Not surprisingly, dogs and cats are not only different in personality from one another (cats, after all, have staff, while dogs have owners) but their physical woes and ills differ too. One thing that doesn't differ is the rising cost of treatment.

But as bonded as we are with our animal companions, pet parents are both relieved and concerned about the advanced forms of treatment available now not just to humans, but to their animal companions. Pets now have access to some of the same diagnostic tools and treatments used in human health care, including MRIs, flu shots, laser surgery and hip and knee replacements, as well as alternative medicine like acupuncture and hydrotherapy.

But all that comes at a price, and sometimes the price is too high for pet parents to manage.

Employers looking for additional ways to help employees look after their own financial wellness might want to read on to see just how helpful an animal insurance policy for employees' pets might be.

Courtesy of Healthy Paws, here are the 10 most common ailments of dogs and cats, and their associated costs.

10. Dogs: cruciate ligament injuries (4 percent); cats: ADR (4 percent)

Dogs are prone to cruciate ligament injuries, which include the tearing or rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (aka the knee). Going limp in a hind leg is the first symptom, as well as swelling around the knee.

Surgeries have been reported to cost anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000, depending on the breed, severity of the injury and location of the tear.

For cats, ADR is vet code for "ain't doin' right" — a "technical" vet term to describe an animal that's obviously not well but displaying no obvious cause.

Symptoms include anything that is out of the ordinary: vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss and/or lethargy. But it can be tough to determine what's causing these problems, and arriving at a proper diagnosis can include "everything from tests to treatment, ranging from $40 to possibly thousands."

9. Dogs: limping (5 percent); cats: URI (5 percent)

Dogs refusing to put weight on a leg, or walking "funny," along with whimpering, panting or other signs of discomfort, aren't necessarily in for a slam-dunk diagnosis.

While causes could include a superficial cut, ingrown toenail, or object stuck in the paw, the vet might also need to resort to an X-ray ($150–$400, depending on number of views), CT scan ($1,000–$3,000) or MRI ($3,000–$4,500) to see if there is a bone, tendon or ligament injury.

In cats, upper respiratory infections are typically diagnosed with a physical exam and/or radiographs, then treated with antibiotics. Symptoms are very similar to humans: sniffling, sneezing, mucus from nose, coughing and lethargy.

Vets also can check for oral ulcers, sometimes caused by Feline Herpes (Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis or FVR) and Feline Calicivirus (FCV). But if a pet develops pneumonia, pet parents could be looking at hospitalization for multiple days, oxygen therapy and IV antibiotics.

8. Dogs: pain (5 percent); cats: heart conditions (5 percent)

Pain is a pretty generic word, and vets see excessive grooming, panting, limping, whimpering, lack of appetite, antisocial behavior (either suddenly shy or very aggressive) and stiff movements as indicators.

Diagnostics can run the gamut from X-rays to CT scans and MRIs (see #9 for costs), while treatments can include laser therapy ($250–$400), chiropractic care and acupuncture ($35–$100 per session, usually around $80) or massage therapy at $30–$60 per session.

For cats, the symptoms of heart conditions include difficult or rapid breathing, blue or gray gums or tongue, loss of appetite, weakness or lethargy, sudden collapse and hind limb paralysis. While there aren't a host of new procedures in veterinary treatment of heart disease, there are new drugs — lots of them.

And while they're not yet quite as bad as the cost of Epipens, drugs for animals with heart disease aren't cheap: Diltiazem can run $45 a month until the animal's condition stabilizes or reverses, while Telmisartan ($17 for 90 pills) or Pimobendan ($65 for 50 pills) are both ongoing treatments that may need to be taken indefinitely.

7. Dogs: allergies (6 percent); cats: ear infection (6 percent)

Itching, scabbing, watery eyes, sneezing, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as paw chewing and licking, can be signs of allergies in dogs — caused by diet or environmental factors, including fleas.

While it's no longer necessary to use generic steroids and antibiotics, Heska allergy testing — providing far more accurate results — can cost $250–$400.

For cats, the scenario surrounding ear infections is similar to that for dogs: Scratching of the ear or area around the ear, discharge, odor in the ear, redness and swelling, crust or scabs, hair loss around the ear, rubbing, shaking, head tilt, loss of balance, unusual eye movements, walking in circles and hearing loss can all be symptoms of an ear infection.

The total cost to treat ear infections is between $100–$250 with a vet visit — fortunately not as high on the dollar scale as many other ailments.

6. Dogs: UTI (7 percent); cats: eye conditions (6  percent)

Urinary tract infections (UTIs), as in humans, mean frequent urination, blood in urine, and straining to urinate. Your pet may cry or whimper while going to the bathroom, break housetraining, and even obsessively lick the genital area.

In both dogs and cats, UTIs are treated with antibiotics — again, not as high on the dollar scale as many other ailments.

For cats, as for dogs, eye conditions including cataracts, cherry eye, coloboma, corneal ulcers, glaucoma, progressive retinal atrophy and dry eye can be treated with daily eye drops or other methods, with varying costs, or — for dry eye — can be far more expensive, if treated with surgery.

That can range from $50–$3,000 per eye, but it's a permanent solution — something both pets and their people can appreciate.

5. Dogs: growth (7 percent); cats: kidney disease (7 percent)

Growths can range from lumps and bumps under the skin could be fatty tumors or cysts, which do not require drastic treatment — but they could also be cancer.

Cancer symptoms include swelling, sores that don't heal, weight loss and/or loss of appetite, strange odor, and difficulty breathing, eating, or going to the bathroom. The good news is that cancer treatments have advanced substantially from the days when vets pretty much had to rely on full limb amputations to rid the body of cancerous growths.

For dogs and for cats, there are (costly) diagnostic and treatment options available that offer far better chances for survival — although they'll weigh on a person's bankbook. They include biopsies ($1,500); radiation ($500–$1,000 per session, around $5,000–$10,000); chemotherapy ($1,000–$15,000 for a full course); robotic radiosurgery (~$10,000); and melanoma vaccine ($1,000–$1,500 every 6 months).

Cats rarely have visible signs of kidney disease early on, making early diagnosis a challenge. They're also more prone to kidney disease than dogs, since they have more frequent bladder infections.

In later stages, signs of kidney disease may include increased thirst, increased urination, weight loss, decreased appetite, lethargy, and, in some cases, vomiting. But lithotripsy is now an option for kidney or bladder stones, although it costs $3,000.

4. Dogs: eye conditions (7 percent); cats: cancer (8 percent)

Dogs suffer from many of the same eye conditions as cats, and treatment costs can vary wildly depending on whether the solution is drops or, as mentioned earlier, surgery that can run into the thousands.

For cats, cancer is just as devastating as it is for dogs. New treatments offer new options, but as mentioned above, pet parents will be hard up to pay for them without some help.

3. Dogs: ear infection (11 percent); cats: skin conditions (9 percent)

Ear infections in dogs are not as expensive as other ailments, although at a $100–$250 vet visit, they're certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Skin conditions in cats, as in dogs, including dermatitis, flea reactions, pruritus, pyoderma, and skin infections, can tote up some pretty hefty vet bills, since venomous insect stings and snakebites can run up to $2,400. However, a regular dermatitis treatment can be anywhere from $100–$500 with full prescriptive treatments.

2. Dogs: skin conditions (19 percent); cats: UTI (17 percent)

Dogs aren't immune to skin problems, and owners aren't immune to the bills; as previously mentioned, those bills can range from $100–$500 for dermatitis treatments via prescriptions, while encounters with venomous insects or snakes can run considerably more — into the thousands.

For cats, the scenario is similar to that for dogs with UTIs, and, treated with antibiotics, relatively reasonable in cost.

1. Dogs: stomach issues (29 percent); cats: stomach issues (33 percent)

Vomiting, diarrhea, not eating or drinking, foaming at the mouth and drooling, combined with listlessness, all signal that it's time to head for the vet. But stomach issues for dogs, as for cats, can be caused by a myriad of things, including ingesting foreign objects or plants.

New diagnostics to figure out what's causing Fido's or Fluffy's distress include digital X-rays, at $150–$400 (depending on the number of views); an endoscopy, at $800–$1,000; a biopsy, at up to $1,500; an ultrasound, at between $300–$500; and a CT scan ($3,000).