<p>We kennel our asthmatic cat with the vet where they go. his stay costs more as he’s in the hospital area vs plain leo whose in the regular kennel.They give Seven his medicine.</p>
<p>Our local Costco has a sign that they fill pet prescriptions now, except for the stuff that needs compounding (I assume it is because the flavorings used for pets are quite different - humans will not go crazy about chicken, salmon, or turkey-flavored antibiotics. 
).</p>
<p>I had a cat who died last year of heart disease. Every med was much, much cheaper at Costco. In fact, the pet med program was new and the pharmacist asked me for suggestions. They will try to get your meds for you. The availability depends on their wholesale supplier. Some may come in the wrong dosage for your animal because that’s what they get.</p>
<p>Humulin insulin should be refrigerated after opening and discarded after 30 days. Do not clean a needle with alcohol, it will strip away the finish and dull the needle. Store in in an upright position, (covered), not refrigerated. Discard after 2-4 uses.</p>
<p>My vet freaked out yesterday when I mentioned reusing a needle. lol Since I’m able to get them so cheaply at Costco or Sams club, I’ll just use fresh. Also Walmart…about $13 for a box of 100.</p>
<p>ECmother…curious…why store a needle in an upright position? And which way is upright? needle down?</p>
<p>Does anyone here check their pets’ blood using a meter? If so, how is that working for you? Does your pet get upset?</p>
<p>Before you start the insulin, you should know that some studies have shown you can reverse feline diabetes simply by switching the cat to a strict, low-carb diet (no dry food ever again) if the diabetes is caught early enough. We have been successful doing this with our 10 year old cat. We brought him to the vet about a month after I’d noticed him drinking water all the time (really, he was obsessed with it!). His blood sugar was through the roof, but our vet suggested that I try the no to low-carb diet for two weeks before resorting to insulin. So far, it has worked. He has had normal blood sugar on this diet for 5 months now.</p>
<p>It’s not without side effects: at the beginning, he had diarrhea all the time because we switched him so abruptly, and he is at risk for kidney trouble later on. And there’s no guarantee he won’t need insulin further down the road.</p>
<p>One thing I learned is that you cannot use a prescription cat food because none are low enough in carbs. If you go to catinfo.org, you can find a list of commercial low carb cat foods somewhere on the site. (Whatever you use should have fewer than 15% of calories from carbs, and this is info you will not see on the cat food cans.) Not all low carb foods are expensive, although the really good ones are. Our cats have been fine with one of the low carb Fancy Feast flavors. They’re still pricey, though.</p>
<p>^^
I’ve never seen a low-carb Fancy Feast flavor. Is it hard to find?</p>
<p>"Before you start the insulin, you should know that some studies have shown you can reverse feline diabetes simply by switching the cat to a strict, low-carb diet (no dry food ever again) if the diabetes is caught early enough. "</p>
<p>I’ve heard the same in regards to dogs and humans. </p>
<p>Storing the needle upright prevents any medication that may still be in the syringe not to occlude the needle.</p>
<p>^^
Ahh…thanks, makes sense! lol </p>
<p>After use, couldn’t you just run water from the faucet, suck up some water, and then shoot it back out? or would that contaminate it?</p>
<p>My diabetic cat would not eat the prescription diet. The vet said we could use Science Diet kitten food. The kitten food is high protein. We also gave the cat leftovers of our human fish, chicken and turkey meals.</p>
<p>I think if one of my cats became diabetic, I’d look for lowish salt canned tuna to bring in more protein, less carbs to their diets. I haven’t check the sodium content on human tuna cans, but suspect they might be high. I don’t know if draining/rinsing would remove excess salt.</p>
<p>I would be wary of giving my pets human leftovers from meats because unless we were cooking rather blandly. Many sauces, onions, garlic, peppers, etc, aren’t good for pets. However, if I knew that I was going to have leftovers, I would not season any extras that would go to the pet. </p>
<p>BunsenBurner,??? Your response to my post made no sense. Did I ever say a vet can’t give a shot? No. Pretty much anyone, vet or no vet, can. Barring an emergency, I wouldn’t kennel any animal, especially a sick one, but it’s not because they can’t give a shot. My reasons were outlined in my post. </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: our vet said all Fancy Feast classic version are low carb/high protein. And if your cat insists on dry, the Blue Wilderness dry food is grain free. </p>
<p>We still get newsletters from companies selling syringes and other ancillary products. OUr cat was diabetic and insulin dependent for many years. Did quite well. She had a long life.</p>
<p>"@mom2collegekids: our vet said all Fancy Feast classic version are low carb/high protein. And if your cat insists on dry, the Blue Wilderness dry food is grain free."</p>
<p>Oh, thanks. My cats love wet food, but I give them both. I think it’s better for their teeth to have some dry as well. </p>
<p>Frankly, I’m glad it’s my dog that’s diabetic and not (so far) my cats. I just don’t think they’d let me give them a shot. lol (they barely will let me put the flea drops on the back of their necks). They’re pretty quick and we’d be chasing them all over the house if they had to get shots. I can see why cat-owners would really want to find a way to control with food. </p>
<p>Do any of you use meters for blood testing? </p>