New to Freestyle Libre 3 Plus for my Walter

W

Walter2026*

Member Since 2026
My 12 year old male kitty Walter was just diagnosed about 10 days ago and his first sensor that was applied by the vet has stopped reading after only 8 days.
The first question is how many days do any of you that are using this product generally get? They told me 10 to 15 days.
The second question is where are you buying your sensors and how much do they cost?
I am in Iowa and went to Hy Vee Pharmacy and it was $181 dollars for 2 sensors with tax.
This is in addition for the Bexacat and at least 36 dollars a pop for the vet to put them on. Also, I called Libre for help on getting my app going and the person refused to help since
it was being used on a cat and not a human. I got pretty upset with them.
I'm willing to do whatever I can for him, but I'm also going to be retiring in a few months and need to get these costs down as much as possible.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Paul
 
Hi Paul and Walter,
Welcome, I’m sorry you need to be here, but we are very happy to help and support you both.

The best thing to do is read the below document we’ve put together to help new members and new Libre users.

The best thing to do is learn how to put them on yourself. You will save yourself a lot of money and time and aggravation for both you and Walter.
It’s really not hard to do, it takes a little practice to learn.

I highly suggest joining the Facebook group Freestyle Libres for dogs and cats.
There are videos and instructional information which is very detailed there on how to use them and install them.
The group is also mentioned in the document below.

I pay around $38 each for my Libres.
I buy them at my local grocery store pharmacy. They are able to look for the best coupon available and apply it for me.
They know it’s for my cat.

Costco seems to have a really good price, around $30 each if you were a member.
You can purchase Libres there even if you are not a member.
I am not exactly sure of the specific price, but you can check.

As you found out, Abbott will not support any thing concerning using the Libre for a Pet.
If you ever have to call them in the future, never say you’re using it for a Pet, say you’re using it for a family member or for yourself.

And just so you know, if one does fail, you can request replacement from Abbott, but again you can’t say it’s for a pet.
That’s explained very clearly on the Facebook group page.

It’s possible that your Libre failed due to the vet installing it with glue. Many vets use glue, which is very bad.
Glue can damage the sensor and cause it to fail.
The glue also can cause bad damage to the cat’s very fragile skin.
I’ve been using Libres for over three years consistently and have never used glue.
Mine typically stay on for the full two week run unless for some reason it fails for some other reason (for me it is typically when my cat is in a very low range for many hours that seems to cause the Libre to shut down. I believe it’s a safety feature because the device thinks there is something wrong.)

I also keep a tube top on my cat so she can’t pull it off as many cats may do. Many people use a tee shirt or a wrap.
Some cats ignore it, but you have to know your cat and learn if they will fuss with it or not.
It’s also very important to be able to do a blood test on your cat even when using a Libre to double check when they get a low BG reading on the Libre if it reads very low.

Please see below and ask any questions if you have them.

Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats
 
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