RABBIT INSURANCE

Hello,

I have a problem and it may lead to me handing back my rabbit, which I really don't want to do!

I adopted a bunny in April. Prior to the adoption I looked into rabbit care, appropriate housing, common ailments and vet fees for check ups/vaccinations etc. All the kind of stuff you need to know before you get one. Our home was inspected by a rabbit rescue person (thanks Snowy!) and we were approved for adoption.

Since then, she has been to the vet 5 times. One was for a vaccination - fair enough - but the other times were related to an abscess on her paw from digging, a sore split lip from leaping out of my hands into a wall! And now tonight, for some reason, she has gone off her hay and not eaten enough which means her stomach is empty and she's a bit gassy. The vet has given me some zantac and buscopan and I need to monitor her for the next couple of days to make sure she starts eating. If she doesn't, I need to take her back for more treatment.

I do understand the sentiment of "If you can't afford the vet, don't get the pet" but I had budgeted for all those routine things and can afford the £8 a month rabbit insurance. The problem is, the rabbit insurance comes with a £50 excess for each trip to the vet and every time I take Arby it's always between £35 and £48. So there's no point getting insurance as it doesn't actually cover me for when I need it. But I also cannot afford being hit with a £40 vets bill every 3 or 4 weeks.

Does anyone know of any rabbit insurance plan which does not have an excess and which will therefore be of some use to me? If I can't find a suitable insurance arrangement, I will have no choice but to rehome her

Thanks to anyone who can provide a solution to this issue.

I'm sorry you've had such a rotten time, and I hope she gets better soon.

I'm not sure whether you've got insurance or have just been researching but I'm with PetPlan and although they are not the cheapest they have been very good, and the bunnies are covered for life no matter what the problem or how long it goes on for. (The provisio is that they will pay a maximum of £2000 per illness per claim year, so I could claim £2000 for one thing this year, and again for it next year and so on)

With Pet Plan, they have an excess which is per illness/injury , not per visit. If I've read this right, you have been unfortuante in that you have been to the vet for different problems and therefore I suspect you would be in the same situation. However, if you had repeated visitis for the same problem in the same year it is a oneoff excess and once paid that is it for the year.

All my four are insured with Petplan, Ruby had an episode of bloat August 2009, and we have been having ongoing treatment since, I have paid £110 (2 lots of excess because it has gone across a claim year) and had the rest back from them becase it all relates to that original problem. (About £1000 claimed back so far with no problems and they do pay very promptly once the vet has submitted the claim).

If you haven't taken out insurance one thing to be aware of is that they will not cover prior illnesses so you would need to talk them

Wow Lynne, I didn't realise it was per illness and thought it was per visit. I have had Gloria to the vet twice with stasis but didn't use my insurance because I thought it wasn't worth it as it would be under £45 (which is my excess with Petplan). I will definitely be checking to see if I can claim this back now. Thanks for that.

Arby, I am really sorry to hear about the problems you've had. Would it be worthwhile speaking to your vet to see if they could allow you to pay some of the bills in instalments if it isn't covered by insurance? You are right though, pets can be expensive and they get ill when you least expect it.

Thanks so much for your replies. Not as encouraging as I was hoping. I'm not in a position to foot spiralling vet bills, whether in a lump sum or installments and so will most likely rehome her now. Gutted.

Arby dont give up hope!

Have you looked at if your practice does PDSA help?It may be worth asking about before looking at rehoming.

I had an unfortunate first 12months with Fudge with illness and had to pay out for some things and not others.....the other option is to look at keeping the pet plan going but put £10 a month aside towards extra vet bills...hard I know!

No, Don't give up hope. It does sound as though you've had an unfortunate few months but if she is in an otherwise perfect home, then its something to work on. Could you maybe put away £50 a month or even a hundred, so that when vet fees occur the money is there & you can claim the rest back off Petplan? I have to admit, I am absolutely skinted at the mo as our lot have cost well in the region of £1,500 in the past eight weeks *More actually, that makes me want to cry when I let myself admit that!!!!* But they are worth every penny, I can in NO way afford it, but we find it because its not a choice its a neccesity, its what I signed up to when I let them into my life. Nice one for taking her to the vets each time though, I know its a real ball-ache keep paying out & that would've put some people off taking her. Hugs, I hope you keep her xxxxx

I have petplan for Wolfie and Gloria but because Felix has lots of teeth problems and they were obvious when I got him, I just save £20 per month towards his fees. It at least gives you a bit of a cushion to fall back on.

You certainly have been unlucky with the abscess and they can be hard to get rid of quickly, but hopefully you have turned a corner now.

Hi, I am so sorry you have had these problems with Arby, it's such a shame because she is a beautiful bunny and you have given her a lovely home, of course we will take her back if that is what you decide, please give me a ring and I will do what I can to help, I really hope she starts to feel better soon, let me know what I can do to help

Please don't give up yet. Ring Petplan and see what they say, they have always been very helpful when I've rang them. Talk to your vet, you've had an unfortunate run with her having a couple of different problems in a short space of time, but I'm sure that things will settle and she'll be fine.

In the mean time, as suggested, have a vet fund, and the money you would have paid on insurance, put it away each month and hopefully you'll have something there for when you need it.

You are obviously a very caring bunny owner but I'm sure there are options. Please don't give up yet. x

ETA: Please remember that many bunnies don't have lots of health problems, my other three are healthy and in fact, Sooty and sweep have only been to the vets for routine issues. Plus, because Ruby is insured I have had more diagnostics, more often than if she wasn't because I know I'll get the money back.

Where abouts do you live?....my vet chain offers rabbit insurance for £6 a month, which includes all vaccinations check ups and appointents, including emergency vet treatment (though there is a call out fee) ..... maybe they have a branch near you as I know they have quite a lot around.... I'm going there in a few, I will ask for a list of all their branches....

Thank you all so much for your advice and encouragement. She is much perkier today and seems to be recovering fine. We love her so much and do not want to lose her. I'll call Pet Plan tomorrow and see what they can do, if anything.

In answer to LilleJente, we live in Leamington Spa/Warwick. If you could let me know whether your vets have a branch around here that'd be really helpful. Do they have a website? My vets do a similar thing for £10 a month but it only covers 2 incidents per year and NO illness, for which I would need a separate Pet Plan but as I already said this is not cost effective for the things she needs.

Thanks everyone, I'll keep you posted on what we decide.

Hi, how is Arby today?, hope she is feeling a bit better and eating back to normal

Hi, yes she's fine. I had a real fight on my hands to get the Zantac down her so she must be feeling better! And her flanks have filled out nicely again. I'll see how she is in the morning but I think I'll spare her any more doses. She's eating and hopping about like a happy little bun I know she had fights with her sister but I often wonder if she'll ever be ready again for the company of another bunny...I feel so guilty when I leave her to go to work! Not called PP yet. I think I'm putting it off as I just want to keep her. It's such a tricky situation. She's so gorgeous and cheeky but so unpredictable.