Are you thinking about getting a pet wellness plan? Wondering what it includes and if it's a good choice for your pet? Our Exeter vets will discuss wellness plans and why they are beneficial for your pet.
What Is A Pet Wellness Plan?
Owning a pet means wanting to take the best care of them, but it can get costly if they get sick or hurt. A wellness plan is like a monthly subscription that bundles together all the checkups and services your pet needs to stay healthy. It's an affordable way to save money and budget for your pet's well-being.
What Does It Cover?
Pet wellness plans cover routine and preventive care procedures and screenings to avoid potential health issues. Pet insurance helps cover the cost of unexpected injuries or illness treatment after they happen.
Vaccines
Make sure to give your pets core vaccines to keep them, your other pets, and even humans safe from infections and diseases. Core vaccines for dogs included ones for parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis, and rabies.
For cats, core vaccines are panleukopenia, feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus type I, and rabies. These diseases are the leading causes of death in puppies and kittens, and some within days of contagion. So, vaccines are essential.
So, getting your pets vaccinated is crucial. Without a pet wellness care plan, you'll have to cover the vaccine cost yourself.
Blood test
Blood tests for pets can detect any problems, and if there's an issue, your regular pet insurance should help. If there is an issue, your standard pet insurance policy should be able to cover it. However, the screening itself is only included in additional wellness and preventive care packages.
Heartworm Tests & Prevention
While heartworm treatment is covered by pet insurance, prevention, and tests are covered only by pet wellness insurance.
If you don't have such a policy, you will have to pay out of pocket.
Fecal Tests, Deworming & Urinalysis
A Fecal test is performed once per year to determine if any gastrointestinal parasites are present. Similarly to this are the heartworm and tapeworm tests to determine if these parasites are present. This may require several treatments over some time.
Urinalysis is a routine test that scans for chemicals in the urine. This is done because we want early detection of diseases like kidney failure and urinary infections. While pet health care plans will cover the treatment, preventive measures are typically excluded.
Flea & Tick Prevention
There are a few options for preventing ticks and fleas. But most pets are given monthly medicine to avoid this.
What Is The Difference Between Pet Insurance And A Wellness Plan?
Wellness plans and pet insurance are both helpful for your pet, but they have distinct purposes. It's important to understand which services your pet is and isn't covered for. That way, you won't be left unexpectedly out of pocket when you visit your vet or need to plan the payment for your pet's care and treatment.
What Does A Wellness Plan Cover?
Wellness plans usually cover regular vet services like microchipping, pet vaccinations, and pet dental care. These plans aim to make it easier for you to manage the expenses of keeping your pet healthy over time.
What Is Pet Insurance?
Pet insurance takes care of any veterinary bills if your pet requires emergency veterinary care.
Treating an illness such as cancer or diabetes, or emergency treatment, can become very expensive. Pet insurance provides you with financial help to pay the bills for accidents and conditions covered by your pet's insurance policy.
What Does Pet Insurance Cover?
Pet insurance typically covers medical expenses for illnesses and accidents, including emergency care. Some policies may also cover prescription drugs and treat hereditary, congenital, and orthopedic conditions.
How Do I Choose Which Option To Buy?
Some pet owners subscribe to both pet insurance and wellness plans to ensure their pet has complete protection, while other pet owners opt for one or the other. Understanding how each of these options works can benefit you and your pet and can help you decide on what the best option is for you and your pet.
Ask your vet if you would like help deciding what is best for your pet based on their particular needs and concerns.