AFTERTHOUGHTS: Pet insurance a sound investment

Jan. 30--While having health insurance is required by law for humans these days, the same is not true for pets. Though it might not exactly be an affordable option for everyone, especially those with multiple dogs or cats, it's definitely something to consider if you have a curious critter at home.

From the minute my fiance, Jason, and I rescued our cat, Fredward, and witnessed his rambunctiousness, we had an inkling that pet insurance would be a worthwhile investment.

In our old apartment, he'd play on the stairs and the railing like a youthful, vibrant kitten, throwing caution to the wind and tempting the fate of falling roughly 10 feet to the landing below. Each and every time he would scale the railing, I'd grimace in fear.

Fast forward to today. In our single-family home, we don't have nearly as many precarious places for him to show off his superior agility.

But, alas, he likes to chew on things most cats normally wouldn't, namely plastic. It's a condition called pica, and over the past couple years, we've caught Fredward gnawing on everything from resealable bags to candy wrappers to lanyards.

While working on one of my many crafting projects late Friay night, Fredward got a hold of a short piece of yarn. Before I realized it, he had pushed it down to the floor and commenced chewing on it.

And then I saw him start to struggle trying to get it out of his mouth; a cat's tongue has barbs on it, which makes it difficult for them to do anything but swallow objects once they're caught in the spines. Unfortunately, before I was able to corral Fredward and help get it out of his mouth, the yarn had disappeared, nowhere to be found.

And then the fear set in. I'd watched enough veterinary shows on Animal Planet to know we needed to get Fredward to a veterinarian pronto; that little piece of yarn could get caught on the way down and wreak havoc on his digestive system. So, we grabbed him, put him in his crate and headed to the Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn around 1 a.m. on Saturday.

After a brief examination and an x-ray came up inconclusive, we were told to keep an eye on him and to return should he have any other symptoms like a lack of appetite, diarrhea or vomiting. About 16 hours later, he vomited and had a loose bowel movement. I went into panic mode, bursting into tears at one point because I was afraid our beloved pet might need to have a very risky surgery to have the material removed.

After rounding Fredward up again and making another trip to Woburn, the vet was able to determine he wasn't having any kind of intestinal distress and that we should come back and have an ultrasound done on him to make sure he wasn't in any serious danger.

Back home, the little guy was acting just like normal, running around and playing as if nothing was amiss. I barely slept a wink that night, and was roused early Sunday morning by a very hungry kitty, wondering why I had taken his food dish away.

Shortly thereafter, I was able to wrangle poor Fredward once again and headed back to the animal hospital.

After shaving his belly and conducting the ultrasound, there was no sign of any kind of foreign body in Fredward's system; the vet even questioned whether or not he had swallowed it. Not for nothing, I came away with a little peace of mind.

With a somewhat clear bill of health, we were on our way home yet again, told simply to keep a watchful eye on Fredward in case he started showing any signs of distress.

A couple more days went by, and finally, Fredward passed the fibrous material, with very little trouble it seemed. Our worries were finally over.

But, by the end of the weekend, we had racked up nearly $1,000 in bills from the emergency vet, thankfully avoiding a more costly invoice that would have come had Fredward needed surgery.

We submitted our claims and, when all is said and done, we will be reimbursed for a significant amount of the costs incurred. All because we have pet insurance, which I hope we never have to use again.

And, while it might be a classic depiction in all kinds of memes, videos, photos and whatnot, cats and yarn is no longer a cute combination in our house.

-- Jennie Oemig is a multimedia journalist for the Beverly Citizen and Wicked Local Beverly; she also resides in Beverly.

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