Help! Human meter or pet meter

I picked up smoky from the animal hospital at 4:30 pm today. The vet showed me how to home test and his BG at the vet's office was 250! Now he was given 1 unit of vetsulin at 7:30 am today. I don't think he had eaten for a while because he was really hungry when I got him home and fed him. The vet suggested giving him 1 and a half units of insulin for a few days to see how he does. I used a relion meter but vet said I shld use a pet meter for better accuracy. I can't afford to buy a pet meter or the test strips. Is there a way to convert a reading from a human meter? I could really use some advice.

 

Many people use human meters and it is perfectly fine to use.... I do not give dosing advice but I will bump this up because we suggest only increasing by .25 and hold for 6 cycles (a cycle is 12 hours) All meters have about a 20% variance. There is tons of info on the home page in the "stickys"
Vetsulin is a little bit of a harsher insulin and they must eat a good meal before injecting. I am so happy you are testing and your vet sounds very good to have shown you how!
This will bump up for more experienced eyes to help you.....
@Chris & China

 

@manxcat419

 

I wouldn't start at 1.5.....being that a lot of cats react to being at the vet by having their blood glucose go up (due to stress), that 250 is actually a pretty good number!!

I don't use Vetsulin and never have, but I wouldn't suggest starting at over .5 unit considering 250 isn't very high...and if you can't test at home yet, I wouldn't give any tonight!!

We usually don't shoot at all if they're under 200

There's no reason you need to get a pet meter...most people here use human meters and we do just fine with them. The main difference is that when the cat drops below 50 on a human meter, that's your "Time to act" by feeding something high carb or giving a couple drops of Karo, honey or syrup

On a pet meter, if they drop below 68 that's your "time to act"

 

We would be happy to give dosing advice but you'll need to post your numbers. Can you set up a spreadsheet? There are folks that can help with that if you need it.


If the cost for a pet meter is prohibitive then just use a human one with the understanding that it reads lower them a pet meter. Most people on this board use human meters.

 

Hi Lisa,

I am still learning, so I can't give advice. But I want to wish you and Smoky well.

Jewanette