Tag: cats

Pet Insurance Review – Odie Pet Insurance

I apologize this blog has taken so long to write! I had surgery in May, but then had complications, so it has been a bumpy road getting back to writing this pet insurance review.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about pet insurance and if it was worth the cost. Today, I am going to provide a pet insurance review – Odie Pet Insurance… who is really worth looking into.

Odie Pet Insurance

Price: As low as $6.00 for cats; $9.00 for dogs

 

Description:

Odie is a newer pet insurance company that was created for the owner’s two dogs, Luke and Summer. Struggling to understand all the options and plan benefits plus the premium costs (which were unpredictable!), Luke and Summer’s parents decided they were going to make buying pet insurance much easier.

Their belief is everyone has access to affordable veterinarian care, and pet owners shouldn’t have to choose between their pets and their bank account. The company also believes that preventative care and education will ultimately help keep pets healthy and finances intact.

Pet Insurance Review – Odie Plan Options  

The Illness and Injury Plan

This plan covers a number of options if your dog or cat comes down with an illness or injury. Plans average around $25 a month for cats and $45 a month for dogs (based on a 3-year old mixed breed pet).

Plan Details: The Illness and Injury plan gives you deductible options of a $50 – $1,000 (in $50 increments) as well as reimbursement options of 70%, 80%, or 90%. Annual payout options are as follows: $5,000, $10,000, or $40,000.

What‘s covered:

Pet Insurance Review - Odie Pet Insurance

What’s NOT Covered:

  • Pre-Existing Conditions
  • Training/Obedience Classes
  • Breeding, Pregnancy, or Birth Expenses
  • Prescription Food
  • Boarding
  • Cosmetic or Elective Procedures
  • Biohazard Fees
  • Preventative Care

Optional Add-Ons:

You have the ability to add on a couple options for an additional fee These options are:

  • Office Visits and Exam Fees: Fees in addition to the diagnostic tests or treatments
  • Take Home Prescription Medications: Odie covers up to 950 different prescriptions
  • Rehabilitation, Acupuncture, and Chiropractic Care: This option covers ongoing physical therapy to help mobility.
The Accident Only Plan

This plan will cover the cost of an emergency based on if your pet has a mishap/accident only up to $10,000 each year. Cost for this plan start at $6.00 for cats and $9.00 for dogs.

Plan Details: Accident only pays up to $10,000 each year. Your annual deductible (out-of-pocket) is $250 and Odie will reimburse you up to 90% of the veterinarian bills.

What’s Covered:

  • Injuries: Broken bones, sprains, damage to eyes, traumatic dental fractures
  • Wounds: lacerations, bite wounds, snake bites, and bee stings
  • Veterinarian Treatment: X-Rays, ultrasounds, lab tests, emergency care, hospitalization, CTs, MRIs, and surgery.

What’s NOT Covered:

  • Illnesses, diseases, and specific conditions: Breed-specific health issues, congenital diseases, chronic conditions, dental illness.
  • Specific Injuries: Preexisting injuries, cruciate ligament events, intentional acts or behavioral condition caused injuries.
  • Preventative Care: Routine / wellness visits, spay/neuter, vaccines, micro chipping, or teeth cleaning.

The Wellness Add-On:

Plan Details: This option can be added onto the Illness and Injury or the Accident Only plan for an additional premium. It is not an insurance plan, but an option that can help with the preventative care costs such as micro chipping, vaccinations, and flea/tick medications. There are no waiting periods, no annual deductible or co-insurance, and it covers pet’s with preexisting conditions.

Add-On Plan Options:

Additional Information

 

According to Odie, their offerings are superior to those of other pet insurance companies. In reviewing the options, it looks like Odie may have an upper hand on the overall cost; however, it will be based on the plan and options chosen as well as the age, breed, and overall health of your cat or dog.

Take a look at the comparison chart on Odie’s website:

Pet Insurance Review

Waiting Periods and Exclusions

When looking at pet insurance options, it is important to also consider waiting periods and exclusions. Odie has the following per their sample policy:

Waiting Periods

  • 14 days following the Policy Effective Date for any Illnesses and any related conditions.
  • 3 days following the Policy Effective Date for any Injuries and any related conditions.
  • 6 months following the Policy Effective Date for any Cruciate Ligament Events and any related conditions.

Exclusions

  • Pre-Existing Conditions:
    • Chronic Conditions.
    • Bilateral Conditions, if your Pet had at any time any Pre-Existing Conditions
    • Intervertebral disc Conditions, if your Pet had at any time any Pre-Existing Conditions involving the intervertebral discs (due to either degeneration or trauma).
  • Preventative Care:
    • Wellness exams; parasite control, etc.
    • Elective and cosmetic procedures,
    • Spaying or neutering
    • Claims for Pets found to be healthy and presenting with no clinical symptoms
More Exclusions?
  • Other Exclusions (Costs, Fees, or Expenses) related to:
    • Treatments, therapies, and services described under the Supplemental Benefits coverage, if this coverage is not purchased at enrollment;
    • Any prescription or over-the-counter medications that are not included in their covered medication list;
    • Administrative charges for the processing of insurance claims and/or sending medical records;
    • Injuries due to any organized dog fighting, that involves you or a member of your household;
    • Breeding and pregnancy;
    • Boarding and transport expenses, including ambulance transportation;
    • Complications of or diagnostic tests, treatments, therapies, and/ or medications related to Conditions not covered.
    • Anal gland expression;
    • Typical bedding, housing, crates, cages, ramps, feeding accessories, etc
    • Biohazardous waste fees
    • Any Condition resulting from  training for or participating in racing, including track or sled racing;
    • Alternative and Holistic Treatments;
    • Experimental therapies and medications
    • Conditions arising from a repetitive and specific activity that leads to decontamination (e.g., the induction of vomiting), medical, or surgical treatment of your Pet.
    • Training and treatment of Behavioral Conditions
    • Cremation and burial;

Conclusion

Ok, I know that was a TON of information on Odie’s pet insurance options…especially when it pertains to the waiting period and exclusions, but I think it is important to give you the full picture of what to consider when purchasing a product.

Overall, I think Odie has a good policy. The company is fairly new to the insurance world, so there are not a ton of reviews out there; however, for the price and types of coverage, Odie has a decent offering.

There is only one thing left for you to do and that is…get a quote to see if Odie is right for you and your family!

Benefits to Spaying and Neutering Your Pet

I wanted to discuss the extremely important topic: benefits to spaying and neutering your pet. This topic is talked about extensively by veterinary practices, animal welfare organizations, and popular T.V. shows.

I wanted to discuss it here, too. Let me tell you why…

A couple weeks ago, I decided to watch an HBO documentary regarding people’s relationships with dogs. I thought it could be an interesting story on how dogs are much more part of the family and how much we will do to protect them.

I could not have been more wrong.

Documentary Findings

The documentary was broken into 3 parts.

Segment 1

The first segment discussed how some owners/pet parents will do anything to make sure their dog is kept in the home even if it is truly aggressive.  (Which is another blog for another day) Then it discussed the overpopulation in animal shelters in the certain areas of the Midwest.

Segment 2

My heart is broken with this segment, and to be honest, I could not stop sobbing at what happened. The documentary takes us to a shelter where they euthanize dogs by placing them in a big container and gassing them until they die.

These dogs, who are already scared of being in kennels, now are terrified as they are placed in a container with the lid closed. You can hear their cries as the container was being pumped full of a gas.

Once the first round of dogs were euthanized, they placed more dogs on top of the dead bodies and proceeded to gas them. After they were all dead, a garbage truck picks up the container and dumps their lifeless bodies in the back of the truck…like trash.

Segment 3

I can’t even remember what the third segment was because segment 2 took all of my attention.

This Didn’t Have to Happen

Yes, the visual in the documentary is devastating. Yes, you may be overcome with emotion as well, but that’s the point. This story didn’t have to happen, and these dogs did not have to die this way. If everyone did their part in caring for their pets, we could have avoided this situation.

Now, let’s look forward.

We CAN reduce the number of euthanasias in the United States by simply spaying and neutering our pets. It is a simple procedure. Not only can spaying and neutering have an impact on the overpopulation in our shelters, it also has health and behavior benefits.

Benefits to Spaying and Neutering Your PetWhat Happens When Pets are Not “Fixed”

Female Dogs

According to VCA, female dogs can have 1 – 2 heat cycles a year starting when they are between 6 -24 months old, where they can get pregnant. Some smaller breeds can have up to 3 cycles.

These pregnancies can produce 1 – 13 puppies dependent on the size/breed of dog. If a female dog is not spayed, and she has 2 litters a year for 5 years (conservative number), she may give birth to up to 130 puppies. If her puppies are not fixed, the cycle repeats.

Female Cats

Female cats, on the other hand, start the heat cycles between 4-10 months old and will go into heat up to 5 times a year. Each pregnancy can result in birthing an average of 1-5 kittens; however, there have been many females who birth up to 10 babies.

If a female cat gets pregnant in 3 of the heat cycles a year, and bears 5 kittens in each cycle, she will have up to 15 kittens a year. Even conservatively, a cat can birth up to 150 babies or more in 10 years.

Where do These Babies End Up?

Can you imagine the cat population if her female kittens are not spayed?

These numbers can be staggering. What are the chances these puppies and kittens will find their forever homes? Some will. Unfortunately, for unplanned pregnancies, many get put out on the street where they begin to reproduce or they end up at the local animal shelter.

Health Benefits to Spaying and Neutering Your Pet

To avoid the number of homeless pets, it is important to get our furbabies spayed or neutered as soon as possible. Not only will it have an impact on the population, it also has health benefits for our pets.

Females

The ASPCA recommends spaying your female before the first heat cycle, as it will reduce the risk of uterine infections and breast tumors. These conditions can be malignant or cancerous in approximately 50% of dogs and 90% of cats.

Males

A male can be neutered as early as 8 weeks, as long as he is healthy; however the average age of neutering is approximately 6 – 9 months old. Neutering will reduce the risk of testicular cancer and other prostate issues.

The health benefits outweigh the cost as it allows our pets to live longer, healthier lives!

(If cost is prohibitive, there are many communities that have low-cost or fee-assistance programs for lower income households. Contact your local Humane Society for more information.)

Behavior Benefits to Spaying and Neutering Your Pet

Spaying and neutering also reaps some behavior benefits…

  • You don’t have to deal with yowling and more frequent urinating from female cats.
  • Your male dog doesn’t need to find a mate, so he is less likely to devise a plan of escape from home!
  • Some aggression issues and marking may be thwarted with an early neuter.
  • You will keep your sanity.
  • You will not have to spend money on veterinarian bills or supplies for new puppies or kittens.

Economic Benefits to Spaying and Neutering Your Pet

We have discussed some health and behavior benefits, but how does this simple procedure affect the economy…our communities?

Benefit #1

The first benefit is the reduction of the animal overpopulation in the United States. If we spay and neuter our pets, we can reduce the number of animals on the streets and in the shelters. In turn, this reduces the number of euthanasias in the animal shelters.

According to petfinder.com (using ASPCA estimates)

  • Approximately 8 – 12 million pets enter animal shelters each year.
  • Every year approximately 5-9 million shelter animals are euthanized.
  • 50% of dogs and 70% of cats in shelters are euthanized due to lack of adopters.
  • Every 6 seconds in the United States alone an animal is euthanized.
Benefit #2

The second benefit is improvement within our community. Stray animals in our neighborhoods can cause health and safety concerns. These concerns are unclean play areas for children (think sand boxes!) car accidents, disease, and even the possible killing of livestock or other pets.

Reducing the number of unwanted pets on the streets can increase health and safety and can potentially reduce financial strain from having to pay for any damages.

Conclusion

Spaying and neutering our pets will benefit our pets, our families, and our communities. We will have pets that lead longer, healthier lives. We will reduce the number of unwanted cats and dogs on the streets or in the shelters, and we will reduce the number of needless euthanasias.

Please take this information to heart. If your pet is not intended to breed, and if you are not a qualified breeder, please be responsible and spay and neuter your furbaby. They will thank you for it and the community will thank you for it.

What Do You Think?

Let me know if you have any thoughts on this topic. I would love to hear what you have to say, so leave a note below.