? Ketones pee practicalities

[Tinker's Mom]

If there is a sticky post on this please forgive me and steer me in the right direction...

How do you collect pee for ketones testing? I tried putting some veterinary crystal pellet litter in his box and he refused to pee. I finally replaced his litter many hours later and he peed immediately (I felt really bad about it) and I was able to catch the pee in a spoon. I guess I could just withhold the litter box for several hours again but I feel bad making him cross his little legs. Any tips?

Oh, also how often do you test for ketones? Thank you!

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

You've got the right idea. People will use a spoon or a ladle to catch their kitty's urine. You could also put plastic wrap on top of the litter but that could result in wet feet! I was able to just dip the ketone strip in Gabby's urine stream.

The other much easier but more expensive option is to get a blood ketone meter. Precision Xtra and NovaMax are two brands that have been around for a while. I'm sure there are other brands, as well. Blood ketones are more accurate since the level you get is where your cat's ketone level is at the precise moment you test. Urine ketone levels are hours old. The strips for meter are expensive, though.

The frequency of testing largely depends on whether your kitty has recently recovered from an episode of DKA or has a history of developing ketones or whether you're just testing to be proactive. In the case of a cat with any history of ketones and especially if this is something new, test often -- at least once a day if not any time you can catch your cat in the litter box (for urinary ketones). If it's more of an ounce of prevention, once a week maybe.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Hi Laura, I sympathize with your dilemma get a urine sample for ketone testing. Here's from my files:

Here are some tips on how to do urine ketone testing (VERY important if BG is high and kitty isn't eating well!):
put the end of the test strip right in his urine stream as he's peeing
slip a shallow, long handled spoon under his backside to catch a little pee - you don't need much
put a double layer of plastic wrap over his favorite part of the litter box and poke some depressions in it too catch pee. You can try aquarium gravel or lentils in the box too.
Most test strips have to be dipped and allowed to develop for 15 seconds before viewing the color change in very good light.

Here is a link that might help too:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1quta5WLEjdO0Y_t2dAYSwN84h-LNZWxOdtVsJDKZ16A/pub

You can research the cost of ketone meters and strips, you use them just like blood sugar meters. Keto Mojo and NovaMax are brands that I have read about.

 

[Olive & Paula]

Is there a history of dka? Or having ketones? Numbers are great, I don't see a reason to test for them unless numbers are to high, infection present, and stops eating. If you want piece of mind maybe once a week since none of the above are present.

 

[Tinker's Mom]

He has no history of ketones so I am just trying to be proactive. He did vomit for no reason last week which scared me but I was able to get a urine sample and it was normal. Sounds like I should try and get a sample once a week or so. Thank you!!!