Spotlight on Claims Data for National Cat Health Month

According to Wikipedia, New Zealand is estimated to be home to over 1.4 million domestic cats. This makes National Cat Health Month a powerful time to educate many pet owners on common cat illnesses and injuries. Here we will do this by using pet insurance claims data.

Pet insurance claims data helps to retroactively shed light on what health conditions our feline fraternity is most vulnerable to. It can be a useful tool for pet care professionals considering safeguards and preventative measures to have in place.

Of course, pet insurance supports the cat health cause long before the claims data comes in, by ensuring more pets get speedy access to quality medical care.

In this National Cat Health Month article we provide insights into the top pet insurance claims data for cat health. Hopefully it will help us all be better informed.

When is National Cat Health Month celebrated?

National Cat Health Month along with National Love Your Pet Day are celebrated throughout February. It’s long been known as the month of love but here it also becomes an opportunity to guide pet owners via tips for the prevention of common cat injuries and illnesses.

Advancing treatment for deadly cat diseases

Cats are prone to a range of health conditions of which, thanks to pet vaccinations and routine vet check-ups, many can either be prevented, treated or well managed. However, National Cat Health Month raises the issue that some cat diseases can be fatal.

Thankfully, just as there are advances in human health care, so there are too in cat health care. Dr Cath Watson of Healthy Pets New Zealand says medical advances in cat health care are improving outcomes. Previously deadly cat diseases such as Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) are now treatable.

Dr Cath also explains antiviral Remdesivir is being used to prevent 3/4 of fatalities in cats infected with this once-fatal disease. The previous mortality rate in infected cats was close to 100%, yet 85% of infected cats are now being treated with positive results.

“It is still early days in how we best use this drug, with research currently underway in NZ, but initial results are highly promising. Advances are made all the time with treatments for a wide range of cat health conditions.”

– Healthy Pets New Zealand, Dr Cath Watson

Pet insurance claims data insights into common cat illnesses and injuries

In celebration of National Cat Health Month, PD we’re sharing claims data to highlight valuable insights into cat health and wellness.

In recent times, injuries sustained in cat fights are the most common claim. This indicates more cats could benefit from backyard efforts such as catios and cat-proof fencing. Of course this can also benefit the ecosystem and vulnerable wildlife too… something worth considering for National Cat Health Month.

Bladder and upper urinary tract infections, often linked to more serious conditions like diabetes, are also among the top claims. This should be cause for pet owners to take a serious look at what and how much food they feed pets. So too with watching their stress levels more closely.

Diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and conjunctivitis also fall into the most commonly claimed cat health conditions.

Of course there are many more conditions we aim to educate pet owners on in our pet parents blog and PR activity like our latest cat health media release. Let’s do it together so that more cats – and dogs – get the medical care they deserve.

Join PD for National Cat Health Month

This National Cat Health Month, we invite you to join PD in educating even more pet owners on companion animal health.

We also invite you to become a PD referral partner. Your customers can access our cost-effective, award winning pet insurance and your business will be rewarded for referring them.

Contact us today to find out more about joining our pet care partnerships.