Info on ketone meter readings and symptoms presenting

[Marianne M]

Monday I received a blood ketone meter and on testing my kitty Mango it showed HI which meant over 8. That Saturday evening he tested negative on a pee stick. I ended up calling our new vet, who we just saw 2 1/2 weeks ago because Mango wasn't eating much and seemed ill. He had just gotten over a UTI infection as well and thought maybe it hadn't cleared up. He also test on a pee stick in the moderate range for ketones. He gave him SQ fluids, antibiotic shot and switches from Vetsulin to Prozinc. In my conversation yesterday the Vet he didn't believing the blood Ketone reading as he feels since it's for human blood it should not be used on a cat so forget the reading. Today I called the company who made my meter and they didn't feel it should be use for cat's testing either. It wouldn't be accurate. So.......I need to hear the feed back from those who use a ketone blood meter. Question, what presenting symptoms do you see with high Ketones and what do the human numbers mean for a feline? I want to feel confident with using the blood ketone meter and right now I am not sure.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

That seems very odd to me that your blood ketone meter would show 'Hi' if the cat has no ketones. Have you tested it on yourself? Maybe it is a defective meter. Is there any kind of coding that has to be done on it or anything?

I have a Keto-Mojo meter. Mia has never had issues with ketones. The meter just gives it's lowest reading of 'Lo' which is basically none.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

This is from 2012 but indicates that using a human blood ketone meter worked for cats: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22250845

 

[Marianne M]

That seems very odd to me that your blood ketone meter would show 'Hi' if the cat has no ketones. Have you tested it on yourself? Maybe it is a defective meter. Is there any kind of coding that has to be done on it or anything?

I have a Keto-Mojo meter. Mia has never had issues with ketones. The meter just gives it's lowest reading of 'Lo' which is basically none.

No coding. Apparently Mango does have ketones as today we started with a morning reading of 6.2, before shot 3.4 so it's going down. I've been feeding him as often as he wants to eat and adding water to his pate. It's working to reduce those ketones. Our vet wasn't concerned. I was. I did test myself and it showed low. I will read the 2012 report. My vet didn't know there was a blood meter to test for ketones. I live in a rural area and our vets do both large and small animals so they aren't so much into what is available for testing purposes. Oh well.........Good article. Made me feel better about using my meter!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Well done getting the blood ketone meter. adding water and feeding as much as he’ll eat and keeping up with enough insulin will help keep the ketones at bay. If the ketones persist it would be worth while getting another urine test done to check the UTI has been successfully treated.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

I have the utmost respect for vets and think they have one of the most difficult jobs on the planet so I don't like criticizing them but in this case, your vet is being too "devil may care" about the situation.

In your post on Chester's Dad thread you said :

"Told him last Saturday night I got a pee sample and tested with a ketone stick and it was negative then two days later a high reading with the blood ketone meter. He felt since it is a human meter, it hasn't been tested for use with a cat so he would disregard the results. He feels that Mango is just fine since he is eating fine and not acting ill. I did start feeding him more often with watered down pate. Vet told he to go back to 2.75 Units of Prozinc for seven days and do a curve for him to see. He is more concerned about his blood sugar getting to low! He also said that since Mango having high BG reading it doesn't go alone with high ketones levels? Ever hear that before?"

What concerns me is that your vet seems to be totally lacking in any understanding of ketones. Ketones can happen abruptly and lowering the insulin dose is the wrong move. Ketones come from too little food, too little insulin and usually an infection or some inflammation. The least I would expect from the vet would be to check the cat for any signs of infection/inflammation especially since our extra sweet babies are so prone to urinary tract infections. While ketones can occur at lower BG levels, high BG is more often than not, one of the clinical signs so I don't understand why he would be reducing the dose of insulin.

If Mango shows any signs of reduced appetite or lethargy, please take him to the vet immediately. Ketones can become overwhelming in a short time and lead to DKA which is very expensive to treat and can be fatal if not treated early. Keep monitoring Mango for ketones and if they continue to be higher than 2.4 or 2.5 then I would seriously consider finding another vet to have him checked.

 

[JanetNJ]

I trust my blood meter.

 

[Marianne M]

I have the utmost respect for vets and think they have one of the most difficult jobs on the planet so I don't like criticizing them but in this case, your vet is being too "devil may care" about the situation.

In your post on Chester's Dad thread you said :

"Told him last Saturday night I got a pee sample and tested with a ketone stick and it was negative then two days later a high reading with the blood ketone meter. He felt since it is a human meter, it hasn't been tested for use with a cat so he would disregard the results. He feels that Mango is just fine since he is eating fine and not acting ill. I did start feeding him more often with watered down pate. Vet told he to go back to 2.75 Units of Prozinc for seven days and do a curve for him to see. He is more concerned about his blood sugar getting to low! He also said that since Mango having high BG reading it doesn't go alone with high ketones levels? Ever hear that before?"

What concerns me is that your vet seems to be totally lacking in any understanding of ketones. Ketones can happen abruptly and lowering the insulin dose is the wrong move. Ketones come from too little food, too little insulin and usually an infection or some inflammation. The least I would expect from the vet would be to check the cat for any signs of infection/inflammation especially since our extra sweet babies are so prone to urinary tract infections. While ketones can occur at lower BG levels, high BG is more often than not, one of the clinical signs so I don't understand why he would be reducing the dose of insulin.

If Mango shows any signs of reduced appetite or lethargy, please take him to the vet immediately. Ketones can become overwhelming in a short time and lead to DKA which is very expensive to treat and can be fatal if not treated early. Keep monitoring Mango for ketones and if they continue to be higher than 2.4 or 2.5 then I would seriously consider finding another vet to have him checked.

Yes Linda, he did not seemed concerned at all.

I have the utmost respect for vets and think they have one of the most difficult jobs on the planet so I don't like criticizing them but in this case, your vet is being too "devil may care" about the situation.

In your post on Chester's Dad thread you said :

"Told him last Saturday night I got a pee sample and tested with a ketone stick and it was negative then two days later a high reading with the blood ketone meter. He felt since it is a human meter, it hasn't been tested for use with a cat so he would disregard the results. He feels that Mango is just fine since he is eating fine and not acting ill. I did start feeding him more often with watered down pate. Vet told he to go back to 2.75 Units of Prozinc for seven days and do a curve for him to see. He is more concerned about his blood sugar getting to low! He also said that since Mango having high BG reading it doesn't go alone with high ketones levels? Ever hear that before?"

What concerns me is that your vet seems to be totally lacking in any understanding of ketones. Ketones can happen abruptly and lowering the insulin dose is the wrong move. Ketones come from too little food, too little insulin and usually an infection or some inflammation. The least I would expect from the vet would be to check the cat for any signs of infection/inflammation especially since our extra sweet babies are so prone to urinary tract infections. While ketones can occur at lower BG levels, high BG is more often than not, one of the clinical signs so I don't understand why he would be reducing the dose of insulin.

If Mango shows any signs of reduced appetite or lethargy, please take him to the vet immediately. Ketones can become overwhelming in a short time and lead to DKA which is very expensive to treat and can be fatal if not treated early. Keep monitoring Mango for ketones and if they continue to be higher than 2.4 or 2.5 then I would seriously consider finding another vet to have him checked.

If Mango shows any signs of reduced appetite or lethargy, please take him to the vet immediately. Ketones can become overwhelming in a short time and lead to DKA which is very expensive to treat and can be fatal if not treated early. Keep monitoring Mango for ketones and if they continue to be higher than 2.4 or 2.5 then I would seriously consider finding another vet to have him checked.[/QUOTE]

I know Linda, it's frustrating that our vet doesn't seem to think that ketones are a Major issue with diabetic cats. You can believe I will be on his doorstep if Mango stops eating. My boy loves to eat. This is our second vet in six weeks and the first never mention ketones either. Is it that I live in a country setting and it's a redneck mentality? Well I educated this same vet years ago about a cat I had with kidney disease caused by him brining home dead rats poisoned in a mass extermination of a trailer park near our home. He refused to believe the cat was rat poisoned. Finally after I healed Bullwinkle with homeopathic tinctures this vet admitted I was right! I keep asking for the blood testing he was doing and it took me six months to get those results. The cats kidney function testing keep getting better and better with every test. Bullwinkle lived to 14 years old. I gave this vet a book to read on the why and how homeopathic work. He read the book and thank me for educating him on the subject. He doesn't remember me but he will! I will again educate him on the ketone blood meter for sure. Why the reduced of 1/4 unit is that He looked at Mango's SS and said go back to the 2.75 units as he prefers to give less insulin instead of to much. This am ketone test was 1.4 so I know I am on the right track. Mango is happy eating his watered down pate and loves he gets to eat whenever he wants. I am so glad to have you for support as well as everyone else on this board. You all keep me sane!

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

I am so delighted to see that 1.4 for ketones this morning. Your vet isn't really all that peculiar. I think if you took a survey here, the vast majority of folks heard nothing about ketones from their vets either. And most vets like to have kitties running higher than ideal probably because the majority of their human clients are not home testing their cats to be able to keep them safe from hypoglycemia. Unfortunately, a lot of us have had to educate our vets. The critical part of the vet relationship is whether your vet will listen and do your bidding if needed (ie testing for ketones). We can't expect vets to be experts in everything for all the species they treat but if they are willing to listen and learn, they are keepers.
You've got a handle on this and obviously won't be shy about pushing the vet if the need arises.