They ATE WHAT?

Want to know what are some of the more unusual claims made for pet insurance? Pet Insurance Australia, takes a quick look through the archives to dig up some unusual issues faced by some dog and cat owners.

For many veterinary clinics around Australia taking a call from a distressed pet owner about requiring immediate attention for their beloved animal is not an uncommon occurrence.

“For some, it’s simply a case of disbelief that their companion animal has found themselves in this situation,” Nadia Crighton from Pet Insurance Australia says. “For other owners, it’s finding out that Rovers tummy ache was caused from an embarrassing ingestion of a particular under-garment.”

Dogs, and cats, can cause headaches for many owners with some of their mad antics. From dogs chasing cats up trees and snapping cruciate ligaments, to ingesting stone, underwear and socks.

“PIA had a case back in 2015 where a dog had ingested a sewing needle to the tune of around $5000,” Crighton says. “It was a very serious and usual case, but luckily the dog made a full recovery, and the owner had comprehensive pet insurance.”

Believe it or not, it’s not just dogs that find themselves in trouble after ingesting objects of various sizes and descriptions. Cats are also notorious for swallowing things such as string and dental floss.

“Even though the stereotypical image of a cat chasing string is cute, in reality it can spell disaster for a cat owners,” Crighton warns. “The string can actually become attached to an anchor point, normally being the tongue. The foreign body will then continue down the animal’s digestive tract. This can bunch and actually saw though the sensitive tissues.”

“So it is really important that if pet owners notice something sticking out of their dog or cat’s rear-end, like string, do not attempt to pull it out! Seek veterinary advice immediately.”

Recently in the USA a Great Dane exhibiting symptoms of stomach problems was found to have eaten 43 socks. Some pets have eaten entire tubs of butter leading to pancreatitis, while others seem to have a strong affiliation with eating, and swallowing, underwear.

“Seems the most popular variety removed from the stomachs of dogs seems to be g-strings,” Crighotn says. “However funny or mind boggling this may seem, the risk to the pet, and the cost of surgery can be very large. Luckily, for the dogs and cats on our records they had good insurance, so the financial part of the stress was removed from the ordeal.”

TOP FIVE OBJECTS INGESTED:

#5. Butter (causing pancreatitis)

#4. Decorative Stones

#3. String & Dental Floss

#2. Socks

#1. Underwear – with the most popular being g-strings

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