On to the price in a second...but I'd say about 10% of the batch will give me 'Error' readings and are completely unusable.

Abbott is price gouging people who are trying to do the best thing for their pets. The price for these strips is outrageous through all companies. I test my cat at LEAST 2x per day (which is standard) prior to her insulin shot and get a mid-cycle test somewhere in between those. 50 test strips (this doesn't account for the 10% unusable 'Error' strips), a minimum of three strips a day, lasts me for 16 days. I also take additional tests on weekends to do more of a curve so this lasts me less than 16 days. Take a look at Freestyle strips which a lot of people say are the same exact thing for much less. I really hope some company comes out with a less expensive pet meter and strips and just wipes Abbott out for doing things like this. Additionally, you can look at using a human meter as long as you understand the ranges are different. Check out the Feline Diabetes Message Board for more information on how to manage your cat's (I'm sure they'll point you in the right direction for a dog, as well) diabetes with a human glucometer. Relion is a very popular brand on that board and is used with very high success. You can also use the Freestyle Lite strips in place of these which look EXACTLY the same, are made by the same manufacturer, much cheaper, and they are supposed to be the exact same thing. Leave your AT2 meter on the most recent code used when the last AT2 strips were purchased, and start using the Freestyle Lite strips instead. I would suggest running side by side comparisons first to make sure they come back similar, mine did!

I recently switched from my human meter (Bayer Contour Next) to Alphatrak 2 because my vet said the numbers would be more accurate. There are a host of issues with the Alphatrak 2 which I think others should be made aware of:
1) The AT2 is very limited and the interface is also very limited. It does not have any flexibility for using it for referencing old number reads and you cannot scroll through the data very easily. You also cannot "mark" readings with additional info like meals, snack, etc.
2) The lowest beep tone for attaining a sample is very loud and stridently high pitched. If you don't quickly move it away from the cat's ear, the noise can be very disturbing as it's right next to the ear drum.
3) The readout does not have any back lighting and is difficult to read.
4) It requires coding.
5) Once you start the test, and insert the test strip, you have to wait several seconds for it to cycle through the turn on process and read out the code.
6) I have had several dead and non-responsive tests which have wasted strips. When I called the manufacturer, although they wanted the information and lot number, they were unwilling to replace the bad strips.
7) It is truly one of the worst interfacing software I have ever used with a meter. Very rigid in terms of flexibility and difficult to set up. It is not "intuitive" in terms of use.
8) They are gouging on the price of the test strips. They are $1.20 per strip, and that is if you buy the biggest bottle of strips.
9) Unlike the Bayer meter, you cannot charge this with a wall adapter, as it is battery driven. I have been warned that the battery on these meters fails not to default/shut down, but to mis-reads or errors. It does not warn you that the battery is getting low. To me, that is pretty dangerous.
10) You cannot upload your data without buying a separate hook up component, which does not come with the start up kit.
11) Finally, AND MOST SERIOUSLY, I am beginning to suspect that the AlphaTrak reads higher than the actual glucose really is and this has led to extreme swings in my cat's glucose and insulin dosing. It has been a nightmare in this regard.

It is such a piece of poorly made equipment compared to the human meter I was used to, I am ready to switch back to the Bayer meter and will never buy anything from this company again.

Does anyone know how to correlate the numbers from a Bayer Contour Next meter for cat use? I would almost rather use my old human meter than deal with this awful product, but I don't now how to interpret the numbers from human grade readings.

I'm complaining about the increasing price of TEST STRIPS ! The product itself is fine but Abbott, and perhaps the sellers, ever increasing prices has to be price gouging at its best ! My cat is a brittle diabetic, requiring testing at LEAST three times a day....that amounts to 90 PLUS strips a month ! In addition to the required three times a day testing, there are occasions where the strips do not work properly for no apparent reason, other times when readings appear too high or low and another strip will have to be used for comparison, and the times when more than three tests a day are needed when she hits a low and has to be watched and treated.. NOT that Abbott or sellers care, but for a Senior citizen, or most anyone for that matter, caring for a diabetic pet is a huge financial hit that's becoming un-affordable. What are we supposed to do...let our pets die ???

Kinda disappointed with these test strips. If you place them into the reader too soon before adding the blood sample, you will get an error. This can present a difficult challenge because when trying to get blood from an animal, you want to have the test strip ready to go. Our dog is hard to get blood from, and sometimes it takes a little longer to get a large enough sample. We have to get the blood ready, then place the test strip into the reader (which means letting go of the dog if there's only one of us). It seems simple enough, but juggling all these things together can be a hassle. Whether the issue is with the test strips or the reader, I'm not sure. But they are both Alpha Track, and as far as I'm concerned, they should work well together. At $1 for each strip, it's literally throwing money away to have a test strip go bad.

The rating is for the pricing, not the product. The product works great for its purpose, but the price keeps increasing, $50 (a dollar per strip) was bad enough, but now they are almost $60, I assume this is because they are a "necessity" for those ordering them (have to have some type of testing strip). I ordered the Alpha Trak 2 device for my dog at the recommendation of our vet. I notice the price of the device has gone down over time, while the price of the strips keeps goes up...the real money for the company is in the strips, as consumers must continually repurchase. Not that it will likely do any good, but this is just another voice stating that the price of this item needs to come down (along with other diabetic supplies), for the sake of the owners and pets alike. For the owners, the high priced supplies only adds stress to an already stressful situation, and for the pets...well, I'm sure there are plenty of diabetic pets who will suffer because their owners either can't afford or refuse to pay the high prices of the needed supplies. Also, charging so much for the strips may cause owners to check sugar levels less frequently than they should. For Abbott and re-sellers of these types of supplies, please have a heart and stop price gouging!