Expert: Jessica - 3/8/2010

Question
im hoping u can help me with this question. my 13yr old cat vixen was drinking alot and urinating alot so the vet gave ne a glucotest, little squares of paper to put in the litterbox for her to pee on and check the glucose in there. well it came back really dark. he said from here symptoms and the test that she has diabetes. hes given me a prescription wet food for diabetes and told me to do that 4 a couple weeks then do the test again and see if she improves,if not then hell start her on insulin. i was just wanting a second opinion if he did and is doing the right things.i tried to call other vets and ask,but they just wanted me to come in so they could get my money when all i wanted to know is if they would be doing the same thing as him. im just worried about her, and i dont have alot of money. do u think this is a good coarse of action?

Answer
Hi Katie.  I don't feel this is an accurate enough way to detect your cat's glucose level before starting her on insulin.  This is an okay SCREENING method.  But insulin can be deadly if it's not used carefully, and your cat's blood sugar level needs to be monitored closely.  The sugar excreted in urine is very often a misrepresentation of what's in the blood and cannot be relied upon as an indication of blood sugar during the initial adjustment period to insulin.  Once your cat's blood sugar has been regulated, you can go back to using urine strips as a screening process to warn you that your cat's insulin may need adjusting.  But I feel strongly that you need to choose a vet who will use a blood sample to check your cat's glucose before insulin is started, and then every few weeks until the correct insulin dosage for her is found.  Many vets won't charge you for each visit - just the initial consultation.  Subsequent glucose checks only cost around $15 to have them run some blood on the glucometer.  You may want to call those same vets back and ask if there's an office charge for glucose checks, and choose a vet who does not charge you for those quick visits.

Best of luck!

Jessica