Tested for Ketones for the first time

Julie mueller

Julie mueller

Member Since 2019
Hello guys !
I've been posting the last 2 days about about Smokey. I had him at the vet on Tuesday due to not having an appetite for about a week . He had a double ear infection and they treated him for that . Plus had trace ketones and they did subq fluids. Blood work all came back perfect and indicates no issues with his blood count or organs .
I just recieved my meter and tested him and he was at .6

He is still barely eating.. today since waking up he has eaten about 2.5 ounces of food and drank some milk .

Just looking for some input on the ketone level and also if you think hes eating enough right now ?
 
I have no answers for you, but I am following this condo, as I just tested my Edward and he showed 0.4 ketones for the first time. My boy isn't showing much interest in food, either :(

:bighug:
 
Using a ketone meter under 2.44 (Nova Max meter) is fine. I think the Precision Meter it's 2.45.

Anything over 2.4 I think warrants a call to vet for advice.
 
Olive & Paula said:
Using a ketone meter under 2.44 (Nova Max meter) is fine. I think the Precision Meter it's 2.45.

Anything over 2.4 I think warrants a call to vet for advice.
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I used nova maxx.. should I be taking any precautions at this point ?
His appetite is not good but not increased drinking or vomiting
 
Julie mueller said:
I used nova maxx.. should I be taking any precautions at this point ?
His appetite is not good but not increased drinking or vomiting
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I use Nova also. 0.6 is fine. Just make sure he keeps eating and drinking. You can add water to food. Try not to miss any insulin shots. Any possible infections are being treated.

Record your test on ss. If he stops eating all together or seems really sick and or glucose spikes much higher for no reason (like contraband, furshot), I think your ok to test every other day or so.
 
What "treatment" for the ear infection? Could the meds be messing with the appy? Can you possibly get appy enhancer (Mirtz) from your vet?
 
I have been following along your posts for the last few days. We unfortunately have too much experience with ketones/DKA so I am glad to hear that blood ketones are 0.6! We use a blood ketone meter too - in my opinion it's so much easier than the urine strips as you can test at any time. As Paula mentioned above, anything under 2.4 is fine. When our little buddy was DKA due to pancreatitis (for the second time) back in November, his blood ketones read 7.0+.

As for Smokey's appetite, sounds like something is bothering him. I'm sure the ear infection is uncomfortable. Is it possible that he is feeling a bit nauseous? When FA has a pancreatitis flare up, he loses his appetite, he seems to beg for food but as soon as we give it to him he doesn't want to eat. In those cases we make sure to have anti-nausea meds on hand and will let him eat whatever he wants (we have even allowed dry food when he would eat nothing else) to ensure he can get his full dose of insulin and ward off any ketones. This can last a few days up to a week or two. We also administer sub-Q fluids at home at least once a week (or more if he seems to not be feeling well). We usually see quite a big improvement after administering fluids. I don't know if something like pancreatitis would show up in the blood work - in the two times that FA was hospitalized, he was diagnosed with pancreatitis via (a very expensive) ultrasound. So all that to say, anti-nausea meds and fluids may be something to consider if Smokey's case is at all similar to FA's.

I do not want to overwhelm you, I know you've already received lots of info/advice and I know that everybody has their own opinion on the matter but just wanted to share our experience with you in case it can help at all. :bighug:
 
Marc & Jen said:
I have been following along your posts for the last few days. We unfortunately have too much experience with ketones/DKA so I am glad to hear that blood ketones are 0.6! We use a blood ketone meter too - in my opinion it's so much easier than the urine strips as you can test at any time. As Paula mentioned above, anything under 2.4 is fine. When our little buddy was DKA due to pancreatitis (for the second time) back in November, his blood ketones read 7.0+.

As for Smokey's appetite, sounds like something is bothering him. I'm sure the ear infection is uncomfortable. Is it possible that he is feeling a bit nauseous? When FA has a pancreatitis flare up, he loses his appetite, he seems to beg for food but as soon as we give it to him he doesn't want to eat. In those cases we make sure to have anti-nausea meds on hand and will let him eat whatever he wants (we have even allowed dry food when he would eat nothing else) to ensure he can get his full dose of insulin and ward off any ketones. This can last a few days up to a week or two. We also administer sub-Q fluids at home at least once a week (or more if he seems to not be feeling well). We usually see quite a big improvement after administering fluids. I don't know if something like pancreatitis would show up in the blood work - in the two times that FA was hospitalized, he was diagnosed with pancreatitis via (a very expensive) ultrasound. So all that to say, anti-nausea meds and fluids may be something to consider if Smokey's case is at all similar to FA's.

I do not want to overwhelm you, I know you've already received lots of info/advice and I know that everybody has their own opinion on the matter but just wanted to share our experience with you in case it can help at all. :bighug:
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Thank you for the info ! The blood work showed his pancreatic levels were fine but the vet said it wouldnt show if it was a minor case of pancreatitis.. only if it was a bad one .

I'm actually debating getting the appetite stimulant. What kind of anti nausea meds did you use
 
I use cerenia for Ollie and Tux. I have injectable and the pills. Injectable stings a lot, but if they don't eat and they are vomiting, the pill for us is worthless. Ollie gets injection through subq fluid. Tux, it takes both of us to get injection in.

You can give 1/4 tab plain pepcid if you don't have cerenia. It works for some and it doesn't work for some. I've never tried it.
 
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Julie mueller said:
Thank you for the info ! The blood work showed his pancreatic levels were fine but the vet said it wouldnt show if it was a minor case of pancreatitis.. only if it was a bad one .

I'm actually debating getting the appetite stimulant. What kind of anti nausea meds did you use
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We also use cerenia - the only way we can get him to take it is in a pill pocket which has corn syrup in it. In the end, it was more important that he took the pill and ate than worry too much about it affecting his BG levels (luckily we have not noticed it affecting his BG much).

An appetite stimulant is also a good idea - I forgot to mention that we have used that in conjunction with the anti-nausea meds. My understanding is that the appetite stimulant will not work if he is nauseous - so if that is the case you need to administer the anti-nausea meds about a half hour before the appetite stimulant. That's what we did anyways and it seemed to work! The effects aren't always immediate but in the end it make a huge difference by helping them slowly get back to feeling normal.
 
Pepcid only works if nausea is due to stomach acid and latest info seems to indicate that’s pretty rare. Best drugs for nausea are Cerenia and ondansetron. If nausea is corrected you won’t need an appy stimulant for long. Oral antibiotics often cause nausea. :bighug:
 
Julie mueller said:
I tested my self with the ketone meter and I was .2 .... is that normal??
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I am no expert but I think it's normal! If you google it, ketosis in humans begins anywhere between 0.6-1.5 due to either uncontrolled diabetes (or if you are trying to lose weight via keto diet which seems to be very popular nowadays - seems questionable to me). DKA is possible in humans in anything over 3.0.

In cats the acceptable levels appear to be different than humans. As mentioned before, anything below 2.4 should be ok, there are a few studies out there on this.
 
What sort of treatment is Smokey getting for his ear infection? When you start or stop any meds, it’s good to note it on the spreadsheet. As Elise said oral antibiotics can make they feel off. Antibiotics kill the good tummy flora, so adding a probiotic, two hour apart from the antibiotic, can help.

Has Smokey had milk before? Not all cats can handle it.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
What sort of treatment is Smokey getting for his ear infection? When you start or stop any meds, it’s good to note it on the spreadsheet. As Elise said oral antibiotics can make they feel off. Antibiotics kill the good tummy flora, so adding a probiotic, two hour apart from the antibiotic, can help.

Has Smokey had milk before? Not all cats can handle it.
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Hes not on any kind of continued medication.. they did some kind of ear medicine in office that treats it .

Yes he drinks milk often.

I tested ketones again tonight and it's the same .. .6
 
If it's what they do to my cat it's called packing the ears and they basically squirt anti biotic/anti yeast goo into the ear and tell you to squish it around once or twice a day. Any of that sound familiar? I don't think that should affect bs readings much, bit I know my cat is super unhappy until about 1 week has passed.
 
Hey my cat Salem almost died from DKA.. its very deadly. please check often . I use a meter too . It catches it in the blood sooner than in the urine and its easier too . More expensive but better for your cats safety . Salem was in the er for a week DCIN paid for his care . Im so thankful . It was over $4000 to make him well again but he almost died . Ketones build up from high bgs over time and cause DKA. Please try to get your cats diabetes under control. Test test test ! Get her/ him on a low carb diet and insulin . . It was painful to see my cat almost die from it .
These people here helped me save Salem too ! Im very thankful to these kind folks here also . Please do alot of reading on there sticky notes here and read on DKA . Take this very seriously . Diabetes can kill . I can not express enough how important this is . Oh and Welcome to our website !

heres Some information on it : its a great website also !

Diabetic Cat International

http://www.diabeticcatinternational.com/knowledge/


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Astexcat said:
If it's what they do to my cat it's called packing the ears and they basically squirt anti biotic/anti yeast goo into the ear and tell you to squish it around once or twice a day. Any of that sound familiar? I don't think that should affect bs readings much, bit I know my cat is super unhappy until about 1 week has passed.
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I think it was an anti biotic and anti yeast ... they didnt say anything to me about squishing it around though
 
Julie mueller said:
I think it was an anti biotic and anti yeast ... they didnt say anything to me about squishing it around though[/QUOTe

are you or if your married ...your husband is German ? Mueller is my grandmothers maiden name ? Just curious ... i was born in West Germany my mother is German . But i was raised in the united states my dad is american . Welcome to the board i hope your cat is feeling better.
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