During a snowy day this season, I got out my knitting needles to start a winter project. Knitting is relaxing and it’s a great way to gift someone with a cozy warm scarf or sweater made from the heart. The No. 8 needles I used for this particular stitch to start the project were plastic as opposed to my usual metal ones. A few hours later, I left the project on my couch attached to a big ball of yarn. At the moment, we don’t have any cats which would have automatically perked up my warning instincts to not leave the ball of yarn alone. However, I do share my home with my beloved family member Rigby, a six year old English Springer Spaniel, well-behaved with a great life. I came back into the living room where I saw the yarn unraveled and sprawled all over the floor. “Uh oh Rigby, what happened?” I said half smiling. But then I saw that the tip of the knitting needle had been chewed and assumed to have been swallowed. The first thought I had was is Rigby okay? and the second thought was, “I have pet Insurance!” After I looked everywhere on the floor and the couch for the missing needle tip, my head raced to thoughts of X-rays , medications, and possible surgery! Fortunately, I have pet insurance which would have taken care of most of these costs. I did call my veterinarian who said to observe Rigby for a day to make sure his intestines are moving it through and not blocking his appetite as a sign of something wrong. Rigby was and is fine! Whew! I love my dog with all my heart and felt relieved then and there that I could take good care of him no matter what the cost as a result of the eaten-knitting-needle-bit.

I share this story with you because I believe in pet insurance. It is costly I know but at various points in a pet’s lifespan greater care will be needed, guaranteed. Things happen, accidents happen and then you’re there with big bills.

Here are 8 tips to evaluate a pet insurance company provided by Nationwide Pet Insurance, if you are inspired to look further into signing on to one.

1. Compare Pet Insurance Providers

Before you decide to enroll your pet in a pet insurance policy, compare pet insurance providers. A side-by-side comparison will show the difference in plans, premiums, deductibles, co-pays, sample reimbursements and plan details, including exclusions and additional features.

Use this tool to compare pet insurance providers.

2. Check Out the Insurer’s Track Record

Look at the pet insurance provider’s track record for dependability. The key to choosing a pet health insurance provider you can count on is to go with the company that has proven stability, experience and recommendations.

How long has the provider been in business? Are they a trusted financial service? How many in-force policies do they have? Do they have veterinarians on staff who know pets’ needs and help develop policies?

3. Research What’s Covered — and What Might Affect Coverage

Some pet health insurance plans may have exclusions for conditions that are pre-existing, hereditary, congenital, or related to breeding, and may apply restrictions on your coverage when you file a claim.

Before you enroll, make sure you know and understand what factors may affect coverage, such as your pet's breed and any pre-existing conditions. Find out how often, and why, your premium will increase. Ask if the amount of claims you submit will affect your premium. If you are unsure about the policy language, call the pet insurance provider and ask Customer Care to explain in a way that is easily understood by you. 

4. Choose Coverage that Works for You

Do you want coverage for known routine wellness (vaccinations, flea and heartworm prevention, wellness exams and tests), unknown medical care (chronic conditions, surgeries and hospitalization, prescriptions, exams, lab tests, illnesses, injuries) or complete care with coverage that includes hereditary conditions and wellness?

Discuss your pet’s health with your veterinarian, get an idea what common health conditions your pet could face that may be breed related, or if there’s a history of health issues in your pet’s family tree. You can also learn more about the Top 10 Reasons Pets Visit Vets.

Do you want to be prepared in case of an emergency or unexpected illness? Now’s the time to decide so you don’t find yourself unable to receive coverage due to a pre-existing condition once your pet begins to age.

5. Pick the Type of Insurance Reimbursement That Works for You

There are two ways pet insurance providers calculate reimbursement: they use either a percentage of invoice or an annual benefit schedule of allowances.

An invoice is the itemized bill your veterinarian hands you after treating your pet. If you choose to enroll your pet in a percentage of invoice plan, you’ll be reimbursed a percentage of what you paid your vet. For example, Nationwide pet insurance’s Whole Pet with Wellness plan reimburses 90% of your invoice, less your annual deductible.

A benefit schedule of allowances lists everything that is covered under your plan with a set amount for reimbursement. The reimbursement amounts renew annually.

There are a couple of other factors that can affect your reimbursement amount: whether you've chosen a per-incident deductible or an annual deductible. 

6. Review Cost and Value

There’s no point in buying a pet insurance policy just because it’s cheap if it doesn’t cover what your pet needs. Are you interested in wellness, medical or complete care? Your monthly premium and reimbursement amount will vary based on the type of coverage and deductible you choose.

Deductibles are worth taking into consideration: A per-incident deductible is applied to every incident and can reduce your monthly premium. A low annual deductible will result in a higher premium while a higher deductible will result in a lower premium. However, don't base your purchase on cost alone. While a lower premium may sound great, you don't want to limit the amount of benefits you'll receive when you really need them.

7. Enroll Young and Healthy Pets

It’s important to enroll pets when they’re young and healthy to avoid limited coverage due to pre-existing conditions and to reduce the cost of your policy. Just as with human health insurance, pet health insurance premiums can increase as the policyholder ages.

8. Ask About Discounts

Did you know you might be able to score a discount on your premium? Nationwide pet insurance offers a 5% discount to families with 2-3 pets and 10% to those with 4 or more pets. 

Those already enrolled in another Nationwide policy (such as home, auto) are also eligible for an additional 5% discount on select Nationwide pet insurance policies that can be combined with one of the multiple pet discounts.

Does your employer offer pet insurance benefits? Thousands of companies nationwide offer Nationwide at a discount. Check here to see if a policy discount is available in your company benefits package. Certain Nationwide pet insurance plans are eligible for a group discount.

Source: https://www.petinsurance.com/healthzone/ownership-adoption/pet-ownership/pet-owner-topics/8-tips-for-choosing-pet-health-insurance/

Pet Tunes Holiday is a Bluetooth speaker pre-loaded with 14 tracks of holiday music designed for dog and cat hearing to calm them during a high energy time of year. Each Pet Tunes Holiday gift pack comes with a Santa squeaky toy for dogs and a feathered holiday mouse for cat play. A special gift for pets, veterinarians and groomers.

Pet Tunes Holiday Gift Pack Retails for $74.99 on PetAcoustics.com and Amazon.com

• Contains 14 tunes with clinically music proven to calm dogs and cats

• Santa squeaky toy

• Feathered holiday mouse 

• Bluetooth Compatible for Devices

• USB Charging Cord and lanyard

“Miracle music. My dog was panting and anxious once our large family arrived and our cat was nowhere to be found. Once Pet Tunes Holiday was turned on our dog curled up resting in his bed in the living room where we all were and my cat came out to play with the feathered mouse it came with. Thanks Pet Acoustics!” Arlene W.

Cat Sonorgam   “The Purr”

Cats purr at a frequency of 25 to 150 vibrations per second. Amazing! Saying the word ‘vibration’ takes longer. You can see the pattern in the sonogram and sound waves of a slight breath, then the purr vibration, then another slight breath intake and then the purr vibration. Purring is a separate phenomena to breathing but the intensity alters when there is a breath intake when listening.

The purr is our cat’s sign of contentment. They purr when they are happy, nestled up to their person, resting in a sunny spot on the couch, when they are eating and sometimes cat’s purr when they are in pain. When cats purr, it has positive effects on humans, lowering blood pressure and diminishing stress for relaxation. 

I was curious if other animals purr to share this phenomenon with you. Stated in Wikipedia there are other animals that purr. “ Other animals that have been said to purr are rabbits, squirrels, guinea pigs, tapirs, ring-tailed lemurs, elephants, raccoons and gorillas while eating.”

However, scientists continue to research this phenomena indicating that cats remain the singular species that exercise this musical hum initiated for their own healing and comfort.

Cat Questions

Here, you can see the sound of a cat question-like phrase which is a very common vocalization. So do cats speak in questions? The lifting of the voice at the end of the vocalization shown by the strong spiral takes the tone into a questioning pitch. We know that high pitched vocalizations are more likely to get the attention of the feline or human family. The question-like pitch is much like our own phrasing when we ask for something. Cats and humans also share similar sounds when we are unhappy in a lower, more intense tone. 

 A question that is interesting to pose is “Do cats learn to imitate our inflections of speech?”

It would be interesting to observe how your cat responds to your questions, Try these phrases.

Do you want a treat?

Do you want to go out? 

Listen to the melodic-like response and see if you are in conversation with your cat. So when your cat seems to ask “Excuse me but do you speak cat?” You can answer by saying “Why yes I do!”

By Janet Marlow, M.A. Sound Behaviorist

Feline Fun Fact-Smiling Or Smelling?

Have you ever eaten a mint candy and then have taken in a deep breath with your mouth open? It seems like the mint flavor intensifies with the intake of air.  Cat’s have a similar sensation when they smell which makes them look like they are smiling with their mouth open. Fact is cats have an extra olfactory organ which is connected to their nasal cavity. When they sniff and smile, this is called The Flehman Response, resulting in the curling of the upper lip. Cats are one of the few animals that have this extra olfactory organ, called the Jacobson’s organ. Combined with this extra organ when your cat shows this smiling behavior this is known as flehming.

A cat’s ability is heightened to analyze scents by intensifying the odor. They can sense how long ago an animal had been in the area and other important scent information. So if you see your cat flehming know that he is doing a careful analysis of his environment. Just smile back and be proud of your incredible cat!

Have you wondered why your cat magically slips away before you hear a knock on your door? Or why he becomes agitated before you detect any sign of a thunderstorm?

In the air, where sound and noise travel, exist sounds above and below human hearing. But our amazing cats hear them! Feline hearing is three times greater than human hearing. A cat’s ability to detect faint sounds and high pitches is astounding  -- one of their most important senses for survival in nature.

In order for us to better understand our beloved feline friends, we must become aware of their amazing hearing ability.   Very low or very high frequencies and strong vibrations may remain invisible to human ears, but in cats, they trigger strong behavioral responses. A loud drum roll from a music sound system can easily cause your cat to feel stress and run away.   Sound can also attract our curious friends. They can hear an insect wing vibrating on the window, nocturnal sounds in the backyard and city streets, the high pitched whine of the computer, the crinkle of the treat package, and the music-to-their-ears can you’re opening for their dinner.

Most cat breeds have upright ears, which make responding to sound easy. Cats have 30 to 32 ear muscles, depending on the breed. For this reason,  a cat can easily turn its ears for surround sound-like hearing. Watch your cat’s behavior in response to sounds as a way to learn what he is experiencing in his world.  

 Sometimes cats sit very still and stare at the ground. Their keen hearing is detecting movement. Cats are good mice hunters because they can hear the high squeaks and tiny movements that a mouse can produce. In fairness, a mouse can also hear the cat approaching, because it can hear sounds at an even higher and lower range than a cat. That’s the game of cat and mouse!

Just a little science about sound…

The 19th-century German physicist Heinrich Hertz discovered how to measure pitch, called a frequency. A frequency (Hz) can be a very high pitch, all the way down to a very low pitch. When your cat wants to be vocal -- to get a treat or your attention -- it will talk in high frequencies. You can hear an upward lift in pitch at the end of their meows, like an endearing question. Their adorable treat requests seem to work every time!  And we often express our affection by talking to our cats in a high-pitched voice. Instinctively, we sense this is the most comfortable level for cats to hear. You are absolutely right! 

The measurement of volume is called a decibel. This term is attributed to the inventor Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922). Decibels are very soft to very loud volumes of sound. When your cat runs from a sudden loud sound, like a shot of thunder or a door slamming, it is feeling the physical pressure of sound in the inner ear. 

 Here is a chart that shows the hearing range of a human, horse, dog and cat. You can see that cats have the ability to hear sounds that humans, horses and dogs cannot. Humans hear up to a range of 20,000 Hz. Cats hear up to a range of 64,000 Hz. Isn’t that incredible! 

Normal human conversation is at a volume range from 60-80 dB (decibels).  Cats hear sound comfortably at this range also. You and your cat are a perfect team! Now you can understand why thunderstorms can be highly stressful for many cats. Storms create decibel levels at approximately 120 dB -- almost twice your cat’s hearing comfort zone. In addition to these acute sensitivities, the intense vibration of sound felt through their bodies and paws adds to their agitation.

Sonic Perspective

Learn your home from your cat’s perspective. Take some time and follow your cat around the house to see and hear what he or she is experiencing. You’ll be amazed at how many sounds you discover  in your home: high and low, loud and soft. Your cat’s sonic life exits at  several different heights. Their ears are about one to one and a half feet from the floor; they’re at ear level with us on the couch; and they can also climb to high-perches.  So tune into your house to feel the vibrations through the floor with your hands, put your ear to the refrigerator or computer to hear the hum and frequencies, key into the rumble of trucks on the road and the sounds of planes in the sky coming through the window. This is their sonic world. Oh! And cats are picky about your music too! If you are playing music that disturbs their Zen, they will leave the room. If she likes your music, a cat will find the best spot in the room to listen, curl up and rest. They are nature’s acoustic scientists!

Your cat’s amazing ability to hear and respond to sound is a fascinating and important part of her life. Become a keen observer of your cat’s ears and responses to sound and you will become part of her invisible world of sounds.

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