Let’s face it. Our pets are family, but they chew into our disposable income. Sometimes at the worse possible moments. The car needs a repair, the furnace broke, and gas is almost five dollars a gallon. And then the cat starts peeing outside the litter box.
New England Cat Care remembers how the 2008 financial crisis put a noose around disposable income. The economic uncertainty had many of us thinking about stuffing money in our mattress and the last thing any of us wanted to do was fork over cash at the veterinarian’s office. You figure the vaccine boosters can wait a few months. And sure, the cat keeps peeing under the dining room table, so you stick a litter box there and pray it stops.
Inevitably, putting off until tomorrow what is a pressing matter today will wreak havoc on our Visa statement. Cats are predators whose instinct is to hide illness. Putting off an annual exam seems like no big deal until you discover your cat lost two pounds. And that peeing under the table, your male cat is doing that because he has a urinary tract infection. Then it seems like everything happens on a Friday when you find your cat howling and straining in the litter box. Your primary vet is booked for the day, so off to the emergency room you go to wait for hours until your cat is seen.
We’ve all been there. We twiddled our thumbs at work in 2008 until the phones exploded with sick cats who needed urgent care. Medical issues that would have been a fraction of the cost suddenly became $500 or more because of testing and treatments to stabilize. The urinary tract infection that may have cost $300 mushrooms into $2,000 because the cat has a urinary blockage.
Don’t put it off. If your cat doesn’t seem right, call your vet. Maybe there is something that can be done that doesn’t require a vet visit. If the symptoms do require medical attention, it is far better to take a small financial hit as opposed to an emergency room catastrophe. Take out a pet health insurance policy if your cat doesn’t have any pre-existing conditions. Health insurance is the best option for managing veterinary expenses. If your pet is not eligible for pet insurance, take out a Pawp policy. Pawp will pay a veterinarian directly up to $3,000 for a serious or life-threatening condition.
Our team understands the uncertainty and stress you are dealing with because we are dealing with it too. Connecticut is an expensive state to live in, and inflation with rising gas costs have us all beaten down especially coming on the heels of covid. New England Cat Care is here to help. We are your best source for understanding how the rising cost will affect you and your cat and what you can do to protect your beloved cat as well as your wallet.