Nationwide releases the top 10 medical issues in dogs and cats in 2017
The pet insurance claims data show that dogs have a lot of skin in the game, while cats are all over the place.
"I had to go because of itches and scratches. You?" (Shutterstock.com)Nationwide pet insurance recently reported the 10 most common problems for which claims were submitted in 2017 for canine and feline veterinary care. Dogs have derm issues-lots of derm issues. Cats have lots of, well, lots of issues, from their urinary tracts to their lungs and kidneys to their not-so-pearly whites.
Which claims were the most frequent? And which were the most expensive? If the suspense is killing you, wait no more …
Nationwide's top 10 most common medical conditions in dogs
- Atopic or allergic dermatitis-average cost to treat: $255
- Otitis externa-average cost to treat: $172
- Benign skin neoplasia-average cost to treat: $377
- Pyoderma-average cost to treat: $128
- Enteropathy-average cost to treat: $175
- Gastropathy
- Degenerative arthritis
- Periodontitis/tooth infection-average cost to treat: $400 (the most expensive in the top 10 dog list)
- Cystitis or urinary tract infection
- Anal gland sacculitis/expression
Nationwide's top 10 most common medical conditions in cats
- Cystitis or urinary tract disease-average cost to treat: $495
- Periodontitis/tooth infection-average cost to treat: $434
- Gastropathy-average cost to treat: $334
- Renal disease or failure-average cost to treat: $649
- Enteropathy-average cost to treat: $221
- Hyperthyroidism
- Feline upper respiratory infection
- Diabetes mellitus-average cost to treat: $889 (the most expensive in the top 10 cat list)
- Atopic or allergic dermatitis
- Valvular heart disease or murmur
Nationwide says its members spent more than $96 million in veterinary care last year for these top 10 most common issues in both dogs and cats alone. The lists were compiled from more than 1.4 million pet insurance claims submitted to Nationwide last year for more than 650,000 insured pets.
