These ketones are a warning that your cat's or dog's diabetes is out of control. Your veterinarian can teach you how to make adjustments in your pet's food and insulin based on the results of the urine tests. These test strips change colors when they come in contact with the glucose in the urine. Each shade of color represents a range that the glucose level falls into. The same method is used in testing for ketones.
Some strips measure only urine glucose or only ketones.
Other strips measure both in one test. Doing the test itself is easy-the tough part is getting your pet to cooperate by urinating where and when you'd like. So, you may have to try several methods of collecting the urine. We encourage dog owners to follow their pet around in the early morning and place a pan to collect the urine under their dog at the crucial moment. This technique may work with dogs, but if you own a cat you need to be more ingenious.