• Treatments once reserved for humans, from radiation therapy to kidney transplants, are currently available for pets. That means once-fatal conditions are now treatable at costs ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 or more.
• Vets have access to increasingly sophisticated and costly diagnostic tools such as MRIs. Such screenings not only boost the cost of exams but often detect problems that once would have gone unnoticed, and untreated.
• These expensive tools and procedures have helped create health-care inflation in the pet doctor world. Vet costs have risen 73% in the past five years, to $19 billion.

• The policies typically have deductibles, co-pays and caps that limit how much will be paid out annually.
• Pre-existing problems and hereditary conditions, such as hip dysplasia in German Shepherds and retrievers, are normally excluded.
• The older your animal, the more you’ll have to shell out in premiums. Some insurers don’t cover pets older than 9, while others levy a stiff surcharge.

Premiums and coverage for pet insurance Item Standard plan Superior plan Deductible $50 $50 Co-pay* 10% to 50% 10% to 50% Cap per accident/illness $2,500 $4,500 Annual cap $9,000 $14,000 Kitten premium** $93 $162 Mature dog premium*** $254 $471 Adult cat**** $94 $164 Adult dog***** $134 $239 *The co-pay varies by condition, level of coverage and vet costs in your area. The standard plan pays $780 for removing a foreign object from an animal’s intestines; the Superior plan pays $1,363. *Kitten premium: Annual premium for a domestic shorthair less than a year old living in Los Angeles. ***Mature dog premium: Annual premium for an 8-year-old Labrador retriever living in Los Angeles. ****3-year-old adult cat in Seattle.*****3-year-old adult mixed-breed in Seattle. Source: Veterinary Pet Insurance

Since insurance is best used as protection against catastrophic expenses -- not those you could easily pay out of pocket -- the question becomes: How deep in the hole would you go for your pet? And then could you afford to pay those costs yourself? Pet insurance is a non-starter for many pet owners, simply because they take a pragmatic approach to their animals. If the cost of treatment got too high, they would choose to put the animal to sleep. “About half see the pet as disposable. If it got really ill they just wouldn’t treat it,” said Stephens, whose company conducted research on the issue. The other half “were willing to treat, whatever it took.” Going the distance for Fluffy If you’re in the latter category and you don’t have sufficient savings to cover the treatments, you might consider pet insurance. But do your homework before you buy: Shop around. Policies and premiums can vary widely. Note not just the monthly or annual cost but the differences in deductibles, co-pays and caps, which may limit payouts by incident, annually or the animal’s lifetime. Ask whether the insurer offers discounts for insuring multiple pets.

Check with state insurance department. Like human health insurers, pet insurers should be registered with your state regulators. Scrutinize the policy and understand the exclusions. Remember, the conditions most likely to afflict your pet are often the ones most likely to be excluded from your policy. Beef up your savings. A Consumer Reports analysis found that pet owners with insurance may actually spend more over time on their animals than those without. 8 ways to keep overall pet costs low Whether or not you opt for pet insurance, you can help control how much your animal costs you. Here are some other ways you can trim vet bills: Use low-cost clinics for shots. Your vet may host one or two such clinics each year, or you can call your local Humane Society, animal control department or veterinary hospital for leads. Get second opinions. You’ll have time, with most conditions, to consult another vet before committing to expensive treatments or drugs. You also can consult The Merck Veterinary Manual online for a rundown on your pet’s condition and recommended treatments. Ask for samples. Your vet may have free starter packets of many popular medications. It doesn’t hurt to ask. Shop around for meds. You can call around to other vets, check out pet catalogs or search the Internet. Discountpetmedicines.com has links to sites that offer lower-priced medications. Don’t cheap out on pet food. An investment in better-quality food can pay off in fewer health problems, particularly with cats, who can be more susceptible to urinary tract infections if fed inexpensive cat food. Check with your vet. Keep their weight down. Just as with people, obesity in animals can trigger more health problems. Keep your pet indoors or on a leash. Free-running animals have more accidents, contract more illnesses and take a bigger toll on the environment than pets that are kept under control. (In other words, Fluffy will live a longer, healthier life indoors, and the songbirds of the neighborhood will thank you.) Consider a cat -- or a mutt. Next time you’re in the market for a pet, remember that dogs tend to wind up in the vet’s office twice as often as cats, and that purebreds tend to have far more hereditary weaknesses than your average pound puppy. Liz Pulliam Weston's column appears every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money.