Blood Glucose Curve For Cats
Comments (0) 
Best glucometers for an elderly cat?
I need to find a good/reliable glucometer to help me make sure my cat is regulated. The vet charges $100 to $150 per blood glucose curve and it seems to be getting out of hand (with no real results yet–and they “don’t like to do fructosamines,” which are less expensive). I know the process takes time, but I don’t know how long my cat can hang on until we find the right dosing. So, I’d like to help further by purchasing a glucometer. I know absolutely nothing about them other than I have to buy test strips separately. My vet recommends a $200 glucometer made for pets, but I’ve read and have been told a human meter is just as good. Just curious if anyone has any suggestions? Is the Walgreen’s generic version just as good as an expensive one?
You can use ANY human type glucometer on the market, your cost will be in the strips, they run $1 each (or 50 cents each if you buy online), most of the meters themselves are free if you check around. We used the One Touch, and that was pretty good. Take it with you to the vets and have the vet do a test strip on their meter, and you do one on your meter and check to see that they’re comparablely accurate. You have NO need to buy a $200 meter! Geez!
I’d highly suggest you go over to the YahooGroups section and search on ‘diabetic cat’ and you’ll find several good lists. Sign onto one or two, ask this question over there and they’ll tell you which meter uses the smallest amount of blood.
We got our One Touch meter free, it came in less than 2 weeks–I just searched online for ‘free glucose meter’ and filled in the sheet as ‘caretaker of a diabetic’ since they didn’t need to know that it was for a cat. It came with a bunch of strips and good instructions, totally free. You can also buy at WalMart or Walgreens and send in a rebate form that makes the unit free.
What to look for is one that is easy to read, doesn’t have the $3 test strips, and that takes a small amount of blood for the reading. PLEASE do not waste $200 on a pet meter, they’re the same as the human ones.
T-Pain – It Ain’t Me – Thr33 Ringz
Themocracy