It is always hard to tell when your cat is ill and after a recent clinical study it revealed that 20-30% of older cats were perceived by their owners to be healthy but were in fact suffering from medical complaints. For example when arthritis develops some cats will become more withdrawn or aggressive, and some may have less mobility. Signs that are more behaviour based are less recognised and less associated as being connected to pain, but more the cats age and temperament.

Signs that often come with old age such as weight loss and stiff gait may occur on a gradual basis and owners may feel like this is normal and not want to take their cat to be checked out at the Vet unnecessarily.

How Old is Your Cat?

The Feline Advisory Bureau classifies older cats as:

• Mature 7-10 years old (44-56 years human)
• Senior 11-14 years old (60-72 years human)
• Geriatric 15+ years (76+ human)

Cats of all ages should have an annual health check at the Vets, normally when vaccinations are carried out. Their weight and body condition should be recorded and monitored at the same time. Mature cats should have blood pressure and urine checked once a year also to detect any early issues. Senior cats should also have a yearly blood test and once geriatric be checked six monthly.

Things to think about as an owner…

• Has my cat lost or gained weight?
• Has the appetite or thirst changed at all?
• Change in litter tray behaviour? Cats that have inappropriate urine behaviour maybe unable to use the cat flap due to pain because of arthritis. Also missing the litter tray due to pain.
• An increase in diarrhoea or vomiting?
• Has the behaviour of your cat changed mentally?
• Does your cat suffer any mobility issues such as stiffness when walking?
• Has the energy levels changed in your cat, (restlessness can be a sign of hyperthyroidism)
• Poor eyesight or bumping into things?
• Any gum or teeth issues resulting in eating less or acting unwell?
• Grooming themselves as much as they used to? Usually when they get stiff as they get older they have trouble reaching their back and so this can look scruffy.

Common illnesses in older cats include:

• Urinary tract infections
• Cognitive dysfunction which affects more than 50% of cats aged over 15.
• Constipation
• Deafness
• Dental disease
• Diabetes mellitus
• Hyperthyroidism – affects about 10% cats over 9 years old
• Chronic kidney disease- affects 30% cats over 15 years old
• Cancer
• Osteoarthritis affects more than 90% of cats over 12 years
• Systemic hypertension

Paul Manning appeared in a Panorama episode called Britain’s Unwanted Pets after BBC staff read his letter in the Veterinary Times. In his letter he stated he euthanised 100 unwanted dogs annually, most being Staffordshire Bull Terriers. During the panorama broadcast on August 2nd 2010, it showed Paul euthanising dogs in the garage behind his surgery. He said that he does this to minimise the impact on his colleagues so they are not aware Vets do kill so many healthy animals. He also stated that he feels guilty that he has failed these dogs, but the kennels and rescue associations have done everything they can to re-home dogs, and that the responsibility ultimately lies with the dog owners.

Paul thinks compulsory micro chipping could be one answer. This then connects the details of the owner to that dog and the pet would then be their legal responsibility. If the dog changed owners then the vet could update the details or give confirmation of owner change to the microchip companies. If this method was put in place, and then the dogs owner didn’t take responsibility, any benefits allowed to that owner should be cut. He estimated that approximately half of the clients he sees are on benefits and that this could be a good way to tackle the issue directly.

Battersea dogs home was also featured on the programme, they had a total of 7,866 dogs taken in last year, 2,815 were euthanised and 1,931 of those dogs were deemed healthy but too dangerous to be re-homed. Battersea’s director also agrees with Paul that there is a problem currently in our society where dogs are being bred irresponsibly and not being looked after.

The recession is thought to have had some influence on the problems uncovered by BBC Panorama, with many dogs being abandoned as owners just cant afford the costs for them, such as dog insurance. Welfare is a major issue concerned with people having dogs such as Staffordshire Bull Terriers as status symbols and not thinking about the animal and its needs. The British veterinary Association is currently lobbying the Government to reform legislation surrounding dogs and their welfare.

On examination at the NAWT they discovered she was also suffereing from patent duct arteriosus and would need surgery costing approximately £5,000 to close the artery. Without this surgery she will get heart failure and not survive. The family who brought her in cannot afford this surgery and the charity decided as she was such a good natured dog to try and save her and to rehome her after surgery.

The charity are asking to raise the £5,000 as soon as possible to enable Rose to have her surgery, and today have currently raised £3,510.00. They still have 30% of her fund to go. If you can help please visit their Just Giving Page.

UPDATE: We’ve just made our £20 donation, so there’s now £1,470 remaining.

In one case with a dog called Dolly, the Vet used large cable ties attached to her collar. These are a cheap alternative to other products on the market, and within a few weeks Dolly no longer needed them. She had learnt where all the furniture was in the house, and now just needs them when she’s out on walks in unfamilar surroundings.

This is an in-expensive option to help your pet adapt to blindness better, although they might attract extra attention on your walk round the local park with their new whiskers!

The paper was published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice and used 696 dogs in the study from 5 practices in the City. The owners were asked a series of questions such as what they fed their dog and how often they exercised them. They owners also had to answer questions about themselves including questions such as age and income. Influencing factors in the study seemed to be how frequently the owners fed treats, the lack of exercise, and income. If the owner earned less than £10,000 a year the dog was much more likely to be overwieght compared with owners who earned over £40,000. Owners that were older in age also showed a trend of owning overweight dogs.

The overall results from this study were:

• 35.3% of Dogs had an ideal bodyweight
• 38.9% of Dogs were overweight
• 20.4% of Dogs were obese
• 5.3% of Dogs were underweight

These results suggest that a greater level of awareness is needed in informing and educating owners about obesity and surrounding health issues.

Worm infections are transmitted to your pet when they eat the eggs, normally from licking where other animals have defecated such as parks and gardens. Many puppies are born with worms normally roundworms that have been passed to them from their mother. Tapeworms can only be transmitted by an intermediate host when a cat or dog ingests fleas.

Are worms harmful to my children?

Roundworms and hookworms can affect humans, especially children which makes worming your pet regularly important. Humans are infected by swallowing eggs from the environment such as children playing with sand and soil and then putting their hands in their mouth. The larvae ingested can cause serious disease. Visceral larva migrans is the main threat for children with symptoms including fever, pneumonia and encephalitis. The larvae can also get into the eye, called ocular larval migrans, which can cause potentially severe damage such as a detached retina and even blindness. There are currently only about 12 cases annually in the UK.

Is it serious for my pet if they get worms?

Parasites range form being trivial to fatal. For young, old and sick animals they pose more of a threat as their immune system is not as good as healthy adult animals.

Prevention is always better than cure

Giving a daily treatment to a pregnant dog with fenbendazole from the 40th day of pregnancy through to the 14th day of lactation can inhibit larvae in tissues and so prevent or reduce infection in puppies. If the mother didn’t have treatment in pregnancy then by 6 weeks old puppies and kittens will most likely have infections that will be contaminating the environment around them. Early treatment prevents this and there is a wide range of drugs on the market. Its always best to get these from your vet especially early on in your pets life so that you know you are given the correct treatment at the correct dose.

It is also worth knowing that some breeds are sensitive to some wormer’s. The drug Ivermectin which is used as a worming product can cause severe problems if given to Collies, Australian Shepherd dogs, Old English sheepdogs and Shetland sheepdogs. This is due to a recessive gene in these dogs and is another good reason to get products from your vets as they will be aware of these issues.

Healthy Pets are underwritten by AXA Insurance, and since their launch in 1996 have regularly featured in the top 10 of the Which Best Buy Pet Insurance category. They currently offer three levels of cover for both cat insurance and dog insurance, Bronze, Silver and Gold, with £1,000, £4,000 and £7,500 cover respectively.

Healthy Pets are also offering a 20% discount on all policies with new clients.

Pet Insurance	Policy	Max Vet Fees ? Per Condition- Covers cost of treating eligible condition upto maximum vet fee. Per Year- Total amount available for all eligible conditions per year.	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Get a Quote
	Bronze	£1,000 Per Condition	Lifelong	Get a Quote
	Silver	£4,000 Per Condition		Get a Quote
	Gold	£7,500 Per Condition		Get a Quote

In a move that sees Battersea releasing it’s figures for the first time since the 90s, the shelter told the BBC programme that they’ve come to the point where enough is enough. Operations Director, Scott Craddock said, “What people are doing to some of these dogs and the state they are coming in to us is completely unacceptable”.

Of the dogs that are unable to be re-homed, the majority are Stafforshire Bull Terriers, and related cross breeds, which suggests that the problem is directly related to a wider problem of ‘Staffie’s’ being seen as a status symbol in modern society. With an increase of Staffordshire Bull Terriers of 850% since 1996, the Metropolitan Police believes the quest to breed some sort of pit bull super-breed, is leaving many of the off-shoots as unwanted, and abandoned.

The RSPCA, Battersea and the Metropolitan Police are now adding further pressure onto the Government to bring in some form of licence scheme paid for by the owner to ensure there is a direct link between the animal and owner. Whether the solution lies in a compulsory licence is yet to be seen, the Government will have their work cut out to bring about a solution that keeps things fair for all pet owners, and remains enforceable across the board.

The previous (Labour) Government’s were planning a compulsory dog tax, but the plug was pulled on the proposal following criticism from the Conservatives that it would push pet insurance costs up for responsible owners.

You can watch the full episode of Panorama, Britain’s Unwanted Pets, on the BBC iPlayer, but be warned that the programme contains some very upsetting scenes.

Direct Line have launched a competition to celebrate the release of Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (out in 3D from 6th of August), they are giving away a family holiday to Los Angeles! The lucky winner will also receive get an exclusive tour of the Warner Brothers Film Studio!

Entry is simple, all you need to do to be eligible for the prize draw is to get a quote online with Direct Line Pet Insurance before the 15th of August (2010). In addition to the main prize, there’s hundreds of smaller Cats and Dogs prizes up for grabs, these include;

• A private screening for up 30 people at the winner’s local cinema
• Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore Spy Kits
• Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore on DVD
• Kids t-shirts (‘Dogs Rule’ & ‘Cats Rule’)
• Plush Cats & Dogs toys
• Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore branded Frisbees
• Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore notepad & pens

Pet Insurance	Policy	Max Vet Fees ? Per Condition- Covers cost of treating eligible condition upto maximum vet fee. Per Year- Total amount available for all eligible conditions per year.	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Get a Quote
	Essential	£4,000 Per Condition	12 Months	Get a Quote
	Advanced	£6,000 Per Condition	Lifelong	Get a Quote

• Carry out regular weight checks once a month or so. With smaller breeds this can be done by picking them up and putting them on the scales, with larger breeds you can pop them into the vet to be weighed. This also gets your dog used to the vet for when they really need to visit.
• Carry out your own body condition score on your dog, there are plenty online to use, try http://www.pet-slimmers.com/shapedog.htm for your dogs very own weight watchers guide!
• Like us, each dog needs a different amount of calories depending on factors such as its breed, size, age, gender, exercise levels, etc. Getting this right can be a challenge and may take some trial and error to achieve a good balance.
• Be careful of how many treats you feed your dog as these (just like ours) are high in calories. Dry pet foods often have more calories than wet, so make sure you feed the correct amount.
• Give smaller amounts of food at more regular intervals. Little and often is the key, and this can be hard when you are out all day but spreading meals out makes them easier to digest and also provides stimulation to prevent boredom.



• Try to make sure if you have more than one pet that they only eat their food allowance, its harder to keep track if they are all eating together, but dogs generally try to eat cat food if it’s left lying around not eaten!
• Try and set up who is responsible for feeding the dog in the household, this will help the dog get into a routine but also makes sure everyone knows who fed the dog, if the routine changes a lot then it’s easy for them to be fed twice, or not at all. Providing routine is best to maintain weight levels and insulin balance. Also if you have children make sure they don’t feed the dog when your not around, or leave open food unattended, it’s easy for the kids to be fooled by the puppy dog eyes!
• Try not to use food treats as rewards, it can be good for training as a puppy, but nothing too high in calories and try swapping food treats for cuddles, exercise and playtime instead.
• Which leads on to one of the most important factors….exercise! Try to exercise your dog daily in play, walks and runs. Not only will this keep your dog fit and healthy but it will ensure all his joints are supple and that they are in the best of health, which can only help reduce your vets bills/pet insurance claims in the future.

Photo ‘Ketzel checks out her new grown up dog food’ courtesy of redjar (Flickr).

Xylitol is not considered harmful to humans in the same way, and as a result can be found in many of the foods we eat as well as dental products and medicines. One of the main issues is even realising that your pet dog has consumed this product and that is the cause for illness. In the instance you think your pet may have eaten this sweetener you need to contact your Vet immediately

The Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) is currently monitoring all referred cases to see the extent of its toxicity in dogs, cats and ferrets.

This will probably be added to the poisons list along with other human foods such as chocolate and grapes to try and raise awareness that human food can be toxic to pets. The BVA Animal Welfare Foundation and the Veterinary Poisons Information Service have produced an easy guide to keeping pets safe from harmful substances. The ‘Pets and poisons:keeping your animal safe’ leaflet can be downloaded from www.bva-awf.org.uk and provides owners with everything they need to know.

Snowy the West Highland Terrier had been feeling unwell for several weeks with clinical signs including vomiting, lethargy and poor appetite. After several tests including urine samples for a possible kidney problem, a course of antibiotics was prescribed along with a change of diet. Unfortunately Snowy’s condition didn’t improve so they decided to x-ray her in search of more clues. She was taken to the Cromwell Veterinary Group at Huntingdon where the x-ray confirmed that Snowy had managed to eat five ornamental cats, ranging in size, with 5cm being the biggest of the cats.

After an hour long laparotomy in which they had to open Snowy’s abdomen in order to retrieve the cats, Snowy made a good recovery. She is now eating and drinking and back to her old self.

Oscar who is only 3 years old has been given two prosthetic limbs by a UK vet based in Surrey and is able to walk around like a normal cat. The vet inserted Itaps (intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics) which had been developed by a team from University College London which resemble Oscars back legs. They were coated with hydroxyapatite, which encourages bone cells to grow on to the metal and this is the first time this procedure has been carried out on a cat.

Once the skin has grown back it will form a seal over the metal which will help to minimise the risk of infection and everyone has their fingers crossed that this will go well over the next year. He is even in the process of getting new custom-built artificial paws to cover the peg looking bottom of each leg. Oscar was lucky enough to have another chance as without this operation there would have been no other solution for him.

It’s amazing to see such advances in veterinary technology, undoubtedly the costs for such procedures will be sky high for a long time to come, but without pet insurance the opportunity to apply for such amazing surgery may have been missed. For Oscar the cat insurance policy paid £4000 towards his surgery and the remining costs were met by his surgeon Dr Fitzpatrick.

You can watch the latest episode of The Bionic Vet on BBC iPlayer.

The 35% discount applies to their Standard Cover policy which gives you cover for upto £2,500 per condition, and a 20% discount for their Extra Cover policy which is a lifelong policy giving you upto £4,000 per condition.

In addition to Tesco offering the best online discount from all the pet insurers we compare, Tesco also allow customers to pay for their pet insurance with Clubcard vouchers! So if you’re a regular shopper at Tesco this could be a great way to cover your Pet Insurance costs.

This offer is valid until 18th August 2010, and only applies to the first year of pet insurance. Please see the Tesco site for full terms and conditions.

Pet Insurance	Policy	Max Vet Fees ? Per Condition- Covers cost of treating eligible condition upto maximum vet fee. Per Year- Total amount available for all eligible conditions per year.	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Get a Quote
	Standard Cover	£2,500 Per Condition	12 Months	Get a Quote
	Extra Cover	£4,000 Per Condition	Lifelong	Get a Quote

With the combination of the 2 months free, and the new 10% that equals an impressive combined discount of over 25%! They currently have two main policies available for cat insurance and dog insurance, both of which have a 3 star rating from Defaqto;

Pet Insurance	Policy	Max Vet Fees ? Per Condition- Covers cost of treating eligible condition upto maximum vet fee. Per Year- Total amount available for all eligible conditions per year.	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Get a Quote
	Essential	£4,000 Per Condition	12 Months	Get a Quote
	Advanced	£6,000 Per Condition	Lifelong	Get a Quote

Lifetime pet insurance gives you the complete peace of mind that if your cat or dog was to get an illness or condition that required repeated treatments and attention, your insurance would cover them for their entire life. In contrast policies that are not lifelong, will usually only cover your pet for the first 12 months of veterinary bills, so clearly not a good situation for a long-term condition or illness.

As with all pet insurance policies, ensure you read through all the policy terms and conditions, as insurers will not cover existing conditions, so it’s essential that you make the right choice when starting a lifelong pet insurance policy.

Below we have highlighted the highest rated lifelong policies currently on the site, all of these policies have received a 5 star rating from Defaqto, the independent financial research company;

Insurer	Policy Name	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Defaqto Rating ? The better the overall quality of a pet insurance policy compared to the rest of the market, the higher the Defaqto Star Rating independent experts award it.	Get a Quote
	Platinum	Lifelong		Get a Quote
	Superior	Lifelong		Get a Quote
	Dog Insurance	Lifelong		Get a Quote
	Platinum	Lifelong		Get a Quote
	Supreme (Dog)	Lifelong		Get a Quote
	Lifelong Extra	Lifelong		Get a Quote

Click here to compare all of the lifelong pet insurance policies on the new page.

We think this is a good extra incentive to offer pet owners, especially as the majority of cats now get microchipped (sometimes for free following their first and second vaccines). If your cat is yet to get a microchip, Homebase even offers £15 towards the cost (when you send a copy of the receipt to them). Homebase currently offers two levels of cover for cats, as shown below;

Cat Insurance	Policy Price/Month	Max Vet Fees ? Per Condition- Covers cost of treating eligible condition upto maximum vet fee. Per Year- Total amount available for all eligible conditions per year.	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Get a Quote
	Cat Care From £3.58	£1,000 Per Year	Lifelong	Get a Quote
	Cat Care Plus From £5.07	£2,500 Per Year		Get a Quote

It would be great to see Homebase taking a similar discount initiative for their dog insurance policies, and even better to see a microchipping discount across all pet insurers and insurance policies.

Pet Insurance Claims

Pet Insurer	PDF Insurance Claims Forms	Contact Details
	Animal Friends Claim Form	0844 55 70 300 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Argos Claim Form	0845 602 6764 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for Aviva Claim Form	0844 561 1732 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-5pm)
	Call for Churchill Claim Form	0845 603 3589 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for Debenhams Claim Form	0870 240 1495 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-2pm)
	Call for Direct Line Claim Form	0845 246 8712 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for Halifax Claim Form	0845 850 0268 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm)
	Call for HelpUCover Claim Form	0845 121 2435 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm)
	Call for Homebase Claim Form	0845 602 6771 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Kennel Club Claim Form	01296 611600 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for LV Claim Form	0845 600 4828 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-5pm)
	Marks & Spencer Claim Form	0800 980 8750 (Mon-Fri 8am -8pm, Sat 9am-1pm)
	More Than Claim Form	0800 300 889 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for PDSA Claim Form	0844 335 1137 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm)
	Pet Guard Claim Form	0845 683 7140 (Mon-Fri 9am-7pm)
	Pet Pals Claim Form	0870 240 1913 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm)
	Pet Plan Claim Form	0845 071 8000 (Mon-Fri 8am -8pm, Sat 9am-1pm)
	Pet Protect Claim Form	0870 243 0099 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm)
	Sainsbury’s Claim Form	0800 445 444 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for Tesco Claim Form	0845 300 2200. (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-5pm)
	Call for Virgin Claim Form	0845 603 3588 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)

If you’re ever in doubt if a condition is covered by your policy, call the relevant claims line on the numbers detailed above. Always have your policy details to hand as they will need your policy number and information before being able to discuss any specifics such as conditions, and policy terms and conditions.

If your insurer is not included above please leave a comment and we will endeavour to get their claim form link and relevant contact details added ASAP.

Following the public reaction, and the critisicm from the Conservatives ahead of the General election, Hilary Benn, the environment secretary announced today, 16th April, that this proposal has been ruled out. This is good news for the millions of responsible dog owners in the UK, and a rather embarassing set back for Labour ahead of the elections.

Here at Compare Pet Care we believe the Government should be working towards a solution to prevent dog attacks, that have been heavily featured in the press in recent years; but the idea of a tax, or, compulsory dog insurance, imposed on all dog owners is impractical and simply unfair. We’re pleased to see todays news, as I’m sure dog owners up and down the UK are. Surely all the funds that are being spent on writing reports, drawing up proposals and backtracking on them could be better spent actually finding the irresponsible dog owners, through co-operation between the RSPCA, the Kennel Club and the police.

We’ll try to keep you updated on the latest news & updates with this story, and if you have any thoughts about this please leave a comment below, thanks for reading.

Here’s the full press release we have sent out to raise awareness for the petition;

In a recent survey just 11 per cent of pet owners said that they found buying pet insurance easy and straightforward, with over 65 per cent saying that variations in phrases and policy specific terms were the source of confusion.

www.ComparePetCare.co.uk is a website that aims to enable pet owner’s quick and easy comparison of the pet insurance policies available in the UK.

The site was created by web designer Greg Findley who experienced the confusing policy sales tactics when searching for pet insurance for his family’s pets.

Greg Findley commented, “Each insurer seems to have their own catalogue of sales phrases and buzzwords to sell their policies, trying to compare policies alongside each other becomes a headache as it’s hard to truly understand what is and isn’t included.”

“Our recent survey of pet owners just confirmed what we had suspected, finding and buying pet insurance is not an easy process. We found that 44 per cent of the people we asked simply started their policy based on recommendation from a friend. With just eight per cent referring to the Defaqto rating system when researching policies”.

Compare Pet Care is encouraging pet owners who have found buying pet insurance to be a confusing process to sign the petition at: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/petinsurance/. It’s hoped that with enough support we can pressure the leading insurance companies to agree on some common policy phrases to make buying pet insurance an easier process.