? Tester question

[Lilitiger2]

So, I use alphatrak 3. Had not had problems. Last night, I get a reading of 418 os something. Took him to vet and they get a read of 347. Ok, maybe the extra hour made a difference
But
Today when doing the +6 measurement ,I got a measurement of 367. There was a bit of blood so as I was cleaning him, I just tested ( with new strip) him again. Got 418. In maybe 45 seconds?
I ordered a contour but won't be here till Tuesday. Is this norm? Tester error? I rely on my testing so not very happy.

 

[SpotsMom]

I don’t use an alphatrak, but that seems pretty normal. Numbers can be 20% off. The higher the numbers get, the wider the variance appears.

 

[Lilitiger2]

Thanks! That makes sense!

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

There is a 20% measurement error due to the meter and strips. If you tested and your result was 100 + 20% would be between 80 - 120. If your cat tested at 400, the range would be 320 - 480. It's not that the variance changes it's just that at 20%, the higher numbers have a greater impact on the range.

The other factor can also be that sometimes you just get a wonky test. If the numbers don't seem right to you, it's fine to re-test.

 

[Lilitiger2]

Thanks. I was just curious. Could certainly have been wonky. I had just tested, saw I had extra blood, and thought, I'll see how close these two tests are, so close together...

I clean his ears before testing but wonder if the pred in that ear makes any difference...