Glucometer help

My cat was just diagnosed a few days ago. I was told to collect urine samples to test before giving insulin. This makes it impossible to stay on schedule. Does anyone use a glucometer? If so, can you suggest a brand and does it have to be specifically for pets or is one used for people safe to use for my cat? Thanks

 

Hello and welcome. Can you give more details about how the vet diagnosed your cat? What insulin and how many units a day are you giving? What type of food is your cat on? We have a few human meter choices people use on the forum. urine sample testing is for ketones not blood glucose and the blood glucose is what you need to be checking before you give insulin.

 

Hi and thanks for the welcome! The vet used a urine sample and a blood test to diagnose. Currently using Novolin N - 2 units 2x/day. He is also on amoxicillin for pancreatic infection. Was using Purina Indoor kibble and canned. Was told to gradually switch to fancy feast pate.

 

You can use any human glucose meters. If you are in the US, the Walmart Relion brand meters are good and inexpensive to use. It is great that you want to hometest. Since your cat also is being treated for an infection and also you are no longer feeding dry food, it is very important that you start testing as soon as possible. The infection can raise glucose levels and as it is treated, the levels will begin to drop. Removing dry food from the diet also can cause a significant drop. By testing before every shot, you will know if it is safe to give insulin. In the US we recommend a reading of 200 for newbies to use as their "Don't Shoot" number. This means if it is 200 or less, skip the shot. By doing this, you avoid the risks of hypoglycemia.

 

Thank you - I appreciate the info! As you can imagine, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I went to Walmart today and did not realize there were several kinds of Relion brand meters. I bought the least expensive one (Relion Prime) since I wasn't sure - I hope that will this model is ok and I can trust the numbers. I plan to start using it tomorrow.

 

I have the relion prime. You need a little bit more blood with it compared to the other relions but once you get the the hang of it you should be ok. I took mine to the vet appt with me and had them show me how to use it and also compare the meter test to there test to see how many points difference it was. About 10-12 points difference for me which is fine.

 

That sounds like good news! I hope I will have similar results. Thanks for the info!

 

Hi @ktrap29 ,
You may also be interested to see this 2016 report on glucose meters:
US & Canadian Blood Glucose Meter Ratings from Consumer Reports (2016)

Note: the data for the report presumably comes from tests done on humans!
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