r/CatsUK

In my last policy year I maxed out my cats policy limit of £4000. He was hit by a car and his treatment cost almost 9k.

He is 2 years old and his policy had doubled to £34 a month. I am with RSPCA and having researched I should have not gone with them. I did not realise I would be penalised for claiming on the policy and this would cause an increase in the premium. I would expect the premium to increase by age and maybe slightly by claiming but my last years policy was £209.40 and now is going up to 397.80 which is insane!!!

I guess it is too late to change now as my cat though stable has had traumatic facial injuries, nerve damage etc. so anything face related would just get listed as per existing

I can’t bring myself to give away any of BeBe’s things—her food, scratching posts, toys, little stairs, blankets, or any of the other things that were hers.
I know there are rescues and other cats that could use them, and maybe someday I’ll be able to donate some of it. But right now, I just can’t.
I finally washed my bedding, but when I made the bed, I put BeBe’s little bed right back in its usual spot, almost as if she’s still here and will come curl up in it again.
I lost her last week, and I think part of me needs her things to stay exactly where they were. The thought of removing them makes the house feel even emptier and makes her being gone feel too final.
Has anyone else left their pet’s things untouched after losing them? How long did it take before you were ready to move or give anything away? 💔

So I minded my neighbors four cats for three weeks. The house too in and out checking them feeding. Emptying litter boxes etc.

They gifted me a set of spoons. Stainless steel spoons. Am I the AH for expecting more?

I am sharing my experience with ManyPets because I am extremely concerned about how my cat’s current claim is being handled, and I would be interested to hear from other ManyPets customers who have experienced something similar.

There are two separate issues with ManyPets’ current position, as well as concerns about how the basis for rejecting the claim has developed.

My cat previously had a short-lived episode of bloody diarrhoea shortly after moving into my home. My vet considered this likely to have been related to the stress of moving. It was self-limiting, resolved without ongoing treatment, and his blood tests at the time were normal.

He has now developed a very different illness involving diarrhoea, vomiting and constipation as well as some anomalies on his blood work (mildly raised white blood count, and very mildly raised T4 (thyroid) levels).

How the claim rejection developed

ManyPets initially rejected the claim because my cat had experienced bloody diarrhoea previously, and therefore considered his current illness to be pre-existing.

I challenged this and provided a letter from my vet specifically confirming that they did not believe that the previous episode of diarrhoea and his current illness are related.

Despite receiving that veterinary evidence, ManyPets came back with the same response, maintaining that the current illness was pre-existing because of the previous episode of diarrhoea.

It was only after this response that I raised a formal grievance.

In their response to my formal grievance, ManyPets introduced another basis for their position: his thyroid history.

1. They are classifying his thyroid issue as pre-existing

His T4 had previously been towards the higher end of the normal range on his initial blood work, and had been identified for monitoring.

Importantly, the previous result was within the normal reference range. He did not have a diagnosis of thyroid disease at that time (in fact he still doesn’t); it was simply something that was being monitored.

ManyPets are nevertheless saying that the thyroid issue is pre-existing because it had previously been identified for monitoring.

2. They are also attributing his current illness to his thyroid

This is a separate issue.

ManyPets are not simply saying that the thyroid issue is pre-existing. They are also treating his current illness as being related to that thyroid issue.

However, my vet does not believe that his current illness is related to his thyroid levels.

His current illness is also clinically different from the previous episode, involving diarrhoea, vomiting and constipation (albeit the vet didn’t directly use the word ‘constipation’ in the letter they sent to ManyPets.  But the clinical notes state 72 hours without passing a stool which I highlighted to them in my formal grievance). His current blood tests have shown different findings, including mildly raised white blood cell markers and a mildly elevated T4.

Most importantly, the cause of his current illness has not actually been established.

My vets want to carry out further investigations and testing to establish what is causing his symptoms. Unfortunately, because ManyPets have rejected the claim, I cannot currently afford to fund those investigations myself.

This leaves me in the extremely difficult position of having an insurer say that they know what is causing my cat’s illness, while the vets treating him are saying that they do not believe it is related to his thyroid and want to carry out further testing to establish the actual cause.

The questions this raises

Firstly, can a thyroid condition reasonably be considered pre-existing simply because a blood result that was within the normal range had previously been identified for monitoring, when there was no diagnosis at the time?

Secondly, what evidence is ManyPets using to establish that it is the thyroid that actually is  the cause of his current illness when the treating vet does not believe there is a connection?

And thirdly, how can the cause of the current illness be confidently attributed to the thyroid when my vets are still trying to establish what is actually causing his symptoms and want further investigations to do so?

I completely understand that pet insurers need to apply their policy terms and that genuinely pre-existing conditions may be excluded.

What concerns me is both the basis on which the claim is being rejected and the way that basis has developed.

The claim was initially rejected because of previous diarrhoea. I provided specific veterinary evidence confirming that the previous episode and the current illness were unrelated. ManyPets maintained the same decision despite that evidence.

I then raised a formal grievance, and it was in their response to that grievance that they relied on the previously monitored T4 and attributed the current illness to his thyroid.

Meanwhile, the vets treating my cat want to investigate further to establish the actual cause of his illness — investigations I cannot currently afford without the insurance cover I believed I had.

I would genuinely like to hear from other ManyPets customers, particularly cat owners, who have experienced something similar.

Have you had a claim where an insurer maintained an initial pre-existing-condition decision despite veterinary evidence, and then relied on another historical issue when you formally challenged it?

Have you had a previously monitored but normal test result subsequently treated as evidence of a pre-existing condition? Or had a current illness attributed to a historical finding despite your vet disagreeing that there is a connection?

I am sharing this because I think prospective pet insurance customers should understand not just what their policy says is covered, but how decisions about “pre-existing conditions” are actually applied when a claim is made.

I guess a bit of a rant and looking for potential advice.

Me (F25) and my boyfriend (M32) are looking at purchasing a house as the current place we live in is being sold so we need to find a house by Christmas. Pretty stressful times, not going to lie!

We are looking at our monthly budget, expenses etc seeing where we can save money. We do have a decent ish deposit or I thought but looking at these mortgages is stressing me outtttt, we already pay a lot on rent and getting a mortgage seems to be about the same if not more expensive plus the bills on top... yeah it's not great but we can live with it. Bit depressing though as I thought we both made pretty good money but the economy is just so shit, everything is so expensive, and we live down south so just everything is expensive...it's hard to budget when you already are budgeting, can't cut the cost where you already have. FML 😭

Anyways to the real post, we own 2 beautiful fur babies -

Shadow is 10 years old long hair moggy and we adopted her when she was 6, no health issues yet just had an overweight problem when we first got her but all is under control now.

Pickles will be 3 years old this year and he is a purebred ragdoll, no health issues apart from allergies which we are currently testing for, but he did have a surgery last year due to a stomach blockage from eating something in the house (Cats...don't we love them) and insurance unfortunately isn't kind to us now with a claim on his record as we have tried to shop around renewal time 🫡

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Our cats cost us roughly £250 a month / £3,000 a year which seems like a lot of money for pets?? Don't get me wrong we love them dearly and they are part of the family but I don't even think I spent anywhere near that much on my car yearly, it's a bit insane when we look at the logistics of it 🥲

• Food - Roughly under £100 a month, both are on Gourmet (1 1/2 sachets each in the AM and 1 can each in the PM, we keep the food mixed around to keep them interested) plus dry food with puzzle toys when they need more mental enrichment as both are indoor cats.

Pickles has a very sensitive stomach and gourmet is the only food he'll tolerate as far as we know. Would be a miracle if someone has a similar alternative to gourmet which is significantly cheaper but still has the health benefits 🤞🏻

• Cat Insurance for both - £90ish a month (Has gone up from £70ish due to the claim last year). This is the highest level of cat insurance because Shadow is old, you never know what health problems she may have and Pickles well don't get a purebred cat and expect no health issues 🤣😭

• Vet Health Plan: £23 each = £46 a month (We are with Rowe vets if anyone is with them, the health plan covers a lot of meds for free such as the flea, worming etc and gives discounts on specific medication and treatment plus 6 months free check-ups)

• Litter - Roughly £15 a month, we buy Sanicat Clumping Cat Litter (16L) from Costco, always get 4 packs (I think it's £11 a pack, so £44 for all 4) which last 2-3 months with regular multiple daily cleaning and a deep clean once a month. We have 2 very large stainless steel litter boxes for them.

Pickles again is very sensitive to dust and is funny with texture and this is the only litter we found that works for him and the clumping is no joke, it's amazing. Costco seems to be the cheapest to get the litter from. We tried wood pellets in the past but Pickles refused to use it and they use the same in the Cattery and it's the same story.

We did previously have regular grooming appointments for both of them but that cost was adding up so I learned to cut, groom and wash the cats at home. Pickles benefits from a wash every few months, helps his itching and Shadow doesn't get baths unless she really stinky but I also have washless shampoo which I spray on her and brush which she lovessss.

Some months we get additional high level treats for them, new toys or new cat furniture but it's rare as they have a lot already so we tend to replace what we already have if needed to.

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Advice from cat owners, what would you do in our position to try and realistically budget the cats expenses per month??

Thanks for reading!