Paying vet bills

[Desley (booktigger)]

I have both, and use the credit card to pay for things until the insurance pay up. I also started taking £20 a month up last year to pay for their annual bloods and boosters (I would only claim for bloods if it showed something, as it is for my piece of mind, not a vet recommendation), but with heavy vets bills, I let it slip, so only got part of the cost of Molly's bloods and boosters next week. I probably woud be best putting it in my savings account, but the advantage is that it is at the vets, so if something unexpected happens, I have something there. Rolo's dental will end up going on the credit card, and I shall just have to reduce the money going into my savings to pay for it.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Are you sure your are not DD 

I retired early on ill health grounds 

[ccmacey]

On a pension at 25 Gill 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I think that is a great idea Roz cos my cards are broke at the moment and although having all cats insured I would have problem finding the money to pay the bill till the insurance coughed.

I wonder who I can con into giving me a card with a high amount on it cos I on a pension and have two high value broke cards!!

I reckon I would have to cut it in half too cos otherwise I would use it. 

[Roz]

Yes, my last vets had a savings plan which I think is a very good idea for those who work well within a sort of organized scheme but my income is unpredictable so I prefer to be more free with my monthly outlay (do they make interest on your money? Or do you receive the interest on your savings?)

In 2005/6 (an awful year!!!) I had a number of unexpected illnesses and some real heartbreak. I must have spent in excess of £8,000 at the vets....mostly on Jet.  I know that barely scratches the surface for rescue but I'm just an ordinary pet owner.  I was lucky to have the funds to pay it but when Abyss came up in the USA (a gunshot wound) and Claire and I hadn't sufficient money left on our credit cards to do more than the early work (it was a Friday night....so we were powerless to do anything more) it made me think about how I would be placed if ever I had this sort of scenario in my own life.  Hence the reason for the unused credit card with a reasonable amount of credit on it.

If you have a number of animals the insurance payments work out very expensive.  And they will not pay for an animal that already has an illness or condition.  I would have put little Thomas on insurance when I brought him back here because I feel he may eventually end up with Mega colon (nothing seems to soften his little stools bless him) but his condition was already known.  So the really nasty illnesses aren't covered anyway.

Thanks for your replies....they're all very interesting.

Best wishes,

Roz

[Kittybabe (Ruth)]

Lexy's insurance doesn't cover prescription food though, but its not actually that more expensive that what I was buying her. If it had been I would have been in a pickle, probably would have sold stuff so I could have a cushion for her food. That's where the savings ideas/credit card ideas come in handy I think.

[Dawn F]

we didn't have insurance when we just had one cat although as Bluto suffered from struvite stones and lived the latter part of his life on prescription food it probably would have been better! 

[Kittybabe (Ruth)]

I have to say that I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't the insurance. Lexy in 2 years has had over £5000 in vets bills. That's three surgeries plus all associated costs, blood works, x-rays, ultrasounds, all the medication and overnight care.  Costly.  I don't have the credit to be able to just pay it, not for a couple more months anyway so having the insurance is fantastic.

For older cats who cannot get insured, I think the credit card idea and savings are great. Its not a bad idea to do both?  That way if you do have to start using the card for the vets bills if you have some savings set aside you can start repaying it back asap rather than having to dig into your current funds.

[Tiggy's Mum]

The 'frozen' credit card is a good idea, as is savings, but remember that even young healthy cats can have costly vets bills.  Riley is a picture of health but he has cost M&S well over £500 in vets bills before he's even got to his first birthday - not bad for a £7 a month investment.  I'd never be without insurance now, I learnt my lesson the hard way with Tiggy.  I don't begrudge her a penny and would have begged or borrowed to pay for her treatment if I had to but it wouldn't have been such a big worry if she was insured.

Even those with insurance should bear in mind that not all vets will accept direct payment from the insurance company so it's still a good idea to have a 'frozen' card to pay for the treatment which can then be claimed back from the insurance company.  My vets didn't accept direct payments with Riley when he had all his tests, although they said if it was an ongoing condition that had already been paid out once then they would accept direct payments. 

[CurlyCatz]

Yeah the savings idea is a very good one !  If you were to lay away the 7 or 10 quid or whatever every month by direct debit then if you are lucky and do not have much vets bills you will have enough to cover any  common old age problems, however that does kind of rely upon you having a youngish and relatively health non accident prone pet !!

The "just in case" credit facility is also a good idea to ensure your pet gets the needed veterinary attention.

[Mark]

Another thing I have heard of is setting up a savings account that you pay a set amount into by direct debit. A gamble but a lot of people do. I still think the less money you have, the more important insurance is. Not too many people can easily lay their hands on £3,000 for a major op.

[Roz]

Hi everyone,

Just lately, some of the threads in which I've been involved anchor on the payment of veterinary bills.  I've posted many times before that I do not hold insurance for my pets because I have so many...seven cats and two dogs....and lots of Koi fish who are also loved and observed for illness.

I always pay as and when but I keep one credit card which has a £6,000 limit clear. I NEVER use this card but just keep it in case of an unexpected veterinary emergency which might catch me out.  All my other credit cards receive a regular pounding but this one is kept for emergency use. 

I just wonder whether my safety net might help anyone else.  Thankfully, I've never yet had to use it but it is reassuring to know that it is there..........just in case.

If you are a spendthrift, apply for a card and capture it within a block of ice so that you are not tempted to go out and use it on impulse....or you could even cut it into two halves and if you needed it you would just have to re-apply to the credit card company for a replacement.  The new one would be with you in time to pay for the veterinary care.

I hope my idea might help someone else and would be interested in any other ideas.

Best wishes,

Roz