Ketones

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Alexis & Nikki (GA)

Alexis & Nikki (GA)

Member Since 2013
Starting a new thread...I've been doing ketone testing and am not sure whether the ketostix are showing as "none" or "trace". Why is the color so similar?? If it is trace and there are no other signs of DKA, how worried do I need to be? I've been an anxious mess since Nikki was diagnosed a week ago, so I'm not sure if I'm just mis-reading the test or if I should really be worried. When her bloodwork/urine was done 10 days ago at the vet, she had no ketones.

Tried to ear test again tonight and she bit me AND I didn't get blood. :? Going to pick up better lancets tomorrow to see if I can hit the right spot....
 
Mikey has never tested positive for ketones, but I do know they're nothing to mess around with. My suggestion would be to test yourself and see what it looks like normally (I'm assuming you don't have ketones :lol: ). One thing with the ketostix is that if you wait longer than the 15 seconds, they can get darker, so make sure that if you are seeing "trace," it's not because too much time has lapsed.
 
KPassa said:
Mikey has never tested positive for ketones, but I do know they're nothing to mess around with. My suggestion would be to test yourself and see what it looks like normally (I'm assuming you don't have ketones :lol: ). One thing with the ketostix is that if you wait longer than the 15 seconds, they can get darker, so make sure that if you are seeing "trace," it's not because too much time has lapsed.
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Ah, that's a brilliant idea! I'll take my timer and my strip and test it out tonight. :smile: I have a feeling it's just me being neurotic and the poor lighting in my bathroom because cat face is bouncy, hungry, and bitey, which generally means she feels pretty good.
 
Basically with none and trace you are still pretty much in safe territory, you want to start to worry at anything above a trace...Also Ketones and DKA are not always the same thing, it takes a special brew of circumstances to take ketones to DKA...Not enough insulin +not enough food + infection =DKA. But when you start to see anything higher than trace you do want to go on alert and usually if you haven't dealt with them at home before it warrants a vet visit.

When I adopted Autumn she had moderate ketones and never went into DKA...so they don't always go hand in hand, but are still nothing to mess around with if you have never handled them on your own before at home.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
MommaOfMuse said:
Basically with none and trace you are still pretty much in safe territory, you want to start to worry at anything above a trace...Also Ketones and DKA are not always the same thing, it takes a special brew of circumstances to take ketones to DKA...Not enough insulin +not enough food + infection =DKA. But when you start to see anything higher than trace you do want to go on alert and usually if you haven't dealt with them at home before it warrants a vet visit.

When I adopted Autumn she had moderate ketones and never went into DKA...so they don't always go hand in hand, but are still nothing to mess around with if you have never handled them on your own before at home.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
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Thanks, that's good info to have. Luckily she's pretty good about letting me test that daily, so I'll be able to keep a close eye on things.
 
Not sure if you are still having the none/trace problem. I am in the exact same boat and it has been the same for every test. I will try and take a photo of the strip and bottle the next time I do a test so that I can post it here for reference.

There is always the slightest color change so that it is darker than negative but lighter than trace, so I suspect that's just the way it is (which is also what the vet told me). I'm also using a different brand of strips than the ones I initially had, and the results are identical.
 
Mnyc said:
Not sure if you are still having the none/trace problem. I am in the exact same boat and it has been the same for every test. I will try and take a photo of the strip and bottle the next time I do a test so that I can post it here for reference.

There is always the slightest color change so that it is darker than negative but lighter than trace, so I suspect that's just the way it is (which is also what the vet told me). I'm also using a different brand of strips than the ones I initially had, and the results are identical.
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I haven't been able to get organized with a stopwatch AND strip AND peeing cat all at once yet. I still think the strip looks just a hair pink when I get to 15 seconds, but the numbers I was getting before my meter died (another story entirely) were down, so I think it's just lighting/timing and not trace ketones....

Glad I'm not the only one who has this issue!
 
I don't know if this helps your situation, but I always keep a couple of washed out empty plastic containers from Fancy Feast Appetizers next to my litter boxes along with the ketones test strips near by. I wait until my cat is in the process of going and then just slip the plastic container under his tail and get a small sample. I then go to where my strips are and do the test. I also have a battery operated wall clock with a second hand that I use to watch for the 15 seconds.
 
I am not nearly brave enough to try and catch pee directly... Instead, I lay a plastic bag (litter liner) over the pan. He goes in and does his thing, and I can just dip the strip in that.

I think he and I both prefer that method.
 
If you have a cat which has ever been in DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis), it may be worth it to get a meter which can test for blood ketones. The result is more accurate. The test strips tend to be quite expensive.
 
quite expensive. You are looking at $100 for a meter and maybe 40 strips. ADW has it if you buy 20 strips you get the meter free.

The strips are about $2.50 each so make sure you have a LOT of blood before you open one up. And they usually show a ketone level- even if it is .01 or .08- the ketone strips at the store don't really change until the level is about 5, 10, 15- you can look on the bottle for the numbers.

I got the meter b/c Sneakers kept having ketones. It was b/c she wasn't getting enough insulin (b/f acro dx and we were too low). I didn't use it a lot after I got it and only used it recently when she became shy in the LB and only going when I wasn't there or asleep in bed.
 
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