If your cat is making their way through all 9 of their lives, it means that they have officially entered their feline senior years. But is it possible to get pet insurance for senior cats? Let’s take a look at what you need to know.
How do I know if my cat is considered a ‘senior’?
Cats are absolute professionals when it comes to hiding their age. For the most part, their demeanours stay pretty consistent throughout their lives. This makes it particularly difficult to decipher whether your cat is an official senior.
However, it is important to know how old your cat is for a number of reasons. One of the most important reasons is based on the fact that your vet will base their treatment recommendations on your cat’s life stage.
Your cat’s senior age group now means a change in the number of times they are expected to visit the vet! While younger cats are required to visit the vet once a year, senior cats need to have vet visits at least every 6 months to keep an eye out for new illnesses or injuries, and monitor existing ones.
Caring for an older cat also comes with different kinds of at-home care and preventative strategies. Without knowledge of your pet’s age, you might be overlooking essential steps in their health and wellbeing journey.
Things you need to know NOW
Your cat’s life stage
Determining the life stage of your cat is definitely something that you will need to discuss with your vet. However, before you go opening up another Google tab to find out whether your cat is a senior or not, here’s a simple breakdown of the life stages:
- Kitten – birth to 6 months
- Junior – 7 months to 2 years
- Adult – 3 to 6 years
- Mature – 7 to 10
- Senior – 11 to 14 years
- Geriatric – 15+
This information will help determine which Pet Insurance policy is best for your cat as well as their routine cover with your vet!
Vet bills are going to increase
It is probably best that we are the first to tell you that vet bills for your senior cat aren’t cheap. Instead of getting a surprise at the vet, it’s important to know that senior cats require intensive care which comes at a rather hefty price. From the initial vet visits to necessary tests and out-of-care medication, your bill can easily head into the thousands.
Discover: The price of not having pet insurance: can you afford it?
Health problems are common
Naturally, as it goes with a human being too, your cat will experience several physical, nutritional, and behavioural changes as they age. It is, therefore, important that you pay close attention to their changes because being able to identify common issues will help your fur baby embrace their old age in the healthiest and most pain-free way.
Most cats in their senior age are most likely to experience the following health-related problems:
- Arthritis
- Cancer
- Thyroid disease
- Hearing and vision loss
- Kidney disease
Read: 4 Feline illnesses every cat owner should know about
Things you need to consider NOW
When you are making the decision to take out a Pet Insurance Policy for your senior cat, it is essential that you consider the following before signing on the dotted line:
Pre-existing conditions
This is a chronic condition or illness that your pet had prior to you taking out a pet policy. Unfortunately, most pet insurers do not cover cats with pre-existing conditions. Thankfully, we will help cover these costs! You can find out more about that here.
Deductibles
This is the amount that you will be expected to pay out of pocket before your pet policy kicks in. The amount is dependent on the pet policy plan that you choose. Keep in mind that if you go for a lower deductible, your premium will be higher and vice versa.
Excess
This is the amount of money that you will need to pay from your own pocket when making a claim, the details of your excess fees will be outlined in your pet policy. Given how frequently your senior cat will be going to the vet, it’s important that you keep this in mind too!
The main takeaway on pet insurance for senior cats
When it comes to taking out comprehensive medical coverage for your senior cat, it can feel like you’re navigating some pretty tricky terrain. That being said, all pets deserve access to the best veterinarians in the business and this is totally possible!
If your cat is under the age of 8 years old, they will be able to access more pet policy options to ensure their health and wellbeing. However, as a general rule of thumb, cats over the age of 10 are not covered by holistic pet policies. But do not panic!
Your senior feline can still gain access to exceptional care via our Accident Plan. For a minimum premium cost, you will get cover for accidents and emergencies (the events you don’t see coming). Plus, the age limits with us (Oneplan Pet Insurance) are a bit more flexible than the average insurer. We will insure cats up to the age of 11 years old!
The idea of pet insurance is to protect, support and encourage the health and safety of your pets – even your senior ones! By opting for the available plans for you and your senior cat, you can ensure that they live the best, healthiest lives ever!
Your Pet Insurance Family,
Oneplan
