We like Glucotest! (based on lab work)

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Just a note to say both my vet and I, not to mention the cat, are really happy with the Purina Glucotest system. If you haven't seen them, they're like confetti that you put in the litter box and when the cat "goes" they change color if there is glucose in the urine. You match it to a color chart.
My cat is fractious and difficult to handle. She has to be examined under anesthesia at the vet's so home blood testing was definitely out. The vet had no experience with Glucotest but we tentatively tried them with what turned out to be great success.
The definitive moment was that I had a reading of 150 with the Glucotest strips about an hour before we went to the vet. An hour and a half later they did her blood draw (under anesthesia) and got a blood reading of 190. Allowing for the added stress of the car ride to bump up the glucose, the conclusion is that the test strips are reasonably accurate and my vet was very satisfied to have me continue to use them.
I hope this helps anybody else who has a cat that simply can't be handled. Obviously blood testing is cheaper and easier and gets a fast accurate reading when you need it and not just when she 'goes' but if it's not an option it's good to know this is there.

You do have to pull apart the urine ball clumps to find the test strips. I do this by putting it in a clear plastic bag and breaking it apart that way. You need to read them within a couple of hours or they aren't as accurate, showing more glucose than there was hours before.
Also, it's not super cheap. The test strips and all the litter has to be discarded and made fresh every five days. But it is a real help in this tricky situation.
(You can get them through Amazon by the way)

On a brighter note, Saffy is now off insulin. The 150 reading was from diet control only. The calorie/carb controlled diet that all of you helped me with resulted in her being off insulin for a month and her fructosamine was so good that the vet said it was okay to just keep doing what we were doing. Yay! No more sticks for her and no more scratches for me!
 
question...how can glucotest correspond with blood glucose tests when urine glucose testing is quite different?

Jen
 
Although the units for urine and blood glucose can be the same (mg/dL), they are not comparable. Glucose only ends up in the urine when the blood glucose is greater that 180-260 or so. I assume that the vet drew the blood at about mid cycle between shots, so a BG reading of 190 would correspond to about the ow point the glucose got into the urine when the BG was a lot higher during shot time.
 
Well, I'll let you experts debate how the two readings stack up against each other (or not). Sorry I wasn't able to explain what the vet said in scientific detail.

But I did want people to know my experience and that we had a successful fructosamine showing adequate diet control over a month period. It *IS* possible to regulate an aggressive cat that can't be handled.
Thank you Tucker's Mom for your congratulations and my sincere empathy for any other scar-ridden owner trying to do the right thing for a naughty cat.
 
Don't get me wrong, I think it is great that your cat is doing well despite the issues with blood glucose testing.

But it is very important for you, and others reading your post, to understand that testing urine glucose levels is quite different than blood glucose levels, as Larry mentioned. Glucose gets filtered out of the blood by the kidneys when blood glucose levels are above renal threshold (mid 200s) and goes into the urine, which accumulates in the bladder inbetween urination. Thus the glucose level in urine does not at all reflect the blood glucose levels at any given time. It does reflect that blood glucose levels went above renal threshold, and you can look at it as an order of magnitude.

There are people who must rely on urine glucose testing and clinical observation and the occasional fructosamine and that is reality. Just please, understand the differences between the values you've seen.

Jen
 
Is there a sticky that explains that in detail? That would probably be a good thing! ;-)
 
If she is still above the renal threshold (showing any glucose in her urine), it's not time to remove insulin yet. http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Renal_threshold

I would advise you to continue insulin therapy, possibly at a lower dose, until she's showing no glucose in her urine and continue to test even after she's off insulin to make sure the remission holds. 190 is still a diabetic number, not in a normal range. Otherwise you might end up back where you started.
 
I believe that the info on urine testing is in the FDMB FAQ. there is also a sticky somewhere on hard to test cats/urine testing.... there are some cats that just cannot be tested, so you have to do what you can, you just need to understand the limitations. That said, question to you...have you ever had an experienced tester try in your own home? It may be that it is relatively easy to do at home, even if impossible at the clinic. If it really is a no-go, please forgive my asking...you see, I was sure that Squeak wouldn't let me test, I freaked out and left this message board even...turns out he was fine with it and even purred. This from the cat who freaked if I had to wipe mud off his toes or clip toe nails or.....

Jen
 
Bandit freaked out the first few days, too--teeth and claws and growling. After a week of being tested wrapped in a blanket and a treat after each test, he truly didn't care anymore. He comes and purrs through his tests now. It's not painful for the cat to be tested--it's being restrained while you do it part that makes them upset. If you can associate the tests with treats and food, even very fractious cats come around.
 
Jen & Squeak said:
have you ever had an experienced tester try in your own home? It may be that it is relatively easy to do at home, even if impossible at the clinic.
Click to expand...
I've had that asked by so many people...
This cat is next door to feral and cannot be safely handled by *anyone*, including me. I'm sure she is not the only cat like this and that I am not the only pet owner with permanent scars to prove it. They're not all Fluffies and Felixes.
Julia, there are other circumstances and health issues that contributed to that glucose reading. My discussion with the vet was long and comprehensive. I did not regurgitate it all here. I simply wanted other people to know about a resource that no one had told me about. But thanks for making sure I wasn't being steered wrong by my vet.
 
17mars said:
I'm sure she is not the only cat like this and that I am not the only pet owner with permanent scars to prove it. They're not all Fluffies and Felixes.
Click to expand...

I am an expert hometester, at least I think so :lol: Nine FDs of my own and a few fosters as well over the years plus many I've taught and I could not test Ebony who I adopted in April of this year. I tried but after the many bites, scratches, and tears I had to follow her lead and watch water intake and food intake. I know about glucose strips for urine, but completely forgot in all my frustration with testing Ebony. Had I remembered that or the glucotest I probably could have gotten her off insulin a lot faster.

I highly recommend and push hometesting on everyone I come into contact with, but there are cats that simply cannot tolerate it. I learned that the hard way.
 
Sorry, I should have taken some extra time to read up on your previous posts but I didn't. I realize that you've thought this all through so please don't take my comments as criticism. I really hope that all this works out!

Jen
 
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