The 5 Best Glucose Monitors For Pets
This wiki has been updated 27 times since it was first published in February of 2018. Thanks to overfeeding and the resultant obesity, diabetes in dogs and cats is becoming increasingly common. If your four-legged friend has been diagnosed with this disease and your veterinarian recommends managing its condition at home, this list of glucose monitors specially calibrated for pets is for you. Rated for accuracy and ease of use, they will help keep your pet healthy and energetic. When users buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Zoetis AlphaTrak2
2. VetMate Starter Kit
3. Advocate PetTest
Editor's Notes
June 11, 2021:
It takes a lot of love and dedication to take care of a diabetic pet, and a good home glucose monitor is an essential piece of equipment. The Zoetis AlphaTrak2 is still considered the best, but the Advocate PetTest and VetMate Starter Kit are both right there with it. The most important part is still to follow your veterinarian's instructions to the T, and make sure your pet's diet is tailored to diabetes patients.
January 12, 2020:
Keeping tabs on your pet's blood glucose levels is one of the most important steps in managing diabetes and keeping your cat or dog healthy for years to come. Continuously having glucose levels that are too high can increase the risk of stroke or heart disease, vision and dental problems, and more. If blood sugar dips too low, it can result in seizures, coma, and even death. Because of this, it is important to have an accurate glucometer for home use. It is vital that you don't simply go out and buy a human glucometer though, as these aren't designed for use with pets. You should also check with your veterinarian regarding the model you intend to purchase to ensure it is suitable for your pet's needs, and ideally, have them show you how to use it correctly after you receive it.
Since the biggest concern when choosing a glucometer is accuracy, we scoured the internet to find independent tests on specific blood sugar testing meters to help us determine how good they are. According to our research, the Zoetis AlphaTrak2 and VetMate Starter Kit are currently the most accurate, so we highly recommend you pick one of these two. That being said, the Advocate PetTest is not far behind and has very affordable test strips, so we can easily understand if you choose to go with that model instead.
We were unable to find any independent tests of the iPet Pro, but it does seem to score highly with actual users, so we felt it a worthwhile option to include, especially for anyone who travels often with their pet since the entire kit is very compact.
We were on the fence about whether we should include the Cera-Pet or not. One one hand, it has some very useful features, like the ability to store 1,000 results, and its included lancet has five depth settings, which can help make the testing process more comfortable for your furry friend. On the other hand, it is does tend to under report blood sugar levels according to independent studies. In the end, we decided to include the Cera-Pet, but want to make sure readers are aware of its tendency to return low results. Armed with this knowledge, we feel people can still use it effectively to manage their pet's disease.
4. iPet Pro
5. Cera-Pet
A wandering writer who spends as much time on the road as in front of a laptop screen, Brett can either be found hacking away furiously at the keyboard or, perhaps, enjoying a whiskey and coke on some exotic beach, sometimes both simultaneously, usually with a four-legged companion by his side. He has been a professional chef, a dog trainer, and a travel correspondent for a well-known Southeast Asian guidebook. He also holds a business degree and has spent more time than he cares to admit in boring office jobs. He has an odd obsession for playing with the latest gadgets and working on motorcycles and old Jeeps. His expertise, honed over years of experience, is in the areas of computers, electronics, travel gear, pet products, and kitchen, office and automotive equipment.