Continuous Glucose Monitoring to Improve Outcomes in Diabetes Management

Authors: Fleeman LM
Publication: Australian Veterinary Practitioner, Volume 55, Issue 3, pp 115-124, Sep 2025
Publisher: Australian Veterinary Association

Animal type: Cat, Dog
Article class: Clinical Article

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Abstract:

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has the potential to completely change the way diabetes is managed in dogs and cats. Diabetic control can now be achieved much more rapidly than ever before. The major advantage of CGM over intermittent blood glucose sampling is that it provides information on current glucose trends and allows assessment of day-to-day variations in glycaemia. CGM devices are considered reliable for guiding clinical decisions in diabetic dogs and cats. There is acceptable accuracy compared with blood glucose concentrations, although accuracy is lower when there is hypoglycaemia, especially in cats. There is no 'best' approach to monitoring diabetes in dogs or cats. Instead, there are a wide range of appropriate options, including CGM. Practitioners should mix and match the various options to create an individualised plan. Patient selection is important. It is also critical to manage client expectations at the outset. This includes planning for the possibility of early sensor loss, especially in cats. A key to success is frequent (e.g. daily) support, communication, and feedback to owners about the glucose data, and circling back frequently to key points:

1. that clients do not need to take any immediate action based solely on glucose results,
2. that interstitial glucose is not exactly the same as blood glucose, and
3. that CGM cannot reliably differentiate between low and normal blood glucose.

This review provides practical recommendations on use of this new technology and general guidelines on interpretation of CGM results.

Keywords: CGM, canine, feline, interstitial glucose, insulin

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