Does a diabetic cat need his urine monitored? Why?

I am new at treating my recently diagnosed cat for diabetes. Is it necessary to monitor is urine for keytones? Why? TYIA

 

We should really put this with your main post for today, but diabetic cats can develop ketones in their blood (which will eventually make it into their urine.) cats with excessive ketones are at risk of developing a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, (DKA) which is a life- threatening condition that requires hospitalization and intensive care. This is why many people get test strips to test their cat’s urine for ketones. Personally, I got a blood meter to test for ketones because I found it much easier as the blood is drawn in the same way as it is for a blood glucose test (from the outer edge of the ear). I purchased the Nova Max Plus blood ketone meter.

 

Suzanne gave you the short answer, the longer answer if you want more detail is in this posts: Ketones, Ketoacidosis and Diabetic Cats: A Primer on Ketones

DKA is life threatening and expensive to treat. Monitoring ketones daily, especially when new to insulin and in higher numbers, can give you advanced warning and help you prevent things from getting worse. Think of ketones testing as insurance.

 

My dad had a Nova Max Plus meter which I recently found. What strips for urine do I buy for it?

 

The Nova Max Plus meter is for testing ketones via the blood and not urine. That's the one I have. The strips are a little bit expensive (compared to the ReliOn BG test strips for sure -- about $1.80 a strip,) but in the beginning only one test a day is all you should need. If you find he's not particularly prone to ketones, then you can cut back on testing. I bought my strips for this meter at ADW Diabetes Supply.
https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/3398/nova-max-plus-ketone-test-strips

 

I just had an email from them today with the coupon code TEST10 for 10 percent off of an order (not much, but helps pay for tax or shipping - which is free for orders over $89) the coupon is good until midnight May 5.

 

So those are expensive and, if unaffordable, you may want to go with the urine strips. I just got it after spending thousands on my boy after he was DKA and in the ER for a week. It was less expensive than letting that happen again. A lot of people do use the urine strips successfully -- although it can be challenging to catch it. You are like me -- a lot of cats -- so I understand the expenses.

 

I'll look into it..thank you!

 

Thank you! Thank You!

 

You can't get the NovaMax in Australia? Not sure how.