but here is the least significant component) and more fat, than I'd like to see, but also a whopping 28% of calorific intake from carbs, which is more likely to go to fat rather than good muscle mass.

It's the same with many of the prescription foods and weight gain supplements you get from the vet's. They're heavy on carbs and low on protein. Would work great in a human, but cats aren't humans.

They're better.

nettlebed

The absolute best food for kissie cats:

Toontje

A very good pet food manufacturer is Royal Canin (cat and dog food). They have cat and dog food specifically developed for the various breeds and ages. Their website also lists the ingredients of their products. Availability in the US is still quite limited, but the number of retail outlets that sell it seems to grow.

chartreuse

In cats (at least, I know next to nothing of dogs), the whole breed specific, indoor / outdoor thing is just a marketing gimmick. Cats need what they've evolved to eat - calories comprised of >40% protein, <50% fat and <10% carbs. Plus the necessary stuff like calcium, taurine etc.

RC has one food that I know of that meets these criteria - Calorie Control CC-38 canned. Unfortunately it's also quite high in phosphorus - so possibly not the best choice for older cats, where the chances of kidney issues are higher.