We are from Southern Calif.

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JazzyCA69

Member Since 2017
Hi all,

I have a handsome orange tabby, his name is Morris. Name fits him to a T. He is 13 years old and has always been active with his younger brother Raider. He was weighing about 22 lbs about 6 months ago and just recently he has gone down to 18 lbs. Yesterday I took him to the vet to get his lab results and it was diabetes.

I am very depressed by this as the vet seems to think I have a bottomless supply of cash. I tried to purchase some of the things that Morris will need but by the end of the evening I knew I couldn't even cover half of the supplies. I couldn't afford the insulin. I am on social security and unable to go back to work. I just can't do this.
 
Welcome, and I'm so sorry to hear that Morris' diabetes diagnosis has got you so down. It sounds like you are willing to give treatment for your handsome boy a go but the finances are daunting. Many of us here have faced the same thing.
I'm glad you posted because there are lots of people here with good ideas on how to save money on supplies etc and tons of support. Sometimes weekends can be a little slow, but please don't lose hope and give up, at least not yet.
Let's see what others have to offer :bighug:
 
Hi JazzyCa, welcome! We can help with lots of money saving tips. First you don’t need the expensive vet prescription food. If you bought some, take it back for a refund. There are many over the counter pate type wet foods that are fine. Many use Friskies Pate. Also getting your own human glucose meter and testing at home will save on vet visits for curves. Please come to the Main Health Forum and let us know what insulin you’re on maybe we can help with that too.
 
welcome! Sorry about the diagnosis. We all know how overwhelming and intimidating it is.

The inital laying out for the insulin is rough. There is a price difference depending on the insulin you are going for. Vetsulin is about $50 at my vet, but I've seen it online for under $40. Prozinc is about $110-130, and Lantus in the US is like $300 BUT can be bought through Canada for $150 for almost a year supply. Which insulin is it?

testing the BG at home and doing curves at home will also save big money. I was spending $150 a month doing curves every three weeks until I started testing at home... then I didn't take her back for a year... just emailed my vet her numbers. The monitor can be bought at walmart for about $17, plus $35 for 100 test strips and $5 for lancets.

If you have any specific questions post them on the main heath forum where more eyes will see it.
 
Hi from San Diego and welcome!

I too was overwhelmed by the initial estimate of cost of caring for a diabetic cat but it turned out to be at least twice as less if you refuse Rx dry food and feed Friskies Pate from Walmart - $0.57 per 5.5 oz - and it happened to be what my girl eats in 24 hours, or Fancy Feast - $0.67 per 2.8 oz can x 2 a day.

I used to use Relion Prime meter - $9.00, $18 per 100 strips and Relion lancets - $1.48/100 - all from Walmart.

Vetsulin is probably the most economical option, available from Walmart too for around $56/vial. There maybe coupons available online for it. Or ask your vet if there other saving options.

As JenetNJ posted above - home testing will not only save your money but also put you in control over the situation.

The curves at vets, in my humble opinion, serve no other purpose but to give a vet easy and profitable business because glucose levels at vet are almost always higher due to cat's stress and won't provide you with accurate data to determine dosage.

Welcome to the Board! Thing will get easier, promise.

PS. My vet too is cash obsessed ... must be an occupational hazard thing. Never mind, we all found our ways around it and ready to share the tips.
 
Last edited:
Sometimes you can get supplies cheaper or even free in the "supply closet" you will find that forum further down on the board. Don't give up yet. We live on SS also. Prozinc costs us $130 a vile, but it lasts Callie more than 3 months.

You might want to start with changing the food and getting testing supplies. Sometimes a cat can be controlled with diet alone.
 
JazzyCA69 said:
Hi all,

I have a handsome orange tabby, his name is Morris. Name fits him to a T. He is 13 years old and has always been active with his younger brother Raider. He was weighing about 22 lbs about 6 months ago and just recently he has gone down to 18 lbs. Yesterday I took him to the vet to get his lab results and it was diabetes.

I am very depressed by this as the vet seems to think I have a bottomless supply of cash. I tried to purchase some of the things that Morris will need but by the end of the evening I knew I couldn't even cover half of the supplies. I couldn't afford the insulin. I am on social security and unable to go back to work. I just can't do this.
Click to expand...
I felt the same way as you I couldn’t do it because Callie is very skittish. She was diagnosed at the end of August. I called around to different drugstores and found that the needles were best priced at Walmart I paid $12.58 as opposed to over $30 at other drugstores. Changing Morrises diet to canned food like fancy feast classic and Friskies pate helped my Callie a great deal. She gets two units of pro zinc twice a day. The vile lasted me over three months so that averages out to $40 a month. I know it’s scary but you can do this. Also my vet said absolutely no dry food. She just had a check up a week ago and is doing well. Good luck with your kitty you can do this. Also, because she is doing well my vet has her see a tech about every six weeks to check her glucose level at a cost of $10. So we’re managing we are also on a tight budget but you do what you Gotta do I guess for the love of your cat.Good luck.
 
Welcome to you and Morris.

You've found a great place to learn about how to help Morris with his diabetes - and also how to save money on insulin and supply costs.

(@Chris & China - could DCIN help here?)


Mogs
.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top