Cat and dog pet insurance

One of the first decisions a new dog owner will have to take is whether to buy pet insurance. The good news is that it is possible to pick up a policy offering a decent amount of cover for a puppy from as little as £10 a month – although there are many people paying much more than that. And cover can become a lot more pricey as dogs get older. The basics Pet insurance is primarily designed to cover the cost of vet fees for the treatment of illness and injury. Other policy benefits can include cover for loss and theft (some will pay towards the cost of advertising or meet the cost of a reward), payouts for death by accident or illness and paying for things such as looking after your animal if you have to go into hospital. The average pet insurance payout last year was £822, according to the industry body the Association of British Insurers (ABI), and it is fair to say that claims can sometimes run into the thousands. That said, some people will decide not to bother with … [Read more...] about Pet insurance: how to get the best-value policy for your dog

Warnings over the obesity crisis in pets are being ignored – and around half of cats and dogs are clinically overweight. This comes at a cost. Vets today are ­reporting that 60 per cent of insurance claims are obesity related. Catrin George, from Animal Friends Pet Insurance, said: “Having an ­overweight pet might seem harmless but extra weight can cause ­damage to organs, bones and joints that can never be fixed. We really shouldn’t be giving in to their cute charms.” During the past three years, deadly conditions linked to pet obesity have rocketed, including high blood ­pressure and heart and kidney disease. Pet insurance claims for diabetes and heart disease in cats and dogs have shot up by around a half. And claims for osteoarthritis are up two thirds. The UK already holds the title of the obesity capital of western Europe – one in four adults. Now animals are taking after their owners, with 40 per cent of pooches and 50per cent of cats carrying too much weight. Animal … [Read more...] about Is your cat clinically OBESE? How to tell if your pet moggy is overweight

The new guidelines  "epidemiological investigation of a recent group infection case", which led the ministry to consult with South Korea's Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the new rules. Cats and dogs in South Korea will be tested for Covid-19 if they are exposed to someone with the virus and show suspicious symptoms. If a pet tests positive for coronavirus its owner must also self-isolate, according to the new regulations. It comes after after a warning in UK, from experts from the University of East Anglia and research facility the Earlham Institute, that the virus can infect a wide range of animals including cats, dogs, mink and other domesticated species. The first case of a cat coronavirus infection in the UK was last July. According to the World Health Organisation, while the disease is mostly spread between humans, there are cases of transmission between people and animals. Several animals that have been in contact with infected humans, such as minks, … [Read more...] about Coronavirus tests to be given to cats and dogs in South Korea if they show symptoms

Can cats talk? Of course they can — and I speak as someone with extensive experience of felines. I consider myself something of a cat whisperer — a skill that that comes from 63 years of devoted cat companionship. I like to think that Ted Platell, my rescue cat, and I understand each other. He knows I love and worship the ground his four paws gently pad on, and he has devised a language that lets me know exactly what he's thinking and wants. Pleasure, pain, annoyance — a cute little trill that tells me it's time for his evening treat, and another more shrill one reserved for mention of visits to the 'vee - ee - tee'. Yes I'd say we understand each other perfectly. But what animal lover wouldn't love to know what their pet is really thinking? Wouldn't we love to hear them articulate their thoughts? To hear an 'I love you so much, Mummy' as they stare dreamily into your eyes, while receiving a blissful head rub and scratch behind the ears? I like to think that Ted … [Read more...] about Can an app really help you chat to your cat? That’s what its inventor claims. So AMANDA PLATELL (and her moggie) put it to the test… and were left feline a little lost for words

From tiny chihuahuas to fluffy Siberian huskies, dogs come in all shapes and sizes. But researchers have revealed there is more to canine diversity than meets the eye. Scientists have found five distinct groups of dogs were already present at the end of the last ice age, and their legacy lives on in our pets today. “[If] I walk through Wimbledon Common I am pretty likely to run across dogs that all have a little bit [of a] different history, tracing back as far as 11,000 years ago to different corners of the world,” said Dr Pontus Skoglund, co-author of the study and group leader of the ancient genomics laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Writing in the journal Science , Skoglund and colleagues report how they sequenced 27 ancient dog nuclear genomes from canines found in Europe, the near east and Siberia, dating from 800 to 11,000 years old. The results reveal that by the end of the last ice age there were at least five genetically distinct groups of dogs in … [Read more...] about Five distinct types of dog existed by end of last ice age, study finds