ketones in urine - moderate on ketostix

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ecurie

ecurie

Member Since 2012
i need to bug you all again, sorry
when oliver was diagnosed, we checked his urine with ketostix from walgreens. showed moderate (40ml/decileter) the vet confirmed this with a urine test.
i'm reading that this is a very dangerous condition. My vet said nothing about this number. He has had 2 insulin shots (lantus 1u 2x/day).
i will test his urine next time he uses the litter box.
what else should i do right now??
thanks
mary/mark
 
How is he eating? I would get as much food into him as possible. Like 1 and 1/2 times his normal amount. And lots of water, too.
Has he been checked for any infection? DKA is usually caused by not enough insulin + not enough food + infection.
I'm not an expert, but I have been on this board a very long time and seen a lot of ketones in cats. My cat was a DKA survivor. It is very important that you get your cat to a vet immediately if he doesn't eat, becomes lethargic, or is throwing up. How is he acting? If your vet didn't say anything about the ketones, I would try to find another vet.
Please keep testing his ketones and let us know how he seems to be feeling.
 
I am watching him like a hawk....
he's eating lots (a tablespoon of fancy feast several times during the day in addition to his regular fancy feast am and pm. and we're letting him have whatever else he wants, (shrimp treats) Since he's gotten insulin he's perkier than he had been. His blood test showed no signs of infection. She did say that his chest x-ray showed donuts indicating asthma.
 
YEAH!!! Just caught Ollie peeing...
The ketostix says he's between trace and small!!!
Thanks for the heads up on giving him more food. He's really looking better.
We will be ear poking and insulin giving in the next 2 hrs... :mrgreen:
 
That's great that his ketones are coming down! Keep getting food into him. I would call your vet and if he acts complacent about the ketones, call a different vet, first thing in the morning, tomorrow.
If he stops eating or becomes lethargic, then you may have to take him to an ER tonight. Keep testing for ketones every chance you possibly can.
 
Ollie's ketones this am were almost negative... barely trace.
Is this something to be expected?

Is this something that may just go away as we get his insulin correct? I test him 2x/day with ketostix .

He is only eating wet food (2 cans FF/day) with shrimp treats and occasionally (not daily) 3-5 small (about the size of a pencil eraser) pieces of pork tenderloin. He would eat pork tenderloin and shrimp until he pops.
 
Ketones can be elusive and there are no hard and fast rules to how they ALWAYS work but there are some basics.

Usually ketones are present because the cat is not getting enough insulin but not always. But once ketones are present you have the first step towards DKA ..... the next step could be cat not eating or there is an infection or blood glucose is high OR? None of these by themselves cause DKA but combine any of them with ketones and you could be there.

So ketones are serious and if you haven't fought them before, best done by a vet because DKA is VERY expensive and can kill your cat quickly. Here in CA it can run $6000. You will need to check for them quite a bit now and a few times weekly after because once a cat has thrown off ketones, they can again .......

Also, until a cat is regulated they should be fed more food than normal but as stated before, not for a couple of hours before test.
Nancy
 
Ditto what Nancy and the others have said. Grayson threw moderate ketones 3 times. The first time we were on a really low dose of insulin, and we increased VERY quickly (we were on ProZinc - back in Feb). I also started giving him subcutaneous fluids. He has ALWAYS been a big eater, and because he didn't STOP eating, I took him to my regular vet in the morning. Through the night, however, I spoke with the local ER vet, and the ER Vets at NC State Univ vet school. The vet school said that usually when they see a cat that has ketones, he hasn't eaten for 2-3 days. She told me it usually costs $2-4,000.

Those Ketostix are your best friend. Use them generously!!! It's the best little insurance policy you can get for about $10!

By starting the insulin, you will probably see negative to trace ketones, but as Nancy said, they can blow up very quickly. Sounds like you're already very diligent! That's great!!! So stay in tune to your kitty, and if you see something NOT normal, or greater than trace/small... you need to be on top of it!

Recipe for ketones:/DKA Not enough insulin, not eating, and an infection... Keep your eyes peeled, and good luck!

Lu-Ann

Oh yeah, and one more trick... if your kitty is older, fluids can be hard on their heart... but if they drink the water, it doesn't affect them negatively. For every can of Fancy Feast I give Grayson, he gets the same amount of water added to it, so it's like soup. This helps not only with the water intake, but keeps things moving in his system. Another proactive thing you can do. Let us know how things go.
 
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