VET’S VIEW: Make a new year pledge for your pets

It must be the new year, and I’ve long since given up on resolutions that will be embarrassingly forgotten a few weeks later, but I wonder what our pets would choose?

I suspect that Kirtley would resolve to seek out even more muddy puddles and roll in them, while the cats would promise faithfully to lie in the laundry basket (or whatever other soft surface presents itself) with ever renewed enthusiasm.

And what’s more, I’m sure they’d have no trouble in meeting their goals.

Bad as we are at keeping resolutions, one promise we can make to our pets which is easy to keep, is to set up a regular payment for their vet’s bills.

Many practices now offer a plan where you to pay a monthly sum which covers all the preventative care your pet will need for the year, such as vaccinations, flea and worm treatment.

Not only does it help to spread the cost of routine health care, but most such schemes will also offer a discount on other services such as prescription diets, long-term medicines, neutering and dental treatment, meaning that you can make a significant saving on veterinary costs over the year.

These plans effectively sit alongside pet health insurance as they cover the routine items which these policies do not include.

Plans are available for cats, dogs and rabbits, and signing up is as simple as completing a form with a direct debit instruction at your local practice.

So why not ask the reception team for details next time you happen to be jogging or cycling past the practice?

What do you mean, you’ve abandoned that resolution already?!