Have you checked if they're still in date?
I've recently experimented with some strips that were 6 months out of date, and they did seem off compared to my in date strips.
The Freestyle Freedom Light meter still seems to be widely available in my country, the Netherlands, even directly from Abbott, so they must still be made. Odd they don't seem to be where you live.
Might be worth giving them a call telling them you lost your meter and could you get a new one though!
If the strips are out of date, I'd look into getting a meter which uses the cheapest strips.
@searley I have a DASH now, so I use a NEXT meter.
Yes expiry is an issue but there are 2/3 of them are still within date.
Edit: Sorry misread your post - I do not. I was using it as my main meter until it stopped accepting strips (just said error everytime one was inserted).
In that case, I would definitely contact Abbott, even if the meter was not very new. I recently had a problem with my Navii meter from Home Health and they were very kind and speedy in sending me a free replacement, even though it was not under guarantee. As is often pointed out on these Forums, these firms make such a lot from selling consumables, they can afford to be generous in handing out meters. Good luck! (I'm not sure if you should reveal that you intend to test your cat. That might work for or against you!)
@Alexandra100 It was an old Omnipod, I was already on the DASH and was using it solely as a meter.
I whisked around eBay, and I actually got a pet one for next to nothing which uses Freestyle strips! (Alphatrak 2). It is just a rebranded Freestyle Lite meter, so that's why they aren't available, sold all the tooling and tech to Alphatrak!!