Welcome to FDMB.
Have you checked your food with the food list at
Cat Info? We recommend over the counter low carb canned or raw food for all cats, not just the diabetics. Removing the dry food and making sure the canned is < 10% calories (not weight) from carbohydrate can drop the glucose level 100 mg/dL.
Friskies pates and Fancy Feast Classic pates work and are not bad on the budget.
Have you got our spreadsheet grid to record and share your glucose tests? Instructions are in the Tech Forum
here
And here's what you need to understand the glucose tests with a glucometer - human or pet-specific.
We suggest using an inexpensive human glucometer with pet-specific reference numbers. One many of us use is the WalMart Relion Confirm, or Confirm Micro, which is also sold at American Diabetes Wholesale as as the Arkray USA Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini (same manufacturer - Arkray USA). It uses a tiny blood droplet and the cost is significantly lower for test strips (like $0.36 each).
Comparing a human glucometer to a pet-specific glucometer is like reading temperature in Celsius vs Fahrenheit. Both are correct. You just need to know the reference ranges to interpret what the numbers mean.
[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]
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Examples of using the chart:
Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.
Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.
Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)
