How to Save Money *and* Treat Feline Diabetes

I don't like to spend all my money on my cats, though I would if I had to. Thankfully, diabetes can be managed fairly inexpensively.

So you have sticker shock, a $500 vet bill, a $25 bag of "special diabetic food" and a sad, sick kitty?

Here's my list of what you can scrimp on, and what you can't.

Fructosamine tests and "regulating". Scrimp. You don't need to do this if you are testing blood glucose at home. You can fax or email your testing results to your vet and he/she can work with you on dosing from there. If your vet won't work with you, you need a new vet. Blunt, but true. Fructosamines are a poor substitute and very costly. No need for in-house regulation either, because it simply can't happen. Vet stress causes the cat's blood glucose values to remain abnormally high, and the dose will reflect the stress, rather than the actual need for insulin. It can be dangerous, and a big waste of money.

Food. You can scrimp on this. You can return that bag of WD or MD or those cans to the vet, it has a full money back guarantee. It's overpriced and poor quality, and that money will help you to buy what you need. Use Janet and Binky's list to find canned foods your kitty will eat, and that you can afford. After you get your kitty transitioned and treatment is going well, you can study the best quality foods to feed your kitty. Your kitty basically will eat 6-8oz a day in perfect condition, so you can expect anywhere from roughly $0.50/day with the cheapest food to $1.50/day for some of the premium brands. Yes, the dry food *is* way cheaper per ounce, but if your kitty is getting sicker instead of better, how much are you really saving? For a true slap-the-forehead moment, check out Dr. Lisa's site at catinfo.org

Blood Glucose Meter. You can scrimp on this, Walmart has a good meter called the ReliOn that costs $10. Strips are $46 for 100 strips and that should keep you going for quite some time. Yes, you will use every single one of those strips, they won't go to waste. If you later decide you want a different meter, you're not married to the one you bought. :) Most of us have 8-10 meters. We get them as free samples, or just go out and buy another one to see if we like it. We'll show you how to get them too, just watch Supply Closet. Oh yeah, and you don't need the pet meters. Blood is blood. :)

Ketone strips. Here's how to scrimp on this.. There are two types of urine testing strips, and a blood glucose meter that also tests for ketones. You don't need the meter, it's not better, and the strips are expensive. One of the types of the urine strips only tests for ketones, and the other one tests for glucose spilling into the urine as well as ketones. You don't need to test for glucose because you've already gotten a bg meter. Just get the strips that test for ketones. We often refer to them as Ketostix, but that's a brand name. I think it's perfectly alright to use a generic version if you find them, but the ketostix cost less than $15 per 50 strips. At one strip a day max, that's pretty good. Ketodiastix

Insulin. Don't scrimp on this. Thankfully, you're not married to your insulin either. If you've got one of the less-recommended insulins, you can change to a better one when the vial runs out, or when you get some money together. Do your research, ask around. The petdiabetes wiki has a handy list of the insulins most commonly used/prescribed. PetDiabetes.wiki.com There are ways to save money on even the most costly of them. Nothing bad will happen to your cat during a change to another insulin and there are plenty of people here to help you transition. It's not a lifetime commitment. :)

Refilling your Supplies. Here's where you really start saving money. One of our affiliates is where I buy ALL my stuff, syringes, lancets, meter, strips, even my Tylenol. :D Follow the pink banner at the bottom of every page in the message board of FelineDiabetes.com and it will direct you to our affiliates. Hocks.com is listed there, and if you buy using that link, you'll help the FDMB. :)

How to save money buying insulin.
First start calling around. Get pricing on Lantus and Levemir, a they are both human insulins and NOT available through your vet. Try any wholesale clubs you have, Sam's, BJ's or Costco. Try all the pharmacies, including any grocery store pharmacies. Lantus and Levemir are basically very alike in stability, duration and dosing. Check out the very active Lantus board to see both Levemir and Lantus in action. They are so alike in behavior that you will see both insulins on the same board.

Find out which pharmacies have discount cards, some, such as Rite-Aid have cards that can save 20%. That's a huge savings.

Get your quotes for Lantus and Levemir as this: "5 pack of 3mL cartridges" which are for the pens. You will not need to buy the actual pen, only the cartridges. You will also need to get a quote on syringes. You want u100 syringes, and they should be 30 or 31 gauge, 3/10cc (or .3cc) and you are looking for 1/2 unit markings. These will be difficult to find. We often buy them online, here's where I get mine: Hocks.com

The reason you are requesting the cartridges and not the vials of lantus/levemir is because they both have shortened opened shelf lives. Lantus is somewhere in the vicinity of 28 days, Levemir is in the range of 42 days. The vial is 100mL so that's a large amount of wasted insulin if your vial goes bad. These cartridges, lasting +/- 1 month apiece for a total of roughly 5 months, will run you anywhere from $150-$225 so it's important you price around. Location is a big determination of price, so if you live in a remote area, your costs could be higher.

Canada is also an option. They have L/L available at around $150 for the 5-pack of cartridges with $10 shipping. Here's an interesting thread for you. Canadian Options

There are also FREE non-pharmacy-specific Rx prescription cards listed here: Rx Card Thread

I hope this helps you all to breathe a little, and know there are ways to control the spending.

I must give credit where credit is truly due. Had Janet not been hosting Frugal Feline Diabetes Frugal Feline Diabetes I am not sure what would have happened to me. Thanks Janet, you saved my bank account. :)

This article assumes the reader is aware of felinediabetes.com - if not, come over and join!