So the scoop-a-doop is that my great little cat (Tiny Cat) has some Shit Going On and needs some prescription Stuff, likely for the rest of her life.
The Stuff in question is kristalose, the crystalline version of Lactulose, to reduce ammonia build up in her bloodstream which is resulting from a liver shunt. Apparently cats hate the liquid version, so the crystalline version is heavily recommended.
There really seems to be only one supplier out there, and the price is … less than ideal. It would be (estimated) about $12/week as-is.
She’s my pet and I will do what I must to make her life comfortable. But I’m also raising my eyebrow at the lack of buying options.
Anyone have good online pet rx experiences and suggestions on places to look?
OH, hey, that’s a better price for sure~!! Thank you so much for checking!
And 30 packets isn’t crazy in terms of quantity. Her dose right now is 1/2 teaspoon twice a day (my guess is we’ll titrate that down though as this is a bit trial and error), which is my guess one pack/week.
I’m glad you’ve found a better solution, but also check prices at human pharmacies - we have found the best price for one cat’s insulin at a Walmart pharmacy, and they honor veterinary prescriptions, so that’s what our vet has us do.
The last time one of my cats needed to see the vet and was possibly looking at an Rx (for an inhaler) (yes, cat’s can use an inhaler; yes, it’s basically a bag you put over their entire head lmfao), he never ended up needing it. But I swear to god the vet verbally told me to order it from Canada for a cheaper price??? Not sure if that is possible in your situation. But the internet is also suggesting not to do this. Maybe I was just hearing things.
I wouldn’t think so. This vet wants you to be able to get the medication your pet needs. It’s not like you would have been ordering from a country without good controls on meds (frankly, like most things medical, Canada’s quality is probably higher than ours). The only reason we can’t (legally) order our own meds from Canada is the pharmaceutical lobby.
I don’t know if this applies to your medication, but for two years my cat was on six medications, and one of them (low molecular weight heparin) was originally $280 a month. I initially got it down cheaper (by almost $100) by switching to a human pharmacy. The second time I got it there, the pharmacist said “oh, are you getting our pet discount?” I was like…no? And she pressed a button and suddenly it was cheaper. I think it was just a general “uninsured” discount. So it does not hurt to just ask if there are discounts available. Then I looked into goodrx.com and figured out that I could get the medication for less than $100 a month by switching to a pharmacy that was of course, an hour bus ride away. I had to call a lot of places that showed up on goodrx because some of the pharmacies said they couldn’t apply it to pet prescriptions. (If it helps anyone, Albertson’s was the store that would do it.) Then after I did that bus ride three times it turned out that they did free mail order…so basically the moral of the story is to ask for what you want, sometimes they can give it to you.
Many things are cat-tolerable when mixed into a tablespoon of chicken broth.
Hands-on alternative: small syringe (no needle), tip up kitty head, insert fast into mouth, then either scratch ears or possibly run, depending on the cat.
While holding their head like a baseball, thumb and forefinger just behind the cheekbones and palm around the back of the head, use other hand to pry lower jaw down and SQUIRT then RUN
Oh, not just your house. With the one cat, no big deal. With the other? It’s the whole squirt-and-run routine, plus it’s two humans involved. Even with two, she once bit completely through my thumb, and she weighs six pounds. Fortunately, she’s the one with the chicken broth fetish (discovered years after the thumb incident).
Squirt-and-run works so much better in my experience if you come at them from behind.
Usually it’s the cat that runs, though. I’m fortunate that both of my little ones will tolerate liquid meds.
Eye meds, on the other hand… ugh. Boy Kitten needed eye ointment for 3 weeks, twice a day. Boyfriend had to do his best to immobilize his head while I squirted it in. I was terrified I was going to poke his little eye out due to all the squirming.
Oh gosh eye meds! One of my cats needed eye ointment a lot when she was little and it was a nightmare. Wrapped in a towel, immobilize head like a baseball…doesn’t work as well when they’re only 2 pounds still!
My dog on the other hand will do just about anything if I put a treat on the ground nearby.
Yeah, Boy Kitten was pretty little when he needed that. Maybe 3 or 4 lbs?
I was pretty excited to discover that the kittens love pill pockets enough that they give exactly zero fucks about what might be hiding inside them. Girl Kitten had a moment of “hmm, what’s this” but it’s like she visibly shrugged and thought, “whatever, I don’t care, this treat is delicious!” Boy Kitten hoovered his right down and then growled at Girl Kitten for apparently being too close to his treat. I’m hoping this continues as they age.
But I’m also raising my eyebrow at the lack of buying options.
