Food?  ✔️

Treats?  ✔️

A cozy bed?  ✔️

Tons of teething toys?  ✔️

Collar and leash?  ✔️

Pet insurance?  

When you bring home a new puppy or kitten during the holiday season, you may have stocked up on all the essentials except one—pet insurance. Similar to human health insurance, pet insurance can protect your furry pal from a wide variety of accidents, illnesses, and diseases, and help cover wellness care costs. Before welcoming a new furry addition into your family, check off every item on your supplies list to ensure your new pet has the best start in life. Here are five reasons why lining up pet insurance before bringing home a new puppy or kitten is critical.

#1: Pet insurance policies do not cover pre-existing conditions

If your new puppy develops stress-related diarrhea from switching homes in the middle of the hectic holiday season and requires veterinary treatment, there’s a good chance pet insurance won’t cover future gastrointestinal issues. For example, if your mischievous pet swallows a shoelace and develops vomiting and diarrhea, emergency surgical removal may not be covered. Read carefully through the insurance policy’s fine print, and discuss your questions with an insurance provider representative. Any illness can be considered a pre-existing condition, and may exclude your new pet from future coverage. By scheduling a wellness visit for your new puppy or kitten the day you bring them home, you’ll establish a clean bill of health, and help ensure their insurance protects them from the widest array of illnesses.

#2: Puppies and kittens often need costly emergency visits

Puppies and kittens have a penchant for mischief, especially when they’re exploring their new home and learning the house rules. Chewed shoes, wires, toxic foods, chemicals, and household items can seriously threaten your pet’s health, and may require a trip to the emergency veterinary hospital for treatment. In addition to pet-proofing your home before you welcome your new furry addition, purchase an accident and injury insurance policy. Coverage will guarantee your new pet will be cared for in an emergency situation, no matter what they chewed. 

#3: Puppies and kittens need to start off right with wellness care

Like newborns, puppies and kittens require a vaccination series and other wellness care to ensure they receive the best start in life. Three rounds of essential vaccinations, deworming, parasite prevention, and health screening can add up quickly, especially when added to all the supplies a new pet needs. Insurance policies can also help with the cost of your pet’s spay or neuter, ongoing dental care, and monthly parasite prevention. With a comprehensive insurance policy that covers accidents, illness, and wellness care, you can rest assured that some, if not most, of your furry friend’s medical costs will be financially covered. 

#4: Pet insurance costs increase with age

It’s no secret that older pets develop a multitude of illnesses and conditions associated with their aging body, many of which are chronic and ongoing, requiring lifelong treatment and periodic monitoring. Pet insurance policies are therefore often more costly for older pets, and will not cover many pre-existing conditions. By procuring an insurance policy when your pet is young, they will be covered more fully, and you’ll save more money in the long run.

#5: Pet insurance provides financial help during the holidays

Giving your children a new puppy or kitten for Christmas can fulfill a lot of wishes, but pet ownership can be expensive, especially when that new pet gets into holiday mischief. If your budget is already stretched tight from gift-giving and holiday festivities, pet insurance can provide a financial cushion to help cover the costs of your new pet’s care, whether it’s emergency or routine wellness care. Give your pet the gift of good health—and your wallet a gift, as well—by investing in pet insurance from day one.   

Thinking about adding a new puppy or kitten to your family this holiday season? Call your Stone Ridge Veterinary Medical Center team to schedule your new addition’s first wellness visit before you purchase a protective insurance policy.