Possible to have ketones with normal BG?

Status
Not open for further replies.
grapey

grapey

Member Since 2012
Occasionally I've noticed my cat has sweet smelling breath. But her diabetes seems to be under control. Just now I noticed sweet smelling breath and tested her blood, and her glucose is 100 (relion confirm).

I'll call the vet tomorrow but thought I'd ask here: could she have ketones even with good blood glucose numbers?

Hopefully I'm just being paranoid. Her breath definitely doesn't smell like nail polish remover.

She's on 1.5 u of lantus 2x a day.
 
Ketones are a normal by-product of fat breakdown for calories. It is when there are too many that DKA rears its ugly head.

Has she been unusually active? If she's more active than the available glucose, she'd break down some fat for calories.
Is she being fed enough? If she doesn't have enough food coming in, she'd break down some fat for calories.
Has she been tested for hyperthyroidism? Than increases the calorie requirement, sometimes substantially.
 
She seems to be acting pretty normal. Average playfulness. The last couple of days I think we maybe could have put down more food. She had a checkup in Jan but no blood work done. Also her weight is good. (Her early symptoms included her getting very skinny)

When her bg isn't under control, she definitely acts different--crazed is the word I use. That would happen when the lantus in the vial started to go bad. Now that we use the pens it's not an issue anymore. Thank God for this forum suggesting the pens!!
 
You could always buy a pack of ketone urine test strips at the drug store and check the urine for ketones. It's pretty inexpensive, around $10-12 if I remember.
 
I probably should just do that, though I don't look forward to trying to capture some urine.

Today her breath smells normal, fwiw.
 
See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for tips on urine testing.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top