Pet Insurance: Does Your Indoor Cat Need It?

What is the lifespan of an indoor cat?

Compared to outdoor cats, indoor cats are more likely to live longer – up to 20 years! This is because indoor cats are protected from the dangers present outdoors, from cars and dogs to poisons and pathogens.

However, if you do the math, that also means more years to experience incidents of illness or injury. As much as the risks are reduced for indoor cats, they can still get hurt or ill.

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Looking for pet insurance that delivers great customer satisfaction? Each year, we release our Most Satisfied Customers | Pet Insurance Award and Star Ratings. Below is an abridged version of our full awards, which you can view here.

See here for our ratings methodology. The table above is an abridged version of our research. For the full results of our 2022 Pet Insurance Most Satisfied Customers Award, click here.

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What risks are there for indoor cats?

Risks to pets are bountiful inside our homes, ranging from prescription drugs to cleaning products. Other dangers include:

• Toxic or spiky plants
• Electronic appliances
• Running water
• Fireplaces
• Easily-moved furniture
• Fragrances

There’s also a range of human foods that can be dangerous for cats to eat, including chocolate.

As cats are inquisitive, it’s good to familiarise yourself with the dangers in your home so you can have safeguards in place.

Obesity

Obesity is one of the leading health problems facing all pets today. However, indoor cats are more prone to being overweight than outdoor ones.

Obesity has become more of a problem over time because, unfortunately, fat pets sometimes gets construed as cute. However, it’s important to know obesity is a gateway illness to other more severe health conditions.

For example, added weight puts more strain on joints and muscles and can lead to hip dysplasia in dogs and cats. It can also lead to heart conditions, high blood pressure and diabetes in cats. Many of these side-effects require professional treatment and medication, both of which can be very expensive. Pet insurance can cover some of the cost and ease any related financial strain.

Pre-existing conditions

If your indoor cat were to develop a health condition and they don’t already have pet insurance, then getting insurance at this point won’t cover initial diagnosis and other bills.

Also, any pre-existing condition will not be covered by the new policy. This is also the case if your cat has previously shown signs of the health condition and received treatment for it, but it has yet to become chronic.

Is pet insurance worth it?

The short answer is yes. Pet insurance covers your pet for a range of different health conditions, including physical injury in the event of an accident. While indoor cats face far fewer risks than outdoor cats, there are still risks, so it’s a good idea to be prepared. For while human health-care costs are subsidised, vet bills are not.

It makes sense to protect yourself from this extra cost. If your cat gets sick or has an accident (or several), you don’t want to make a love versus finance decision. PD Insurance offers three pet insurance policies to keep your cat safe.

PD Insurance specialises in low-cost, high-value pet insurance that can cushion against hefty vet bills for tests, treatments, medication and more. The three simple policies offered by PD Insurance offer the quality protection your furry family member deserves, with no lock-in contracts. In addition, you can go to any vet of your choice, plus you can upgrade or downgrade your plan as your needs change.

PD gives you one or more months of award winning pet insurance for FREE when you buy your plan online. Simply click below to get a quote today.

About the reviewer of this page

This report was reviewed by Canstar Content Producer, Caitlin Bingham. Caitlin is an experienced writer whose passion for creativity led her to study communication and journalism. She began her career freelancing as a content writer, before joining the Canstar team.