[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by punky

Yes you can get the human ones also, but I like the idea that the ones for pets seem more accurate,

That's debatable. Certainly ADM and Abbott Laboratories would like for us to believe that, but the independent tests I'm familiar with don't show this to be the case. Certainly the extreme difference in price doesn't make up for any miniscule difference in "accuracy". You might find this link interesting: http://felinediabetes.com/glucometer.htm

Several companies are now marketing animal specific glucometers, claiming that human glucometers give inaccurate results. These glucometers include the GlucoPet® and the GlucoVet® by ADM, available since 1999, and the AlphaTRAKTM marketed by Abbott Laboratories since 2006.

On their web site, Abbott Labs provides the clinical data obtained in testing their AlphaTRAKTM meter against two human meters, the Bayer Ascensia ContourTM and the Roche Accu-Chek AdvantageTM. This clinical trail was not done independently of Abbott Laboratories. No mention was made of why these two meters were selected. The meters were tested in both dogs and cats. Results seem to indicate that the AlphaTRAKTM is a more accurate meter than the other two tested meters but in no way prove that other hand-held meters are not also accurate. It would have been very nice if Abbott had compared the AlphaTRAKTM to their own "human" meter, the Freestyle.TM

Do you need these "animal-validated" glucometers instead of the more readily available and much less expensive "human" glucometers? Probably not. What is more important is that your glucometer gives results that are comparable to the results obtained by your veterinarian's glucometer. You should always compare your readings against the readings obtained in the vet's office by directly comparing readings taken at the same time. Your veterinarian should also know how their glucometer compares to needle puncture readings. The blood obtained by each method is slightly different. You can read a nice explanation of this in the article published in DVM, a veterinary medicine newsmagazine.

Originally Posted by punky

I just wish more research was done for DB pets, and that the petfood industry would list their labels like human foods.

You should send a letter on this topic to the FDA before May 13th. That's when they're holding a public meeting on pet food standards and labeling: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/CVM_Updates/petfoodstandards.htm Here's more info, with some sample letters: http://www.mousabilities.com/nutrition/carbaafco.html