Plan Goes to the Dogs --and Cats

Your company may have footed the bill for your root canal or medical checkup, but what happens when your cat gets ill? Are you covered?

Not usually. Synbiotics Corp., a provider of animal health-care diagnostics and vaccines, said it will offer an employee-benefit program that will include some veterinary care for its employees’ pets.

Under the program, Synbiotics will reimburse employees for the costs of visits to licensed veterinarians. The San Diego-based company said it hopes that by initiating the program it will encourage other companies to offer similar packages, ultimately boosting sales of animal health-care supplies.

“We want to encourage people to obtain the finest veterinary care for their pets,” said Kenneth Cohen, chief executive of Synbiotics, in a statement.