Article By Jennifer Viegas

Few of us consider that treatment for a single pet-health incident or condition can cost $1,000 or more — a reason many cat owners give for surrendering their pets to shelters. A recent survey from Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance, identified the top 10 most common claims that cost $1,000 or more. They are:

1. Torn knee ligament/cartilage

2. Foreign object in the intestine

3. Foreign object in the stomach

4. Intervertebral disc disease

5. Stomach torsion/bloat

6. Broken leg

7. Laryngeal paralysis

8. Tumor of the throat

9. Ear canal surgery/ablation

10. Ruptured bile duct

Heart disease, diabetes and other types of cancer didn’t make the list because the survey includes large one-time expenses rather than the cost of care for chronic diseases.

Common Sudden Expenses for Cat Owners
Out of the top 10, the most common costly problems affecting cats are Nos. 2 and 3, related to cats accidentally swallowing foreign objects like string, according to Dr. Silene Young, a veterinarian and the director of veterinary marketing for VPI. “Because the digestive tract is basically a long hose open at each end (mouth and rear), if a long, stringy object is ingested and then the ‘hose’ is wiggled around, the string ends up causing twisting and ‘knotting’ in the hose. This results in damage (holes) to the intestine (hose) and requires surgical removal.”

The surgical process isn’t simple, though. “As you can imagine, if you put a string through a hose then twisted it up and then pulled from each end, the string would cause more damage; it wouldn’t just pull out of the twisted mess of hose,” she explained. “Any surgery involving opening up the abdomen and cutting open intestines, in one or multiple locations, to remove objects requires a good deal of surgical time, anesthesia, pain control, medications and recovery.” The average cost for a pet insurance claim for such work comes close to $2,000.

Preventable Conditions
When shown the top 10 list, Dr. Karen Halligan, a veterinarian and the director of veterinary services at the Los Angeles SPCA, was surprised. “What I thought was interesting was that several of the conditions on the list were preventable.” Cat owners, for example, can keep strings, ribbon, tinsel and other dangerous-when-swallowed items hidden.

Halligan was also surprised with throat tumors being that common, since she rarely diagnoses them, but cancer in general is on the rise partially because pets are living longer. That’s an important point, because cats go through the aging process faster than we do. Prevention can help stave off certain health problems, but you will probably be caring for your pet through its old age, when medical issues can creep up.

Pet Insurance to the Rescue
The only thing likely to cure the shock you experience when a steep veterinary bill comes is pet health insurance. “Most of us will have pets with an expensive veterinary bill at least once,” says Young. “Pet insurance is how you plan for that eventuality so in a time of stress, you can focus on your cat and not your bank account.”

People often think that insurance is an investment that should pay back money. Some owners do save quite a bit, depending on when an illness or accident happens. Like home, auto or any other type of insurance, however, the real benefit is planning for the future — with your cat in mind.

Jennifer Viegas is the managing editor of The Daily Cat. She is a journalist for Discovery News, the news service for the Discovery Channel, and has written more than 20 books on animals, health and other science-related topics.