If you love your pet and look after them, it stands to reason that they will have a better chance of living to a ripe old age. Even if your cat or dog begins to show signs of the years gone by, you can still protect them with quality pet insurance. For an old dog or a mature moggy you might want to find a pet insurance provider with no upper age limits for vet’s fees.
If you have a cat, the average life expectancy is about 15 years and a good home makes all the difference; according to the RSPCA, the average life expectancy of a homeless cat is three years, compared to 12-15 years for an owned de-sexed cat. Cats might look like they live a slow and easy life – but their years soon catch up with them! Cats are adolescents at about 6 months to one year old, middle aged by about 8 years of age, and considered senior citizens at 12 years. Yet cat years are different to human years; after the first two years, each feline year is approximately 4 human years, so a 15 year old cat is equivalent to a 76 year old person.
Dogs will live on average from 8 to 15 years, depending on the breed. As a rule, larger dogs tend to live shorter lives than smaller dogs. This is due to the fact that the body of a larger dog has to work harder to move and function. The average life span of a Yorkshire Terrier, for example, is 12.8 years, whereas a Great Dane might only live to 8.4 years on average. Even so, regardless of the breed or size of the dog, nothing improves life expectancy like a loving home, lots of exercise and a healthy diet.
Whatever their age an active cat or dog is likely to run into some sort of mischief during its lifetime, which is why pet insurance is so important. Dog and cat insurance will protect your cat or dog against eventualities including: costs incurred as a result of them going astray or being stolen; unexpected vet bills; specialist health care; or third party liability to cover any damage they may cause accidentally. Hopefully your dog or cat will have a long life, which means insurance is even more vital.
Regardless of how old their cat or dog is, pet owners love their animals just the same. Quality pet insurance sees no difference either, and your pet should be protected regardless of how many years they’ve seen.