Food and Glucose Meter Suggestions

[Weather Girl]

Right now I'm waffling between using EVO or Sophisticat wet foods for Vesta. She seems to like the Sophisticat better, but I like the idea of the more natural (and less processed) EVO. On the other hand, EVO was just bought out by P&G, so who knows how long that will last. And last, EVO is just about 2x more expensive (80c per cat per day EVO vs. 40c pet cat per day Sophisticat).

So- is it worth the extra $$$ for EVO, when I can still get a few flavors of Sophisticat with 2-4 % carbs? Or are there other less expensive foods that are still worth it? We're on a lantus protocol... and obviously shooting for OTJ in the future.

Second- We're using the Bayer Breeze 2 home testing meter. I was able to get the meter for free (yeah coupon shopping!), but the cheapest I've found strips are around 50c each. Are strips for other meters cheaper, or is this about standard?

Thanks for the advice!!!

 

[tuckers mom]

Have you checked Ebay for test strips? If you find a seller with a lot of good ratings, you can feel pretty safe that the strips will be fine, I used to buy them off ebay a lot when I used the One Touch Ultra.

I have some Evo canned, but not all my cats like it, I mainly feed other varieties, wheat and corn gluten free.

 

[Weather Girl]

I haven't checked ebay yet... I will tonight. I didn't even think about that being a reputable place for stuff like that, but I guess it very well might be, just like everything else there

About the food- I guess the big question is EVO worth the extra bucks? Is the food that's twice as expensive, or the food that's 150% as high, worth it? I price checked the rollback Fancy Feast at walmart today, and came up with 30c per serving, 60c per day for that one. The list goes as follows, then:

Sophisticat: 40c per day ($2.80 per week)
Fancy Feast: 60c per day ($4.20 per week)
EVO: 80c per day ($5.60 per week)

Not taking into account we have two cats (and those $$s are estimates for one cat alone). It doesn't look like that big of a price difference at first, but it does add up!

Edited to add: I really don't mind the extra money if it's really worth it... Just want to make sure it is!

 

[tuckers mom]

I have Evo canned, but my cats aren't huge fans, they like it once in a while. I mainly feed Fancy Feast, I buy coupons for that too on line at Ebay. I can usually get 20 - $1 coupons for $2.99 shipped. Need to save where ever I can I also stock up on FF when it's on sale on petfooddirect.com and they have the 20% off promotion or when my local pet supply place has it for $.50/can and I can use my coupons.

I know others feed Sophisticat and do fine.

 

[Randi & Max (GA)]

Hey Jamie
I tried EVO for my kitties because I also wanted the best food for them.
What I found out though was that EVO does have a higher fat content so with my Max weighing in at 18.5 pounds it was suggested to me to not feed him EVO.
I am lucky that my 3 kitties (2 civvies, Max OTJ 5 weeks) all eat FF.
I have heard plenty people use sophisticat but since it is Petsmart brand, we do not have petsmart here I was afraid to try it.

For meters, we have used the Rlion Ultima from Walmart, the strips are 39.99 for a box of 100. Relion has a few different kinds so if you went that route, make sure you get the right strips for the right meter.

Hope you had a great bacation. Nice to seeing you posting in Lantus.

 

[Phoebe_TiggyGA_NortonGA]

for meter, I use the Maxima AST from www.hocks.com.

Test strips run $0.30 each when you buy in bulk (6 vials of 50 and the per vial price drops to $14.99)

To get free shipping, I order syringes and lancets too -- and a couple months worth at a time (I think orders over $79 get free shipping)

I get Monoject brand syringes with half-unit marks for $17.49 per 100 and lancets for $1.49 per 100.

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

I've been using a product called nature's logic. Here's a link to the discussion:
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopi ... ures+logic

It's a very dense product, I add lots of water to it, to make it puree more liquidy and my girls eat it.

The two favorite flavors are chicken and duck/salmon - the rabbit is a sometimes ok choice. - it is expensive, I kid you not, but I like the quality ingredients and it's another option for my girl's buffet.