The owner of two cats quickly chose to take out insurance to avoid unpleasant surprises after spending several thousand dollars because of a… hairball.
“When the veterinarian told me that I would have to pay between $4,000 and $6,000 for an operation, I asked myself, ‘am I setting myself up for years of debt to pay?’” explains Gabrielle Cardinale , who lives in Saint-Hyacinthe with her cats Guizmo, 3 years old, and Everest, 1 and a half years old.
A year ago, the oldest of his four-legged friends fell ill. An initial emergency consultation and x-rays showed nothing abnormal. As Guizmo’s state of health did not improve, Gabrielle Cardinale decided to take him back to his veterinarian for a second emergency visit. The costs were already around $500 for consultations.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY Gabrielle Cardinal
“At that time, they found a foreign body in his stomach and strongly suggested I go for surgery.”
“Obviously, for me it was the best thing to do for my cat at that moment,” says the 28-year-old young woman.
“After the surgery, $4,000 later, we realized that it was a huge ball of hair that was blocking it,” continues the woman who works at the Saint-Hyacinthe University Veterinary Hospital Center.
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Heartbreaking choice
If she was willing to pay that price, she still wondered how much she would be willing to pay for her little Guizmo.
“When I got the estimate between $4,000 and $6,000, it was a real shock. I asked myself how far I would be willing to go for them and save them? she raises, affirming that she still cannot answer this question.
“For me, my animals are like my children. So yes, I would be willing to put in a lot of money, but how much? I don’t know,” she explains.
Quick, insurance
And to avoid asking that question again, Mme Cardinale felt that taking out insurance for his companions would surely be a good investment.
“I don’t want to be caught financially if there is an accident either having to borrow money from relatives or dipping into my savings. There, it reimburses 90% of accepted veterinary costs, so it takes a big weight off our shoulders,” she confirms.
The decision was the right one since recently, it was little Everest who needed care after a mass was found on his lung.
“There, that allows me to say yes to push the investigations, because at least the insurance is there,” adds Mme Cardinale.
In 2020, only 2.74% of the approximately 16 million pet cats and dogs in Canada were insured, according to the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI).