Foster Kitty Cookie updates

This is a follow up on a previous thread in the welcome area - Foster Kitty Cookie


Cookie had been to the vet for a recheck on her eye and it is healing. They changed her food from dry fast food kibble to all wet. They did notice that she has a skip in a heartbeat. She will be rechecked again when we go back for a check on her eye.

Today we are doing another glucose curve and I was surprised to see a number of 407. Another shelter volunteer has allowed me to borrow their alpha trak meter to do this. I would like to continue to do more testing after this but the vet insists we use the alpha trak because they have done testing on other meters and the range is off by 10 to 50. I had read that the alpha trak takes strips other than ones used for it - same company but a human strip and to use the code 7 or 36 and it should be okay. Does anyone have input on that?

 

All meters can have a variance of 15-20% (in other words, none are perfect). If you are going to use strips other than the AlphaTrak strips, it will impact the results. The AlphaTrak strips are batch tested to determine what code needs to be used to get the most accurate reading for a cat. So, if you start using strips that have not been and 'guessing' at a code that seems to be pretty good, you are not going to get the same results. Now, you can do that. Some people do. But, if your vet is insistent that your curve be done with an AlphaTrak, he/she surely intends for you to use the appropriate strips since the strips are a key component.

The majority of people here use a human meter (the Lantus dosing guidelines were written using human meter numbers). There is nothing wrong with using one. It is important that you are able to test regularly and not worry about strip cost. If your vet insists on AlphaTrak numbers when you do a curve for him/her, I suggest using the AlphaTrak meter and strips for the curves and using a human meter for your normal, day-to-day testing.

 

Waiting on the vet to get back to shelter about Cookies blood glucose curve. Its been a day and had to remind them to poke the office. I hate waiting. Being a diabetic myself I understand the need to get things in control asap, waiting is not in favour with a kitty nor human for insulin needs.