Average Cat Insurance Cost (2026 Report)

Based on MoneyGeek's analysis, the average cost of pet insurance for cats is $32 per month ($386 annually). This rate assumes a policy for a 7-year-old Ragdoll with a $5,000 annual limit, $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement rate. 

That said, most cat owners will likely see premiums closer to $29 to $30 per month, as the most common cat breeds in the U.S. price below the national benchmark. These figures don't guarantee your price. Coverage selection, breed, geographic location and age each affect rates in different ways, and no two cats will cost the same because of these factors.

To help you get a more personalized estimate, we've provided a pet insurance cost calculator below.

Use our tool below to estimate how much you'll pay monthly for cat insurance based on your pet's specific profile.

Four factors affect cat insurance premiums: coverage selection, breed, geographic location and age. Insurers use each one to estimate how likely a cat is to generate claims and how costly those claims might be. This means a 1-year-old mixed-breed cat in a low-cost state with basic coverage won't pay the same as a 16-year-old purebred in an expensive state with high limits.

Coverage selection influences cat insurance premiums based on how you combine annual limits, deductibles and reimbursement rates. Average costs range from $23 to $62 monthly depending on the coverage you choose. Below, we break down how each component affects your cost.

Cat owners selecting a $5,000 annual limit pay an average of $32 monthly. Adjusting this component changes the premium: a $2,000 limit averages $30 monthly, while an unlimited limit averages $56 monthly. 

Note that premiums don't always rise in a straight line as limits increase: the $7,500 limit averages $48 monthly, yet the $8,000, $10,000 and $15,000 tiers all come in lower. This pricing reflects how individual insurers weigh their own claims data and position their products, rather than a simple relationship between more coverage and higher cost. 

The chart below shows average monthly costs based on different annual limits.

Jump To: Average Cat Insurance Cost by Deductible

Cat insurance averages $32 monthly with a $500 deductible. Choosing a $50 deductible pushes your cost to $62, while a $1,000 deductible brings it down to $23. That 174% difference between the two extremes reflects how much of each claim the insurer takes on before the policyholder covers anything.

What the data doesn't show in a straight line is the path between those endpoints. The $350 deductible averages $49 monthly, higher than both the $300 tier at $42 and the $400 tier at $39. This kind of pricing reflects differences in how individual insurers structure their products, not a uniform rule that a higher deductible always costs less.

Check how average monthly costs change based on the deductible in the chart below.

Jump To: Average Cat Insurance Cost by Reimbursement Rate

Cat insurance with 80% reimbursement average $32 monthly, meaning the insurer covers 80% of eligible costs after the deductible is met. Dropping to 70% lowers the cost to $29 per month, while moving to 100% nearly doubles the premium to $59. This huge increase happens because eliminating cost-sharing entirely shifts the full claim burden to the insurer.

The progression at every tier isn't linear, though. The 50% reimbursement tier averages $27 monthly, $3 more than the 60% tier at $24. This is likely due to insurers pricing this tier based on their own claims data and product design. 

The chart below shows how average monthly costs move across various reimbursement tiers.

Jump To: Average Cat Insurance Cost by Annual Limit

Average pet insurance costs for cat breeds vary widely, from $29 per month for a Bombay to $42 per month for a Serengeti. The 29 breeds in our dataset fall into three cost tiers based on their difference from the national benchmark:

• Low-cost breeds (5%+ below national average): Bombay, Domestic Shorthair and Siamese
• Mid-cost breeds (within ±5% of national average): Russian Blue, Tonkinese, Norwegian Forest Cat, Chinchilla, Ragdoll, Devon Rex, Birman and Munchkin
• High-cost breeds (5%+ above national average): British Longhair, Burmese, Snowshoe, Himalayan, Bengal, Scottish Fold, Cornish Rex, British Shorthair, Persian, Siberian, Balinese, Savannah, Maine Coon, Sphynx, Exotic Shorthair, Abyssinian, Australian Mist and Serengeti

62% of breeds fall into the high-cost tier, with the distribution skewing toward the upper end of the premium range. Only three breeds sit below the national benchmark by 5% or more, while 18 sit above it, reflecting how many cat breeds carry hereditary conditions that insurers factor into premiums.

That said, the breeds with the highest concentration of U.S. ownership cluster at or below the national average. For instance, Domestic Shorthairs are the most commonly owned cat in the United States by a large margin, and they sit in the low-cost tier at 7% below the national average. Meanwhile, Ragdolls, one of the most popular registered breeds, land squarely in the mid-cost tier at $33 per month.

Learn more about breed-specific cost averages using the dedicated resources below.

Average monthly premiums for cat insurance range from $25 in North Dakota to $48 in Washington, D.C., for the same coverage level. The 50 states and Washington, D.C. fall into three cost tiers based on their difference from the national average:

• Low-cost states (10%+ below national average): North Dakota, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Maine
• Mid-cost states (within ±10% of national average): Wyoming, Indiana, Mississippi, Florida, Minnesota, Ohio, Arizona, Nevada, Vermont, North Carolina, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, South Dakota, Louisiana, Idaho, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Alaska, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire
• High-cost states (10%+ above national average): Wisconsin, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Georgia, Illinois, New York, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Washington and Washington, D.C.

27 of 50 states and Washington, D.C. fall within 10% of the national average in either direction, meaning the mid-cost tier is where most cat owners land. The low-cost tier holds 14 states, and only 10 states plus Washington, D.C. exceed the national average by more than 10%. 

North Dakota anchors the low end at 22% below the national average, or $25 per month. Washington, D.C. sits at the opposite extreme at $48 per month. That $23 gap between the cheapest and most expensive jurisdictions reflects differences in underlying veterinary costs: routine cat vet visits average $63 in North Dakota and $92 in Washington, D.C., according to CareCredit's 2024 data. The more expensive it is to treat a cat in a given market, the higher the insurer's expected claim payout and the higher the premium to match.

See the table below for the average monthly cost of cat insurance by state.

Explore our state-specific resources below for more detailed information.

Cat insurance premiums rise with age because older cats are more likely to need veterinary care, and insurers price that increased claim risk into the monthly cost. Average premiums can range from $22 per month to $95 per month. The sections below break down how costs shift across three age groups: kittens, middle-aged cats and senior cats.

On average, kitten insurance costs $23 per month for kittens under 1. Costs hold nearly flat through the first two years: age 1 averages $22 per month and age 2 averages $23 per month because insurers treat early kittenhood as a single low-risk pricing tier. The slight dip from under 1 to age 1 reflects how some insurers classify the newborn and early development period as carrying marginally more uncertainty than a cat that has cleared its first year. 

The chart below shows how kitten premiums per month change at each age point.

Jump to: Average Pet Insurance Costs for Middle-Aged Cats

Based on our analysis, a 7-year-old cat averages $34 per month, which is already 4% above the national average. Monthly premiums climb steadily through ages 8 ($38) and 9 ($41), then post their sharpest single-year jump in this tier between ages 9 and 10, adding $5 per month and pushing the cost to $46. This is because age 10 is where many insurers recalibrate risk, as cats entering their double digits show measurably higher rates of chronic conditions like kidney disease, hyperthyroidism and arthritis. 

Review the chart below for the average monthly breakdown across this age range.

Jump to: Average Pet Insurance Costs for Senior Cats

Senior cat insurance costs average $54 per month for an 11-year-old cat. Premiums continue rising by roughly $8 per month through each subsequent year because each additional year of age brings a higher probability of chronic illness, organ decline and costly veterinary intervention. 

Costs reach $95 monthly on average at age 16, where they plateau and hold flat through age 20. This ceiling reflects how insurers set maximum risk thresholds for senior cats rather than continuing to scale premiums year over year. 

Use the chart below to see where your cat's current age falls relative to the full senior cost curve.

Jump to: Average Pet Insurance Costs for Kittens

Your cat's breed, your location and the coverage limits you select all affect what you pay, but some of those are adjustable at quoting and renewal without reducing the coverage that matters most.

Cat insurance premiums depend on coverage selection, breed, location and age, and each factor is priced independently. The $32 monthly national average serves as a reference point, not a prediction of what your quote will be.  

Three questions help put your own quote in context:

1. How does your cat's breed and location compare to the benchmark?
2. Which coverage selections are driving your premium up or down?
3. What adjustments would move your cost closer to where you want it?

Use these questions to locate where your quote sits relative to the benchmark and identify which driver is doing the most work in your case.

If you're ready to get quotes for your cat insurance, use your cat's breed, location and age alongside your preferred coverage limits to compare options across insurers. 

If you're still unsure, our guidance below covers the most common decision points cat owners run into when thinking about cost.