Blood Testing?

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MakenzieLove

MakenzieLove

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Hello Everyone,

Still trying to work out the at-home blood testing and I had a question for everyone. How often do you all do your testing? I'm sure once the cat is regulated you don't have to do it as often, but how often do you all typically test your cats? Every morning before feeding/once a week/once a month/only when their behavior changes, etc?

(We had been testing every morning before feeding but since we were having such a horrible time with it, the vet said for us to stop for 2 weeks.)

Thank you!
 
Nobody can tell you what is right, but we can tell you that without testing, many cats could have been easily overdosed...often a very stable cat with predictable bgs can throw you a obscenely low number right out of the blue for no apparent reason. While with lantus this may not be quite the cause for emergency as in the past with other insulins, it is still a potential recipe for disaster. So. The typical guidance is to continue with preshots and the occassional spot checks. But nobody is going to yell at you if you choose something else...but please be forewarned that there is always a risk attached.

Jen
 
At the very least we test before each shot, to make sure the BG reading is of a number that makes it safe to give insulin. Just like you would if you had a diabetic human child.

Injecting insulin without a bg reading is a lot like driving down the highway in rush hour traffic with a paper bag on your head. Now once the kitty is in remission we tend to test less and less unless something seems off. But while on insulin you really need to test before giving the shots.

Mel
 
You always test before giving the insulin injection. So, test twice a day at the very minimum.

How much more to test dpends on various things: your cat, your schedule, etc. Some people test one or two more times during the day/night. Others test several times a day. Random testing gives you a general idea of how your cat is responding to the insulin. Sometimes you can catch a lower than normal bg with a random test and treat it before before it turns into a hypo situation.

Testing can be frustrating in the beginning but don't give up. There are vidoes and tips on how to test your cat: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287
 
Have any of you ever tried poking the underside of the ear? I saw a video on YouTube of a woman that tested her dog this way and I was curious to know if people also do that for cats.
 
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