Diabetes is a terrible disease that affects people and pets. If both I, and my pet, have diabetes, can I use my meter to check my pets blood sugar? On a quick check of the internet, I found a commercial reference suggesting that I need to purchase a special meter for a cat or a dog. Is this just commercial hype, or do I really need a species specific meter?
asked Aug 18, 2014 at 10:37
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1 Answer
No you don't need a species specific meter; you can use a human meter for this purpose, but regular engagement with a vet, and having a discussion with a vet on this, is very important.
In any event, I got curious about your question and so did a little research on feline diabetes. This led me to a nicely written article from the Veterinary school at Cornell. Importantly, there was a link to a very thorough article on blood glucose testing at home with a solid discussion on how to pick a meter, etc.
Given that a vet school linked me there, I'll take that as a good sign and suggest that the commercial reference is hype.
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Thanks great answer and supporting links. This answer is supported by our exotics vet. At exotics clinic last night, while he was checking a ferrets sugar, I asked and he said he was using a human meter. He started to tell me what the only difference was, but got side tracked. Aug 20, 2014 at 10:33