“New Member” April 26, 2026, Testing help

[Jake88]

Hi there,
My name is Jake and my cat is a 12 year old female domestic shorthair, Flower.
DX: March 25, 2026
Lantus.
Just bought- Alphatrak3 and CONTOUR NEXT ONE
Dry food- Dr. Elsey's cleanprotein Chicken Kibble Cat Dry Food
Currently vet-guided

Hi there,
Nice to meet everyone. A bit overwhelmed since the diagnosis. Im not on Facebook so I try to pick up things here and there online.

Flower is generally been a healthy cat all her life. She started excessive grooming sometime in the summer time, and went on prednisolone which worked, and tapped off around the end of Jan. By then Flower was drinking about 600ml of water every 24 hours, losing weight, the fur was getting ruff. The initial vet who was driving the prednisolone wasnt responding to my communications for 8 days, so I went to a new vet, and did testing and found out that Flower has diabetes. I am embarrassed to say, that I sobbed so hard at the vet when they told me.
And I was crying the entire time they were showing me how to do the injections (the technician called me for 3 days straight to make sure Flower and I were ok). I still get emotional.
Flower doesnt like wet food, so were on Dr. Elsey's cleanprotein Chicken Kibble Cat Dry Food. She eats regularly. I might try Dr. Elsey's wet. Curious to here if anyone else tried it on their cat. I also have been doing the Ketostix test strips to test the urine for ketones- so far all good.

My vet initially suggested the libre3 for monitoring - but i just dont see it sticking to Flower. She is so sensitive to touch. So i opted initially for curve test in clinic, but I dont have much faith in the results given that Flower was so nervous, and she didnt eat a thing at the vet the entire day! So now I am going to the vet this week to get the Libre3 installed instead of doing another curve test, ( in my view even a few days of data would be better than a curve) but I also think i need to start testing with a monitor and I think now is the right time to do it- while I have the libre3 on Flower. So I got the Alphatrak3 and CONTOUR NEXT ONE (because everyone complains about accuracy). I am also seeing some slight weakness in her back legs-I was thinking testing her b12 along with a fructosamine.

But mainly- I overwhelmed with home testing:

Questions:

• Best tricks to get blood from the ear (warming, poke spot, Vaseline, lancet depth)?
• Recommended testing schedule for a beginner on Lantus?
• How do you handle dose adjustments if you have both a Alpha + Contour (different readings/targets)? Do you pick one and stick with it?If so, how do you “translate” targets safely between them?

Lastly, I was told I don’t need to refrigerate the insulin. Is that correct? I was under the impression that once opened, the vial is only good for about a month anyway, so I’m not sure what the right storage approach is.

Thank you

 

[squeem3]

Testing tips: Hometesting Links and Tips

A rice sock works great for warming up the ear. I don't use Vaseline but other people do. Try different device settings to see what works for your cat. Also if the lancet is too thin you won't get any blood. You'll need to use thicker 27 gauge or so lancets. You may need a new device for the lancets.

Always test before giving insulin. So twice a day every single day. Get a few in between checks when you can. It can be during the day or evening, whatever works for your schedule.

Stick with one meter. The AlphaTrak test strips are expensive, especially in Canada. The Contour is just fine. There is no conversion to do between the AlphaTrak and the Contour. The reading you get is what your cat's level is. I think AlphaTrak tends to read slightly higher than a Human meter, sometimes lower depending on the cat.

Keep the bottle in the fridge. Humans can use up a bottle quickly but cats have tiny doses so anything you can do to keep the Lantus from going bad is ideal. Sticky - Insulin Care & Syringe Info: Proper Handling, Drawing, Fine Dosing You will want to get the Lantus pens next time. A bottle might last as little as a month before it loses effectiveness. Some people have gotten a few months use from a bottle. A box of 3ml pens is at least a year's supply you have on hand. Each pen lasts to the last drop which can be a few months depending on dose.