I have one cat who has chronic kidney failure, so when Oscar needed fluids this weekend, I had them on hand. (Fluids as in saline in a bag, aka lactated Ringer's, and in the US you need a prescription for fluids.) Unfortunately, I used my last bag of fluids so I had to order more. Those fluids were from KVsupply.com and cost $4 per bag with no shipping. That's $48 for a case. When I called to reorder, they were out of stock on the saline.

I called most of the local pharmacies and some will special order the fluids and some won't. Of those that will, it's expensive. Except for Walgreens. Normally, a case of 14 bags is $167, but if your pet has a pharmacy card (cost $20 per year), the fluids dropped down to $26! I had my vet order it under Maggie's name so when she needs more of the antivirals, she will get a discount on that too. (I know the girl in there was not thrilled with filling the form out for a cat, but I found it hilarious. Now, in 2 weeks, Maggie will get her card in the mail. And she better not use it to stock up on catnip! )

Moral of the story: sometimes the local places are really cheaper than the internet stores.