Considering adopting a diabetic c

[Cara Morrow]

Hello! I am a potential first time cat adopter. The cat I’m considering is a 10 year old female with diabetes. She was one of the few cats in our local shelter that was not adopted during the recent “clear the shelters” day. I am not necessary apprehensive about adopting an animal with medical issues, but I do need to consider the costs. Guesstimates on monthly expenses (insulin, etc) would be hugely appreciated before I make a decision. Thank you so much!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
How wonderful you are thinking of adopting a diabetic cat and giving her another chance of a happy life! She is a lucky girl to have found you and you will find you will be rewarded 10 fold with the love she will give you.
A lot of the costs are in the first month when the cat is diagnosed and all the blood tests etc are done and the starting dose is sorted out and curves done by the vet. If your kitty is an established diabetic, the initial costs should be less. There are many ways to save costs with supplies and food and vet costs.
I don't live in the US so can't comment on the costs there but I will tag @Chris & China as she will be able to help you with costs and the best places to get things.
Thank you for thinking of adopting an FD kitty

 

[Cara Morrow]

Thank you for responding!

I don’t have the cat’s history yet but suspect she was dropped off at the shelter after her diabetes diagnosis. I understand from her caregivers at the shelter that she spent some time recently in foster care and that she is doing great on her special food and insulin.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

It will depend somewhat on the insulin your vet wants you to use, but if you can get a script for Lantus or Levemir (two of the best insulins for cats!), you can buy your insulin from Canada and save quite a lot!

A 5 pack of either will run about $200 but that's 1500 units which is enough to last most cats at least a year!

Here's the info on Buying insulin from Canada

Most of us here use the Relion Confirm or Micro blood glucose meters from WalMart…..there's absolutely no reason you need to use a "pet" meter so don't let your vet convince you that you need one! All our dosing methods here are based on using human meters anyway so we're very comfortable with them.

The meter is about $15 and the strips are $35.88/100 for both the Confirm and the Micro. They take the tiniest sample size which is important when you're new to home testing. Later on, if you want to save even more, you can go with the Relion Prime ($9 for 50 strips) but the Prime takes a larger sample size.

Lancets are anywhere from about $2 to $15 for a box of 100.....and it doesn't matter what brand you use! All lancets are are pieces of plastic with a sharp metal point used to poke the edge of the ear to get a blood sample.

Some people like having a lancet device, but most of us just freehand it. If you want a device, it's another about $5

Syringes will also depend on the insulin, but ADW has both U100 and U40 syringes at reasonable prices ($12-$30 per 100)

Now for food....there is NO reason to spend money on "prescription" food! Most of it is garbage. The ingredients are lousy and they are too high in carbohydrates for a diabetic cat. Most of us feed plain old Fancy Feast Classics, Friskies pates or 9-Lives ground, but there are lots of choices!

Check out this Food Chart put together by Dr. Lisa Pierson …..You want to feed canned or raw foods that are less than 10%

Keep asking questions and God Bless you for considering adoption an "extra sweet" kitty!! You will never regret it!! The bond you form with your sugarcat is so much more special because they depend on you so much...and they are so happy to repay your kindness!!

 

[Rardito]

Just wanted to add that you are a wonderful person for considering adopting a diabetic kitty! So far for me, the most expensive things were the vet bills when she was in the process of being diagnosed (which you don't need since she's already a known diabetic) and the test strips. However, you won't need nearly as many strips once the kitty is regulated. I use fancy feast pate and friskies pate.