Revealed: Weirdest NZ pet insurance claims of 2018

Southern Cross Pet Insurance has released its 2018 most unusual pet insurance claims report and it features claims ranging from a French Bulldog eating a roll of dental floss to a veterinarian treating their first case of an intersex cat.

The list shows how even everyday accidents can end up costing a lot of money at the veterinary clinic, Southern Cross Pet Insurance general manager Anthony McPhail said.

“Most of the claims we process each year are for fairly typical illnesses and routine checks, but we also receive some that surprise us, particularly the range of ways pets find to test the limits of their digestive system,” he noted.

McPhail explained while claims such as these are sometimes amusing, they can require a serious procedure, such as surgery, which is stressful for both the pet and their owner.

The insurer’s 10 most unusual PetCare claims include:

• A German Shepherd needed two surgeries after it impaled itself on a metal shoe rack trying to escape a pair of aggressive cats. Procedure cost: $8,437;
• A Labrador Retriever required surgery to remove pieces of the blanket it had eaten. Procedure cost: $6,000;
• A Beagle had its kidneys flushed due to renal failure after it ate a home-made fruit cake, which caused raisin toxicity. Procedure cost: $2,990;
• A Miniature poodle had an entire chicken skewer it had eaten endoscopically removed. “Amazingly, it came out whole,” the owner said. Procedure cost: $3,197;
• A Border Collie was forced to vomit the shards of a compact make-up mirror it had eaten. Procedure cost: $395;
• A female Domestic Short-Hair cat underwent surgery to remove a tumour. It was in fact an interstitial (testicular) tumour, caused by a retained testicle. The veterinarian said it was the first intersex case they had seen in 13 years of practice. Procedure cost: $2,531;
• A Domestic Long Hair cat required surgery to remove a sewing needle it had eaten. Procedure cost: $1,968;
• A French Bulldog had multiple incisions to remove a whole roll of dental floss that had unravelled in its intestines. The dog ate the floss after rummaging through a visitor’s bag. Procedure cost: $2,873;
• A Devon Rex cat had 46 hair ties surgically removed from its stomach. Procedure cost: $2,019;
• A Shetland Sheepdog was treated for eating dish cloths on two separate occasions. In the first instance it was given antibiotics and lactulose to help pass the cloth naturally. The second time it was given apomorphine so it would throw up the cloth. Procedure cost: $222.