? 08/22 Grandpa ketones 1.7 on NovaMax Plus. Ok or worry?

Yesterday

After a few days of not eating well but drinking a lot of water, Grandpa woke me up asking for breakfast. He turned away from Fancy Feast so I tried a can of Rawz. He ate the entire 5.5 oz can with no toppers needed. He even ate a bit with SEB mixed in. In hindsight I should've given him half a can now and more later. I was so happy to see him eat, I didn't think to stop.

I'm a little worried though. My roommate tested him last night and I don't know where she put the AlphaTrak 2 so I used the Nova Max Plus for now to get a glucose reading to tell me if a pre-shot is safe. I know it won't give me a comparable number to the AT, but it was ok for an AMPS safety check. BG was 385, but it flashed Check KE. So I did a ketone test and got 1.7. Two days ago it was 0.2.

I read yesterday on someone else's condo that under 2 something is not considered worrisome, but I've had it in my head that the presence of ketones is bad.

I plan to do a test with urine strips a little later this morning. Should I be worried about 1.7?

 

I think you are ok. I think 2.4 is the "worry" point. Do you give sub-q fluids? If so, I would give some. If not, add water to his food or a bit of tuna water to his water bowl to see if he will drink more.

 

Looked at my note...

The latest published research/studies in cats indicate ketones will begin to show up at readings of 2.4 and 2.55 on a blood ketone meter

 

Yes, Lizzie is correct about the s.4 and 2.55 numbers for kitties and ketones using a human meter. So ketone wise he is okay. But with not eating well and higher numbers I would keep checking for ketones.

 

He has been drinking more than I've ever seen him. It seems like every few minutes he goes to the water bowl. That's been worrying me as well. We gave him 75 u of sub q fluids with B-12 three days ago. We can do fluids again. The vet advised taking it easy on fluids since we don't know how his masses have spread. She's worried about straining his heart if his body is slowing down from cancer.

 

Thanks. I just ordered 15 lbs of aquarium gravel from walmart that I'll pick up at noon when I take a lunch break so we can get a clean urine sample. I work from home and my roommate has the day off so we can keep an eye on him.

I feel better that he ate a full meal. I just hope it stays down. I found my regular AT meter so I will check again in a bit. He's sleeping now so I'm not going to wake him.

 

You can use lentil beans just rinse and dry well. They are softer on the feet. Only need enough for them to scratch. I use about 1/2 a bag and the bags are usually under $2.00.

 

What a great idea! Thanks!

 

Vines for the eating and drinking to get rid of even a hint of ketones, and more vines for Grandpa to be feeling good and happy. And let's throw in some vines for Blackie while we're at it.

 

You are so sweet! Want to throw in vines for the kitty I want to choke for peeing on the Nova Max meter and ruining it? We are at walmart now looking for another along with 32 cans of Friskies assorted flavors and aquarium gravel. I hear some people have normal lives, whatever that is.

 

Oh, no...

 

QUOTE="Beck and Grandpa, post: 2240700, member: 23717"]You are so sweet! Want to throw in vines for the kitty I want to choke for peeing on the Nova Max meter and ruining it? We are at walmart now looking for another along with 32 cans of Friskies assorted flavors and aquarium gravel. I hear some people have normal lives, whatever that is.[/QUOTE]
.... normal lives ????? What is this “ normal life” you speak of ???? Extra prayers and hugs to you, Beck You are a wonder

 

Normal? Sounds boring to me.
I once had the full 2 day Myers-Briggs course and test. It's not really a test. They yanked me into a small conference room to let me know I only fit into a .5% profile of the population. I asked what was up with all the secrecy. Some people react badly to those results because they really want/need to be normal. Maybe they want to paint the town beige tonight.
Grandpa is not normal either, he's going to show all of us what a loving home can do for a cat. Not like "normal" people that let their cats wander the neighborhood.
Your rock Grandpa.

 

@Noah & me (GA)

So don't keep us in suspense. What was your Myers-Briggs label? Mine is INTJ. Forget what the % profile of female population is. I just remember it is rare for female.

 

With Bama, I have been successful with slipping the [washed and dried] lid off a 16 oz. container of Planter's Peanuts under his rump after he has settled and started his stream then yanking it when he stands up and before he starts raking the litter all over it. Works much better than frantically waving the strip under him when I can't even see the stream. He remains unperturbed--has long ago gotten used to his mom's strange and increasing antics.

 

@Noah & me (GA)
I helped someone once complete a project toward her psychology degree. She needed 25 people for a study on personality tied to the humors of the body. I thought it sounded interesting. I answered all of the questions and she sent my form to her instructors. When we met to discuss the results, her eyes were wide with surprise. She said most everyone is a blend of the four types. I'm one of the few they had ever seen that tested 100% in one category. She said she bets it makes life pretty interesting for me. Gee, thanks lady!

https://psychologia.co/four-temperaments/

 

My preferred method of urine collection is spending my day standing by the LB until Elmo gets in then putting a large spoon ( marked “ for pee only”) under his rear .

 

Grandpa is stubborn enough to probably hold it for days if I tried that. I just had a thought that made me laugh. I wonder if one of the cats peed on the meter to try to check his own ketones.

 

....you made me laugh out loud, Beck I would not put anything past any of our highly motivated fur babies .

 

Yes, please do tell! I am a ENFJ

ETA: Sorry Beck for the highjack! I love this sort of stuff.

 

Me too.. hijack away!

 

Prayers and vines for Grandpa and you.

 

Gotta appreciate the irony that I'm back to trying to collect urine to check ketones because someone decided to urinate.

 

Perfectly understandable to fellow kitty parents, lol!

 

I think we HAVE to throw in vines for Blackie (the culprit?) His momma is mad!

 

Just a quick interjection about the ketones here - I read all the scientific articles about blood meters being accurate for ketones in feline blood and did further research. (I can find the info if you like.) They never really word it this way but what they actually mean by "the # 2.4" is that a kitty's ketones will most likely have to be 2.4 or higher in the BLOOD before they will show up as more than negative/trace on a standard URINE strip. It is actually pretty imprecise so do don't get worked up over 1.7. I know, you will anyway - Tigger had a 1.9 and then a 0.8 the following day! :/ I tried to stay calm and remember that both would PROBABLY say "negative" on a pee stick. I think what is most important (and worrisome) would be if the number consistently trended higher.

(I'm probably too old now but all this intense kitty care is making me wish I had become a vet or research scientist like I wanted when I was young)

 

Sweet Blackie has an alibi. He is currently in kitty confinement while he's on an antibiotic and healing.

If I had to guess, I'd say Chewy is the culprit. He lets me know very loudly when he wants to go out the back door. I guess he didn't want to wait for Grandpa to finish eating.

 

Ha, that's a guilty look if I've ever seen one!

 

INTP Apparently I don't deal well with authority figures and am unsuited for either the military or Priesthood. I was pathetically shy into my 30's and then it just stopped. My adventures in neurology have also literally made me into a different person.

 

Sending you lots of good-kitty vines, Chewy dear--sounds like you need them!

Shocking.

 

Hope Grandpa keeps eating! Chewy, I think you better be on your best behavior for at least a few days!

 

I thought about being an alter boy for 5 minutes when I was 8 years old. I'm not the robe wearing type.
I can still remember when we got the all clear from His Eminence to eat meat on Fridays.
And going to confession, must be where I honed my skills as a good liar. "Shouldn't my lawyer be here?"