Truffles diabetes is improving but i have more questions

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Catnut

Catnut

Member Since 2022
my cat Truffles was diagnosed with Diabetes on May 28th and has been improving ever since then. She is on Lantus insulin and now getting 2 units twice a day, her fructosamine test was 253 on Saturday. I will be getting a pet glucometer on Aug. 4th and know i have to look for hypoglycemia and am worried i will miss some of the signs, is giving her honey on her gums and trying to get her to eat enough if the vet is closed if this happens? I also have gravy fancy feast to give her for an emergency. Thanks for any help.
 
Welcome. I’m glad you will start testing at home. You don’t need a pet meter. Most of us use human meters because the test strips are so much cheaper. Many vets prefer pet meters but it’s not necessary. If you live in the US, a Walmart Relion meter works just fine. Once you get your meter it’s important to test before every shot. You won’t need to go to the vet for a fructosamine or curve as you will have at home tests not vet visit stressed related. Many cats that aren’t diabetic test hi at tge vet due to stress. Testing and feeding carbs if necessary will keep your cat safe. Make sure to have honey or karo on hand in case the bg drops and Truffles won’t eat. You should never need to go to the ER if you test.

It would be great if you set up a spreadsheet for when you start testing and add a signature.
 
I would also suggest getting a human meter , those strips for the pet meter ( is it the Alpha Trak you're getting?) If so those tests strips are about 53.00 for 50 and you will be using them a lot ,plus you need to order them on line so make sure you always have enough on hand

At Walmart you can buy the Relion Premier Classic meter for 9 dollars
17.88 for 100 test strips
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets any brand
Cotton rounds




To set up your signature which you will see is at the end of everyone's post in gray, click on your name up top and then tap on the word signature and add this information
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

Take a look at mine

If you would like to set up our spreadsheet where we track our cats BG to see how the insulin is working and how low it's dropping in case you want advice here is the link , if you need help with it just ask

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/



Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
c2b8079a-b471-4fa6-ac36-9ac1c8d6dcca-jpeg.57072
fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
Take a look at the lancets ,you will see one side points up, that's the side you want to poke with
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
You can also put a thin layer of vaseline on the ear ,to help the blood bead up
A video one of our members posted
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

She is using the Alpha Trak Pet Meter that has to be coded
Human meters don't need to
 
Last edited:
tiffmaxee said:
Welcome. I’m glad you will start testing at home. You don’t need a pet meter. Most of us use human meters because the test strips are so much cheaper. Many vets prefer pet meters but it’s not necessary. If you live in the US, a Walmart Relion meter works just fine. Once you get your meter it’s important to test before every shot. You won’t need to go to the vet for a fructosamine or curve as you will have at home tests not vet visit stressed related. Many cats that aren’t diabetic test hi at tge vet due to stress. Testing and feeding carbs if necessary will keep your cat safe. Make sure to have honey or karo on hand in case the bg drops and Truffles won’t eat. You should never need to go to the ER if you test.

It would be great if you set up a spreadsheet for when you start testing and add a signature.
Click to expand...

thank you for all the info.! I will ask more when i am there for training, they want to charge me $20 just for that, which i feel is wrong, that should be included as the pet meter is $124!. I'm in Canada, so will have to see what other meter will be cheapest, i will feel better once i can test her at home. i"m not good at spreadsheets but will see if i can figure that out,soon.
 
Last edited:
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
I would also suggest getting a human meter , those strips for the pet meter ( is it the Alpha Trak you're getting?) If so those tests strips are about 53.00 for 50 and you will be using them a lot ,plus you need to order them on line so make sure you always have enough on hand

At Walmart you can buy the Relion Premier Classic meter for 9 dollars
17.88 for 100 test strips
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets any brand
Cotton rounds




To set up your signature which you will see is at the end of everyone's post in gray, click on your name up top and then tap on the word signature and add this information
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

Take a look at mine

If you would like to set up our spreadsheet where we track our cats BG to see how the insulin is working and how low it's dropping in case you want advice here is the link , if you need help with it just ask

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/



Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
c2b8079a-b471-4fa6-ac36-9ac1c8d6dcca-jpeg.57072
fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
Take a look at the lancets ,you will see one side points up, that's the side you want to poke with
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
You can also put a thin layer of vaseline on the ear ,to help the blood bead up
A video one of our members posted
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

She is using the Alpha Trak Pet Meter that has to be coded
Human meters don't need to
Click to expand...

thank you for all the information, i will do the info. soon to make it easier if i need help. I"m in Canada, not sure if my vet is getting the Alphtrack but will find out next week. I've been checking videos and thanks for the one you posted, will help me feel more confident doing it. I wish they had those meters in Canada, know which one may be cheapest? i will need to price check and ask when i'm at the pharmacy next time. At least i can save on lancets, get the cheapest so any way to save money is good.:) will ask if i can use a cheaper brand of strips so maybe save getting a human one as well.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Insulin isn’t as expensive in Canada but test strips are so I will tag others there to help you or perhaps Diane can now. @Diane Tyler's Mom

@Wendy&Neko[/QUOT

ok, thanks, it's still $77 but i found out from my vet i can use it for up to 4 months as long as i check it's still okay, i do need to find a way to find cheaper strips, not sure what meter i'm getting yet.
Click to expand...
 
Found this to posted by 2 of our members
A lot of Canadians use the FreeStyle Lite meter. Strips in the $80-90/100 range. I take a 0.3 drop of blood.
Strips of any kind are expensive in Canada.
You can save up and use your PC Optimum points to buy strips. Also, if you are a senior or have one close by, you can take advantage of Shoppers Seniors Days.
If you live close to the border, strips are cheaper in the US. Tagging @@Wendy&Neko on this one. She's in British Columbia.

There is also the Bravo meter. It takes a much larger (0.6) drop of blood. (I found it read higher than the FreeStyle Lite so I stayed with the FreeStyle Lite.)
The strips for the Bravo meter are $40/100. The downside (other than the larger drop of blood) is that you cannot buy the strips in stores. You have to order online and would always need to keep a back-up of at least 200 strips on hand for emergencies and shipping delays. You cannot run out in the middle of the night during a crisis to get more strips.
https://diabetesexpress.ca/products/bravo-meter

In Canada, the Freestyle Lite is a popular model, the company that originally made the AT also made it. So similar small blood drop needed. Bonus, the Freestyle is a lot cheaper! And available in most store pharmacies. Some people in the east buy at Shoppers Drug Mart and use the points. Shoppers is too expensive in BC, so I bought elsewhere. Do shop around the pricing, sometimes test strips are on sale. Some people buy test strips on eBay.
 
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