Feedback appreciated!

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BBBeth

Member Since 2021
Hi everyone,

I was the momma of a former stray senior kitty for the last 6 of his 22 years. He was a diabetic boy, so I am familiar with the care this entails. Sadly, I helped him cross the bridge January 2021. Recently I felt it in my heart to look into adoption. I heard about a senior diabetic lady, went to visit her, asked a lot of questions, and agreed to foster her wiwith extended sleepover to see if she is a good fit. I have a cat friendly dog and wanted to be sure they would get along - that was my only concern....until I started looking at her meds and price checking and realized her care is 3x more expensive than my last sugar cat. If nothing else, I would like to continue fostering her. But I can't consider adoption given the cost of care at this time.

She is on 2 medicated foods, one wet and one dry. She is on gabapentin 50mg 2x daily. She takes cosequin for her old lady joints. And highlighting my ignorance most of all, she is on Lantus. I had no clue there was such a cost spectrum for insulin!! This is simply outside of my budget. I am blessed I have never had to make a tough decision about a pet's care due to financial limitations. I can't take on this baseline cost and be confident I can provide every penny of care both my dog and my potential adopted cat would need if we were faced with a surprise. I am not comfortable with that

I don't know what her numbers have been like - the shelter told me she is managed on her current regimen. She has an upcoming appt to check her glucose and fructosamine. Assuming her numbers are solid, I hesitate to think of changing her meds to save a penny. I want what is best for her. I have looked into getting her Lantus from Canada, but I am not comfortable with it being illegal (I know consequences are highly unlikely, but I don't want to take chances given my work).

I'm not 100% sure what I am looking for here. Maybe you guys have some insight or know ins and outs I am not familiar with. I just want to know I looked into all my options to see if I could fully adopt this kitty before making a decision. I don't want to cut corners, I definitely would want what is best for her first and foremost.

Sorry for the novel, I have been stressing about this for days!

I have a glucometer, considering doing a curve with her just to see what her numbers look like.

Ugh...

Help?
 
Welcome so wonderful that you want to adopt a sugar baby
I'm so sorry about you boy, wow 22 years, :bighug:
You can use this
Semglee, it is a generic Lantus, and was approved by the FDA last June. The cost is compatible with Lantus from Canada.

https://www.goodrx.com/semglee
Here is a coupon above take a look at the price
Just call any pharmacy to see if they have the 5 pens, they will last you a year or more




We use the pens as vials , just insert the syringe into the rubber stopper on the one and draw out the insulin. U-100 syringes with half unit markings
If you have any other questions feel free to ask
If you live in the US most of us use the Relion Premier Classic human meterfrom Walmart 9 dollars
17.88 for 100 strips
 
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Welcome

Doing a curve if you can is a very good idea so that you can have a more accurate idea as how she's doing what dose is she getting? Are you testing before shooting if you are what numbers are you getting?

I get it you are being very responsible in making sure you can provide for her I hope you can sort things out and adopt her she would be very lucky to have you
 
Thanks so much for the replies so far! I really appreciate it. I still have the AlphaTrak2 and plenty of strips from my previous boy. I think I will try to do a curve this weekend to get an idea of how it's working for her.

I have had her only 5 days as of today. I haven't had access to her vet records for any more insight, and understandably I can't make any changes to her meds as her foster. She is taking 3 units every 12 hours. I haven't tested her at all yet.

It is helpful to know the semglee exists!

I did bring up my concerns to the shelter, but they just said to focus on introducing her to my dog. They are laying it on thick that I will be the perfect home because I already have experience with a diabetic cat. I am kind of feeling like they want me to fall in love with her and then be so hooked I will take on the responsibility of all this. She is a sweet cat, wonderful disposition, and I can't quite say I love her yet but I really like her and want what's best for her. Maybe it's because I have previous experience I feel more in the dark about all this? It would be nice to have an opportunity to talk with someone who can give me more history.

It was an experience/learning curve when my old man was diagnosed, but I felt like it was explained well to me and we figured it out together. Taking on a pet I KNOW is diagnosed with limited information is a whole different ballgame. Sigh.
 
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BBBeth said:
It would be nice to have an opportunity to talk with someone who can give me more history.
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If you mean history about this specific cat then good luck. I have adopted my diabetic cats turned into shelters sight unseen with little history. Sometimes the shelter did bloodwork and would give me the results but very infrequently would I be given other information. Very infrequently wouold the turn-in caretaker give access to previous vet records but when that would happen that was good. I would not rely on what the previously caretaker said since frequently it is not true since the caretaker does not want to look like a "bad" person (I used to work at a shelter).

I have been rewarded by getting diabetic cats from a shelter. Sometimes the reward is short lived, once one, Chyna, was only with me for 13 days before she went into sever kidney failure and I had to say goodbye. Another one, Snuffles turned out to be agressive and sent me to the Dr once and ER once. With drugs he is doing a lot better.
 
No, I am not looking for history from the previous owners. I apologize I didn't give this context- She was at the shelter 2 weeks when they realized she was diabetic. She has been with the shelter and in foster with one of the clinic workers for over 6 months. I am interested in what things have looked like over that 6 month span since she was diagnosed.

So sweet you adopted those babies! Glad Chyna knew love before she passed, and grateful Snuffles is better now. :) I agree it can be very rewarding! All my pets have been adopted or strays I have taken in and I haven't had the history to make an informed decision beforehand. Given that I at least theoretically have the opportunity to ask questions and get more info in this case, I think I need to do that to make sure she has all she deserves.
 
Welcome to FDMB and thank you for taking in this sweet baby. I recently adopted Charlie who also is diabetic. According to the shelter I adopted him from, his diabetes was "diet controlled" on prescription food. Since he is my 6th diabetic cat (4 were adopted knowing they were diabetic) I did not really believe that. I immediately started testing him and found out that was not true. Charlie is on Semglee and I have been very happy with it. The cheapest place I found locally was through Walgreens using their prescription discount card. The price for 5 pens was around $120.00. If you don't normally get prescriptions at Walgreens you can get the prescription card for just your pet instead of the family card.

If you are in the US you can order the Lantus from Canada. You will need a valid prescription and many of our members do it. When I was looking at pricing for Lantus, Basaglar and Semglee, the price of the Semglee at Walgreens was better than ordering insulin from Canada. All three insulins are insulin glargines and are considered biosimilar. Other good insulins are Levemir and ProZinc.

You don't need to feed a prescription diet. Most of us feed our cats low carb, high protein canned cat food. Fancy Feast and Friskies canned pates are what many members feed their cats. Home testing is also something you should learn to do. Other than the fructosomine test used to diagnose diabetes, the glucose tests at the vet are usually not very accurate. Stress raises a cat's glucose levels and their glucose tests can be considerable higher than your tests at home. Despite what some vets think, you do not need your vet's permission to home test or even adjust the dose when needed. We can help you learn everything you need to know to manage your cat's diabetes.
 
Hi all - wanted to give an update just in case anyone was wondering/curious. I've decided to continue fostering kitty in the hopes she finds a perfect forever home. ❤ I think she would be happiest in a home without furry siblings (even though she tolerates my dog).

She has a check up next week to check her glucose and fructosimine. I am checking the accuracy of my glucometer at that appt - I did a couple reads late last week and they came out real wonky so I want to make sure it's reading correctly before going through a curve.

I appreciate everyone's feedback and will probably keep creeping around. Since I am fostering I won't be able to make any big changes to her food or meds like I would if she was my own, but I am sure things will come up.

Thank you again!
 
Lantus is not illegal to order from Canada. Many here order from Marks Marine pharmacy. It's about $189 for a years supply. Another good insulin is ProZinc $104 for a vial that can last up to 6 months.

Cosequin is cheap, as is Gabapentin (esp if you order it online). If the gaba is for arthritis pain I found adequan shots a lot more effective. Two vials is about $120 and would last about a year. Perscription food is not necessary. Most feed low carb canned food such as fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods.
 
While not heavily enforced, it *is* illegal to buy insulin from Canada.

I can't make changes to her medications or diet at this time.
 
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