Some people ask: “Vet bills for cats are so expensive — do you have pet insurance?” My answer is no.
It’s not that I don’t believe in pet insurance. When I first got my cats, it simply wasn’t widely available in Taiwan. By the time it became popular, my cats were already 7–8 years old — and when I looked into several policies, they were already at or past the eligible age for enrollment. So I chose a different approach: a self-managed medical reserve fund.
The main reasons I didn’t buy pet insurance:
- Both cats are seniors. My orange cat is 13 years old; my white cat is 18. Most pet insurance policies have strict restrictions for senior cats — long waiting periods, and many exclude pre-existing conditions (hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, and pancreatitis all fall into that category).
- The gap between premiums and actual payouts. Many chronic conditions, dental care, routine checkups, and treatments like radioactive iodine therapy might not even be covered. The actual reimbursable amount is often limited.
- Claims process and waiting periods. Even for acute serious illness, you still have to navigate waiting periods, deductibles, and annual claim caps. I figured it was more straightforward to just set money aside myself.
- I believe in “prevention + self-rescue.” I’d rather put what I’d spend on annual premiums into a medical reserve fund, and invest more in preventive care and early detection.
That said — I’m not saying pet insurance is bad!
If your cat is still young, pet insurance is absolutely worth considering. For the specifics of what to look for, I’d recommend reading reviews from people who are actually using it.
For me right now, the approach that makes most sense is being my cat’s last line of defense: having the money ready and the caregiving knowledge prepared.
That’s exactly what Micords is designed for — if we can catch changes through daily life and vet records before things get serious, we can give our cats a better quality of life and protect our wallets at the same time.