How To Test Your Diabetic Cat’s Blood Sugar At Home
You can monitor your diabetic cat’s blood sugar at home using a glucometer — the same over-the-counter device used by human diabetics. Hometesting can save your cat’s life! For more information on this topic go to felinediabetes.com
Duration : 0:4:36
admin on September 26th 2009 in Diabetes and Blood Glucose
DJRYANROUSSEAU responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
thank you very much …
thank you very much for your post. This is very helpful for people not used to this procedure….
JerseyTomato428 responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Excellent video …
Excellent video Mark. My cat Alex was diagnosed with diabetes last week and everyone has told me to ‘TEST AT HOME’. I was so proud of myself yesterday when I finally thought I mastered the insulin shots. I tried to get a blood sample from Alex’s ear tonight and …well. No Luck at all. I think this is the video I’ve been looking for!
Thanks
scir91 responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
great video. cute …
great video. cute cat! xD
nasalflute responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Different scale …
Different scale pending on cat’s prob.
If it’s still up that high then an increase ’til it’s between 70 and 140.
Maybe another cc but keep checking until it’s leveled and your average will be known.
Fluctuates from quality to age of the insulin also.
mosszaphod responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
My cat was …
My cat was diagnosed today with diabetes. Vet said start him on 3cc 2x a day. My question is when testing with a meter how do you take the reading and translate that into increasing or decreasing the insulin? What is the scale? Example: 330 reading could be 3cc 2x a day. Make sense?
markNtime responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Marg – If possible, …
Marg – If possible, try administering the tests when your cat is drowsy or just waking. Do it when they’re sitting on a bed, sofa, chair rather than your lap, if that helps… Build in a reward component to the test ritual – a morsel of meat, teaspoon of yogurt, catnip, etc – something your cat will come to favorably associate with the tests… It gets much easier with practice (for you) and familiarity (for the cat).
margeryred responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Hey, my cat won’t …
Hey, my cat won’t sit still… any tips? Also my cat’s veins are not on the rim… I actually have to stick in a little… it is hard to do if the cat isn’t just sitting there docile…
kmkory responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Mark…excellent …
Mark…excellent video! Please consider producing more ‘how-to’ videos, i.e. administering injections, etc. This was way more helpful than all other vids I’ve watched, including Cornell University vids on feline diabetes. Thank you so much.
OfficerGurl responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
This is a great …
This is a great video! Thanks! My cat has diabetes too… I didn’t know it was as common as it is…
justmissjulie responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
My diabetic cat, …
My diabetic cat, Buster (who looks like the cat in the video), has been receiving insulin for over four years. Thanks ONLY to testing! I wasn’t able to test the ear, but I the large pad on his back feet. Doesn’t bother him a bit. Cats are unpredictable when it comes to regulation, so testing WILL save their lives.
minivan2jock responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Simple if you …
Simple if you understand feline diet. Begin with an ideal feline diet: by Calories (not weight), about
6% from carbohydrate, 47% from fat, 47% from protein.
Then raise fat a little (not too much or you hurt the pancreas) and carbs a little (not too much or blood sugar goes out of whack). So try for perhaps
10% from carbs, 60% from fat, 30% from protein. That’s Wellness, for example. Google Janet & Binky’s list to find calorie analysis of most commercial foods. Good luck!
caroleb99 responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Catch-22 with cat …
Catch-22 with cat food: Low carb for diabetes, yet for his renal disease, vet said low protein diet was best. Any suggestions?
Thanks! ~Carole
caroleb99 responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Our 16 y/o Babycat …
Our 16 y/o Babycat was diagnosed yesterday with feline diabetes and we are now giving him insulin until the vet can test his dosage levels on Monday. Babycat’s blood sugar level was 500 POINTS OVER NORMAL. Is this an uncommonly high level? Should I be scared? I am also looking for the right cat food for him – we were appalled when we checked the labels of the so-called healthy dry food he’s eaten all these years. Mark, Thanks for this video. We’ll do this! ~Carole
patacattoday responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
My cat has just …
My cat has just been diagnosed with diabetes, my brother is diabetic and has a monitor and lancets. I have been worried about my cats (Miffys) BSL as she is hungry all the time, I have a feeling that she my be too high. Thanks for the demo as I will check her level tomorrow.
iwannaspamplz responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Hahahahaha THIS IS …
Hahahahaha THIS IS AWESOME man keep up this awesome vids..
Good luck little kitty! you are lucky
dbohls responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Do you test Buddy’s …
Do you test Buddy’s BG before every shot? And he still has gone hypo?
I just started my cat on insulin this week. He got ketoacidosis and spent 3 days in a clinic. It’s been a tough and overwhelming week for us both. He’s improving but is still very lethargic and way underweight.
Marneycakes responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Mark, thanks so …
Mark, thanks so much for demonstrating the home testing procedure. My 6-year-old cat, Stripes, was just diagnosed diabetic 3 weeks ago. Thankfully, my vet is supportive of me monitoring him at home, as well as initiating a raw chicken diet for Stripes. I figure, if my aunt could get off insulin bu losing weight, eating right, and exercising, Stripes has a shot at it if I get him off all the carby kibble, and feed him what nature intended him to eat. The vet agrees that it may just work.
Kyfried1960 responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
My cat, Lucy, was …
My cat, Lucy, was just diagnosed as a diabetic. She is on Porcine insulin 2units qam & pm. Her reading last Saturday was 439! My vet does not believe in aggressive regulation. We are so worried.
After watching your video – I think I have the confidence to try it myself. Lucy gets so stressed out going to the vet.
Thank you for shedding light on a subject that is so foreign to most of us.
markNtime responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Hey everyone, it …
Hey everyone, it was 4 years ago this month that the cat featured in the video, Buddy, was diagnosed diabetic. He is a very happy, healthy diabetic cat! When he’s not hunting field mice, plotting to steal his companion cat’s dinner, or positiioning himself on my desk so that I can’t work, he gets his one unit of Lantus insulin twice per day after his blood tests. He throws us an occasional hypo which is why hometesting is so very important. Best regards, Buddy & Mark
markNtime responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
No doubt, Jason! My …
No doubt, Jason! My other (non-diabetic) cat is a tasmanian devil. Treating a lap cat is a lot easier.
JaysonStorm responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Interesting… I …
Interesting… I always wondered how some animals would react to testing and injections.
I bet some cats and dogs are hard to inject and test.
Gide0n responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
My kittie pooky is …
My kittie pooky is also diabetic. I just found out 2 weeks ago. I noticed that if I held a small flashlight to the inside of her ear I could get a very detailed look at the patterns of veins. The light has to be right but this will help you know where your cats veins are. Hope this helps.
presouz responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Stress can make a …
Stress can make a cats blood sugar rise, she should talk to her VET about getting something to take the stress out of the travel days
alpana555 responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
I give the insulin …
I give the insulin shots when my diabetic cat is either eating his breakfast, or dinner. I put Merlin up on a small counter top, wait till he has started munching, pull up a bit of skin near his neck and slide in the needle. He is too distracted by food to object to the shots!
118chris118 responded on 26 Sep 2009 at 11:59 pm #
Depending on your …
Depending on your machine and where in the world u are from.
im 22 and im a type 1 diabetic ( discovered 2 months ago ) our reading has to be between 4 – 8