Proper Glucose Readings

Meg25

Meg25

Member Since 2019
Hello,
I purchased a freestyle lite Glucometer for my cat. Can someone advise me what the appropriate levels of BG a cat should be at (Diabetics)
I know the range for a cat is between 120-300mg DL, HOWEVER this reads out between a 1-10 level rating. How do I converse?
IE: His BG last night was 9.6. if I times that by 19 I get 182.5. is that a "normal BG range?" I need all the help/guidance/ suggestions I can get. I am feeling very overwhelmed by all this!
 
Meg25 said:
Hello,
I purchased a freestyle lite Glucometer for my cat. Can someone advise me what the appropriate levels of BG a cat should be at (Diabetics)
I know the range for a cat is between 120-300mg DL, HOWEVER this reads out between a 1-10 level rating. How do I converse?
IE: His BG last night was 9.6. if I times that by 19 I get 182.5. is that a "normal BG range?" I need all the help/guidance/ suggestions I can get. I am feeling very overwhelmed by all this!
Click to expand...
So you have your meter set for world numbers. If you are inside the US them check the instruction book to change the readings. You would times the number by 18 to get us numbers from world numbers. So a 9 . 6 would be a 173

Normal non diabetic numbers are 50-120 on a human meter
 
Ah thank you all.. I also phoned my vet and asked about this, and she did advise that it is a good reading.. That being said.. do I still need to be giving his insulin if he is within range?
 
Meg25 said:
Ah thank you all.. I also phoned my vet and asked about this, and she did advise that it is a good reading.. That being said.. do I still need to be giving his insulin if he is within range?
Click to expand...
That depends on when the reading was taken and if you are already giving insulin and what you’re feeding your kitty!
 
reading was last night, he did have insulin still.. I am feeding him a very minimal dry, extra wet... ( he has constipation problems and the dry food is the culprit) so I am weaning him slowly off dry to wet food only.
 
Ok so a single good number while on insulin does NOT say that he doesn’t need insulin by itself. You’ll need lots more readings to get an idea of what’s happening.

Have you set up a spreadsheet yet?
 
Hello and welcome. Setting up that spreadsheet will help us help you on dosing. Our dosing methods will help you determine when to give insulin, and when the dose needs to be changed. There is lot of good information in the Sticky Notes,
 
JanetNJ said:
Normal non diabetic numbers are 50-120 on a human meter
Click to expand...
Actually the normal range for a non diabetic it's 50-80 on a human meter. They may sporadically have higher numbers.
From Tillys Diabetes
. Most remission cats are able to stay in the normal range all of the time (50 to 80 mg/dl), although there are a few cases of sporadic higher and lower BGs
 
flyingduster said:
Ok so a single good number while on insulin does NOT say that he doesn’t need insulin by itself. You’ll need lots more readings to get an idea of what’s happening.

Have you set up a spreadsheet yet?
Click to expand...
No, I def need a spreadsheet! This is so overwhelming! But I am determined to get it all sorted and right.. so far we have been good, with dosing at 2 units every 12 hrs.. we did do a decrease when he was at hosp last week to 1 unit but that was becausee he was not eating. vet said to gradually go back to 2 units which we have.
 
** I also need to add that I did call my vet, and she absolutely does not want me to check his blood daily. she said it is too much, and to do Blood curves... my question then is.. how to know if they are at ta good BG range if not checking everyday? and do we still give insulin if they are at a good BG level? I know some cats still need insulin..
 
Your vet is wrong, plain and simple. People wouldn’t give insulin to their babies without checking it was safe to do so, why are cats any different. Except they can’t tell you if they are feeling funny because the blood sugar is off. A cat’s blood sugar can range quite a bit. My girl earned her first reduction (by going below 50), when starting the day at 430, dropping them zooming back up end of cycle. If I hadn’t been spot checking, I might have though she needed a dose increase, but instead she needed less insulin. And she didn’t mind testing at all. She loved the treats. And when she was going lower, she would often tell me by going to our testing spot and asking to be tested. She quickly figured out that was a way to get food,
 
It’s so very overwhelming at first isn’t it!!! I’m a bit over a month in to it now and remember the feeling well still! You’ll come to grips with it.

My vet also said no to home testing. Her reasoning was that cats do NOT tolerate it well and it isn’t at all accurate and that they need to do the testing on their machines every week.

Well! Thankfully I had my own glucometer and began testing anyway, because on her THIRD DAY HOME she was low right before her shot! If I had given her shot then it would have sent her in to a hypo for sure. Only on her third day. Sigh.

So since then, the vet I was dealing with has passed me over to their specialist in the clinic, and with ongoing work together, she LOVES that I’m home testing!

So screw your vet. Home test anyway for a start, and prove them wrong.
 
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