Monitoring glucose and ketones in the urine

You may be asked by your veterinarian to monitor your diabetic cat by regularly testing urine samples from your cat.
What you need

1. A clean plastic litter box
2. Clean syringes at least 5ml in size.
3. Polystyrene balls, aquarium sand or shredded plastic bags.
4. Urine dipsticks provided by or recommended by your veterinary surgeon.
5. A place to record the results.


Collecting urine

1. In the clean litter box place some aquarium sand, polystyrene balls or shredded plastic bags.
2. Do not allow your cat access outside or to another litter box until it has urinated in the clean box.
3. Collect the urine with the clean syringe.


Testing urine using urine dipsticks
1. Follow the instructions for the dipsticks you are using, particularly for the time to read the results.
2. Place the dipstick in the container with the urine and soak the test pads.
3. Remove the dipstick and tap dry.
4. Read the result after the time specified on the stick bottle (usually 1 minute).
5. Hold the stick against the chart on the dipstick container to compare colours.
6. Record the results including time of collection and times of insulin injections given for that day.

Monitoring your diabetic cat

Changes in insulin requirements

It is not unusual for your cat’s insulin requirements to change even after a long period of stability. This is most commonly due to:

* weight loss or gain
* changes in your cat’s activity levels
* the presence of other diseases
* other treatments

This is why it is important to continue to monitor your diabetic cat's progress - even after months or years of treatment - and consult your veterinary surgeon if there are sudden changes or if anything unusual happens
Testing urine and blood samples

You may be asked by your veterinary surgeon to regularly check the glucose (and ketone) concentrations in urine or blood samples. This gives an additional indication of how your cat is doing. Based on these results your veterinary surgeon might decide to do a serial blood glucose curve to determine a new insulin dosage.

You should not change the dose of insulin without first consulting your veterinary surgeon

Feline Diabetes - Treatment Guidelines

Your veterinary surgeon will determine the correct dosage of insulin for your cat. If your cat has other medical problems, your veterinary surgeon will start appropriate treatment.
Starting treatment with Caninsulin

The insulin requirement of each diabetic cat is different. Your cat’s insulin dose is based on its body weight and individual needs.

The initial insulin dosage is calculated based on the body weight of your cat. For the first few days of treatment you veterinary surgeon will probably:

* Monitor the effect of this dose – you will probably be asked to observe if your cat drinks and urinates less
* Check your cat’s blood glucose levels
* Check for the presence of glucose and ketones in your cat's urine

This information will help your veterinary surgeon adjust the insulin dosage until the correct Caninsulin dose for your cat is found. For information on collecting urine and blood samples see Monitoring.

It may be necessary for your veterinary surgeon to hospitalise your cat to investigate the effects of the insulin further. Read more under Glucose Curves.
Maintenance treatment with Caninsulin
Establish a routine

Your veterinary surgeon will set up a treatment programme including:

* insulin treatment
* a recommended diet and feeding regime

You will need to stay in close contact with your veterinary surgeon. They will decide on how often your cat needs to have a check-up and may request that you collect urine or blood samples to help monitor your cat’s progress.