Tested for Ketones - what do I want it to say?

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NicoleC46237

NicoleC46237

Member Since 2020
I got my new blood ketone meter and strips today so I tested Lou after I used his normal meter to do his PMPS tonight. He got a 0.4 on the ketone test. What do I want it to be? What do I not want it to be? I was looking but I didn't see an actual number anywhere to stay under.... Is it just under 1.0?
 
NicoleC46237 said:
I got my new blood ketone meter and strips today so I tested Lou after I used his normal meter to do his PMPS tonight. He got a 0.4 on the ketone test. What do I want it to be? What do I not want it to be? I was looking but I didn't see an actual number anywhere to stay under.... Is it just under 1.0?
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at 0.4 I would just be sure to add extra water to the food and check again the next day esp if he seems off at all or if he's not eating well.
 
On a blood meter, anything under .6 is a completely normal reading. .4 is what my Billy always tests at, and he has never had ketone issues. It's below "trace" which requires more monitoring.
 
@Juls and Billy -

The information from the DCI site on ketone levels is incorrect. They are displaying levels that are relevant for humans. Please see the two articles that are attached at the bottom of this post on on ketones and DKA.

FWIW - I am very leery of information from the DCI site. They follow a form of TR that was developed for Prozinc (which was fine) but use it with other types of insulin. They do not advise intervening with HC food if a cat is in low numbers. IMHO, what they recommend is dangerous and they have had cats in critical condition due to this policy. Errors like not looking at the actual research on issues such as ketones is likewise problematic.
 
Okay, from the first article, their blood ketone measurement is even more lenient. They list nonketotic diabetic cats as anything under .9 instead of under .6. Yes, they list non-diabetic cats in a range or 0- .1, but they have anything under .9 as normal for a diabetic cat. Then after that, they list diabetic ketosis as anything from .6 to 6.8. I can only assume this means ECID, and some cats are asymptomatic between .6 and .9, but some cats develop symptoms above .6. In any event, this article from the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation seems to agree that anything under .6 on a blood ketone meter is nothing to worry about in a diabetic cat.

The second article is not about what ranges are good, it is about whether the meter I happen to use, Precision Xtra, is accurate when testing cats. They say it is very accurate until one gets to very high levels of ketones. So yay for the Precision Xtra.
 
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