? Glucose testing device that requires least amount of blood

Hello,

My dear Charlie, 11 yo M DSH, was diagnosed as diabetic at the beginning of November likely secondary to chronic pancreatitis. He started off on 1 unit, was increased to 2 units, and then decreased to 1 unit, Lantus Solastar pen. Although my vet has not recommended home testing, I believe that it is imperative that I try as Charlie's appetite, energy, and stress levels are quite variable due to the pancreatitis and stress of sharing a home with a 7 mo kitten.

My question is which device requires the least blood? At this point, I am not worried about the cost of the device or strips. I can switch later. But Charlie is already skittish because of the multiple medicines I had to give him for his pancreatitis and the process of learning how to give him his shots. He is a large, long, 15.8 lb cat (appropriate weight; more worried about weight loss), and he runs and squirms. Unfortunately, treats can only do so much because of his appetite/weight loss issues.

So I'll do whatever I can to get him used to being tested without being terrified of being approached by me. I ditched the syringes given to me by the vet for the BD Ultrafine and that has helped with the shot. But by then he was on his way to terrified. So I'd rather not start out that way with testing.

Thank's much.

 

I can only speak for that the Bayer Contour I use, is among those requiring the least blood and also sips it up fast on it's strips.

It has been a factor for us too.

 

Here under the Health Links forum part, I found this about different meters, you might want to read through if you find information about which other brands require the least blood and sips up very fast

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...r-ratings-comparisons-recommendations.156388/

 

The freestyle lite requires the smallest amount of blood that I know of (0.3uL). I would definitely recommend ordering the strips off amazon or somewhere else online, they are very expensive if you get them from a pharmacy. Another option that’s popular is the ReliOn prime from Walmart. It does require a slightly larger blood sample, but not by much (0.5uL). It’s also very affordable

 

Thank you so much. He is difficult, but that's just who he is.

 

Thank you. He's always had behavioral issues. He suffers from over-excitation and has bitten me several times, but it's always been due to overstimulation and me not reading the signs in time. So I have to be careful about being intrusive, especially when he feels badgered or unwell.

 

Oh yeah, I have one of those She gets overstimulated VERY easily and her signs of it are subtle and short lived. She was a nightmare when I first started, but she’s (mostly) perfect now For her, treats, treats, and more treats were the key to her cooperation

 

Any suggestions about managing pancreatitis and diabetes simultaneously?

 

Hmmm, Sophie’s case is tricky because she has both chronic pancreatitis and IBD which have very similar symptoms, so I’m not positive what the exact cause was of her two flare ups. But I do think they were both brought on by her food intolerances and since I’ve switched her food she hasn’t had any issues. I think it definitely helps to have a vet who’s familiar with treating it and willing to prescribe the appropriate meds during flare ups (anti nausea, appetite stimulant, pain meds, fluids, etc). And it’s also important to make sure you cat eats, even if it’s not great food. I tried so many different foods to get her to eat during flare ups and all she would eat was forbidden dry food, so I would let her because bad food is better than no food

 

That's where we're at. Charlie will only consistently eat bisque, broths, and treats, which makes it difficult to use food as an incentive for shots and meds. But he has started to slowly migrate from the prescription kibblet to fancy naturals for his primary food, even if he consumes a small portion. He has urinary tract issues so I have to watch for phosforous.

 

FF naturals is a good one If you haven’t seen this list yet, it has both the percentage of carbs and the amount of phosphorus.

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

There’s also another list somewhere on this forum that has it narrowed down to foods that are good for cats with kidney disease and need low P. Weruva is a good brand to check out if you haven’t, they have quite a few options that are both low carb and low P, and their nutrition info is all on the website. They also have several different styles of foods as well (pate, shredded, chunks). My cat really prefers pates, some cats like shredded, sometimes it’s just about finding their preference

Have you tried freeze dried treats? Purebites is a popular brands and they have lots of different kinds (my girl’s fave is the salmon), and if he likes more crunchy treats, you could also check out Vital Essentials

 

I use the Freestyle Lite....I tried unsuccessfully for 3 days to get enough blood for a test on the Relion that is recommended so frequently. I researched and found that the Freestyle needs the smallest possible (.3) drop and it is very small—haven’t had a problem since but the strips are expensive for sure.