.4 seems to be a rather "normal" reading for a diabetic cat. not a trace reading as you would get with a urine stick. Makes sense, as it is stated in the Weingart article (at the bottom of the link in previous post.), their non-ketoic diabetic cats tested anywhere from .0 to .9. Their ketosis cats tested between .6 and 6.8. And their cats in a state of ketoacidosis tested between 3.8 - 12.2.
The article goes on to say that the blood ketone test is more accurate than the dipstick method.
"The results of the present study revealed that the determination
of urine ketone bodies using only the nitroprusside
reaction can underestimate the number of cats with ketosis.
In 8 cats with a β-HB concentration of 0.2–0.9 mmol/l, the
dipstick reaction was negative. The dipstick reaction was
lower in 5 (1+/β-HB: 5.1–7.6 mmol/l; 2+/β-HB: 12 mmol/l)
and higher in 3 (3+/β-HB: 4.9-6.5 mmol/l) cats compared to
the β-HB concentration. The quantitative measurement of β-
HB (blood ketone levels) is more useful for follow-ups of cats with DK or DKA
compared to the dipstick method."
The article goes on to state that a cat with blood ketone levels of 2.4 or less, is unlikely to have DKA.
"In cats with a β-HB concentrati
< 2.4 mmol/l, DKA is very unlikely."
Personally, I would still take any cat with a blood ketone level of above .6 to the vet to be checked out, as this seems to be the threshold where cats might begin to show symptoms of DKA, if thy are going to get it, and we all know that once those symptoms are present, it's a race against time to help alleviate the situation. Certainly any cat with a blood ketone reading at 3.8 or above should see a vet with all haste, as that is the threshold for DKA, though some cats can go all the way up to 6.8 without having DKA.
