We just found out our family cat has diabetes and we would like to find a glucose monitor system…any advice?

I’ve been using the Bayer Elite XL glucometer since March of 2000.

It was renamed the Ascensia Elite XL but it is the same glucometer.

It is a glucometerr used by many people with diabetic cats.

Unfortunately, it is being discontinued. Bayer is recommending you switch to their Contour glucometer and that is what we will be doing in about a month. We are going to be using both meters each day and compare the numbers so that the switch the the Contour will be smoother.

The AlphaTrak is said to be calibrated for cats and dogs – it is not, it simply adds 30% to the measurement before it displays it on the meter. I tested one for our vet.

The iPet is likewise said to be especially designed for pets – I’ve not tested it but I know someone who has and they said they did not see any advantages to it.

“Human” glucometer test strips are cheaper than the AlphaTrak or the iPet – you can often find test strips for “human” glucometers on eBay.

There is an online pharmacy I have used a lot that I trust – http://www.hocks.com

We’ve been treating diabetic cats since our Simon was diagnosed on February 26, 2000.

Simon has a web site at http://www.sugarcatsimon.com that URL will take you to the current site location. I’m going to be moving it in the next few months and so I’ve set up that domain name to redirect now so that it will be the same address after I move it.

We have adopted 3 other diabetic cats over the last 9 years knowing that they were diabetic when we adopted them.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions about getting started doing home blood glucose testing or any other aspects of treating diabetic cats.

Simon’s web site has an email link in the column on the left of every page.

You can also email me through Yahoo Answers by clicking on my name at the upper left corner of this answer. That will take you to my profile page and there is a link there to email me.

As I said, feel free to email me any questions. I remember what it was like to have suddenly learned that Simon was diabetic.

If you wish, I will email you our telephone numbers and you can call and I’ll answer all your questions (or find answers if you come up with ones I haven’t encountered yet

I’ve talked to many new Sugarcat Parents over the last 9 years and it is a great way to get started.

Sugarcat is what we call a diabetic cat and since most of us treat our cats as more than pets, more like members of the family, we consider ourselves their “parents” – hence “Sugarcat Parents”

Be aware that far too many vet do not really know the correct way to treat diabetic cats. It is a sad but true fact.

We use vets for other reasons but I make all the diabetes treatment decsions for out diabetic cats. I simply have learned more about it, having lived with diabetic cats for over 9 years, than any vet I’ve met, talked to, or corresponded with.

Shortly after we began using him, our current vet started asking my opinion on some of his other diabetic cat patients My wife and I joke that we should charge him a consultation fee.

I did a rough calculation some time back as to how many blood glucose tests we have done on diabetic cats since February of 2000, the number came to a stupefying 20,000+

One tip for you – because cat’s blood glucose levels can vary so much, you should never give an insulin injection unless you have done a blood glucose test immediately before the injection.

I test the cat and then give the injection. By testing before each injection – we call them pre-shot tests – you guard against the cat’s blood glucose level being very low compared to what it usually is at the time of an injection. If the level is low and you give the normal dose, you could push th cat too low into hypoglycemia and that can be fatal.

I will never give a diabetic cat an insulin injection without a blood glucose test immediately before it. If I were to be out of test strips or something else prevents me from doing a test – I skip the injection.

Good luck, email if you want to.