Itchmo Forums for Cats & Dogs

A thread over on the CRF forum sparked a thought, so I'm throwing this out there for anyone that knows their meds.

KD is on benazepril, sold as Fortekor in the veterinary market. But it's very expensive. Don't know why it didn't occur to me to check this before, but I looked up the generic name and it's sold to the human market as well, under the trade name of Lotensin (same manufacturer: Norvasc) or as a (presumably much cheaper) generic. I give her half of a 5 mg tablet per day - and wouldn't you know, that's the smallest available human dose as well.

Don't know yet if I can even get my hands on the human version or whether it would save me much money if I could. And it's not like I'm surprised that I've been overpaying - I knew that from day one. As anyone who's treated a pet with a chronic illness knows, those vet bills add up. Knowing that the medication and dosage are identical, can anyone think of a good reason not to do this?

I would ask the pharmacist if there is any difference in inactive ingredients that would cause problems for a cat. If not then ask the vet for an rx for the generic name & dosage.

Thanks for the links Arabiannikki!

I'm going to get a quote from the human pharmacy and present that to the vet. If he'll match it, I'll keep buying from him, but if there's a big difference I'll see what I can do about getting a prescription. My sister used to be a pharmacy tech and apparently they came across this type of thing every now and then.

My Ranger was on norvasc OF at that time it was 1/3 the price at the drugstore as it cost at the vet.

OF, mine are on Norvasc. It was 2/3 cheaper at the human pharmacy. Then talked to my
vet and pharmacist about generic, Amlodipine. That was about 40 percent cheaper and usable
at the human pharmacy. So in my case, went from $380, to $120-something, to $70-something
for the exact same amount of blood pressure medication. I don't think veterinary pharmacies have
the same purchasing power and volume; so their costs are higher. I hope you find the same
in Canada.