Cat's been diagnosed with Diabetes- food is expensive

[oregonjen]

In fact, everything is expensive. Any way I can get the special canned food recommended by the vet somewhere cheaper? She wants my cat to have a high protein low carb canned food by Purina. It's $1.55/per can. I'm willing to buy it at the vet's if that's the only place, but I'm suffering from sticker shock at the moment. PetSmart of course doesn't sell it. I've looked at other websites that do have it available, but I would actually be spending more adding the shipping and handling.
Any DU'ers out there have a diabetic cat? Any advice?

[Kali]

1. you might be able to make your own for less

ask vet for advice

[grasswire]

2. why don't you make food for the cat?

You can get chicken thighs and livers and simmer them with some broth that has parsley and greens in it. Then mince it all up. Several thighs would last all week, I would think. Cheap! A couple of bucks, tops.

And you would want to give the cat a multi-vitamin with taurine in it.

I'm sure there is a lot of info on google about cooking for a diabetic cat.

I'm a type 2 diabetic. I can vouch for the fact that carbs are not not not welcome. But I could live on chicken and greens. It would work.

[suninvited]

3. I had a 21 year old cat diagnosed with adult feline diabetes

I purchased her high protien cat food from a private pet store. A little local place. It was expensive, but not horribly so.

I loved that cat so much, I would have bought it any price.

RIP - Genghis Khan, my sweet little tuxedo girl.


Go to your local pet store, not one of the chains, and see what they have. They might special order for you at a good price.

[hippywife]

4. Looks somewhere like

Petsmart for brands that are higher in protein like Wellness. They are still pricey but not that high. They are maybe .30 or so less than that. Look at some of the other high protein brands.

I read all of the cans on the food I buy for mine and make sure there isn't any wheat gluten or corn or grain listed in the ingredients. Also look for other carbs. I have settled on buying some of the Fancy Feast varieties. If you read the labels there are many of them that are high protein without carbs and they are usually only about .60/can.

The varieties of FF I get are the Gourmet Beef, Savory Salmon, Turkey and Giblets, Gourmet Chicken, Whitefish and Tuna. Just read the labels and avoid any of them that say with gravy, or flaked or whatever. Not all of them will fit the bill.

[emilyg]

5. Wonder if thee new

Classic would do?

[hippywife]

8. It's the same stuff

just a different label far as I can tell.

[flvegan]

6. Many cheaper brands mimic the "vet special blend" for much less.

Fancy Feast, 9-Lives, Friskies, etc all make high protein, low carb and even gluten-free canned food. Just compare labels.

[CC]

7. My diabetic cat eats EVO canned and

dry. He is doing great on it and loves it. Not cheap but the cans run 1.09 (get it by the case). One can a day wet and 1/4 cup of dry a day. Hit their website for the make up and run it by your vet. They should be fine with it. Plus if you have a multi cat house hold it is good for all the cats.

Actually had two diabetic cats but one stopped after 6 months on insulin and EVO. Be sure to keep a feeding syringe and Karo syrup handy. I put both in a baggie together. If and when you need it you will need it fast and a lot of it. Seems a cat can just suddenly be cured.


Edit to add, this site helped me some http://felinediabetes.com/ Also get a glucose monitor and learn how to test your cat. It is easy, painless and helps you keep track of how he/she is doing. It will also save you a bundle on vet blood test. My one cat hated feeling the drop of blood on his ear more than anything. My vet prescribes Lantus now though we had started with PZI on the first cat. I prefer Lantus price wise and the cat seems to be doing better on it. PZI seemed to become ineffective symptom wise though his number were ok.

[Betty88]

9. My diabetic cat has eats this also

It has worked wonderfully for him and the other cats. It is more expensive but I think overall they are actually eating less food because its not filled with junk.