Worth considering
Pet glucose meter
Home glucose checks
- + Small blood sample
- + Portable
- Limit: Requires vet guidance and ongoing strips
Check meter and strip compatibility before buying.
Compare pet glucose meters on Amazon UKCalmer, clearer diabetes care for your dog or cat.
A diagnosis feels frightening at first. Mello explains it in plain English — what the numbers mean, what to feed, which kit is worth buying, and what to ask at the next appointment. Then it keeps the record, so you walk into that appointment with the answers instead of trying to remember them.
The app was checked screen by screen by Dr Linda Simon MVB MRCVS, a veterinary surgeon with 13 years in practice and a special interest in endocrinology, who also reviewed 13 of our guides. Reviewed guides say so at the foot of the page.
Coming soon
Bramble
Example pet · Today
Latest glucose reading
6.8 mmol/L
Within your saved target rangeLogged at 07:02 · 58 minutes ago
Last insulin · given 19:40 yesterday, by Alex
One tap. The amount is never filled in for you.
Today
Breakfast — ate as usual 07:10 · Sam
Glucose 6.8 mmol/L 07:02 · Sam
Where are you right now?
Tell us where you are, and we'll point you to what actually helps.
Something is wrong right now
Won't eat, possible hypo, a missed or doubled dose, ketones, or suddenly unwell.
Get startedJust diagnosed, feeling overwhelmed
The first few days are the hardest. Start here for the practical next steps.
Get startedManaging day-to-day care
Daily routines, feeding guidance, and the monitoring habits that keep things steady.
Get startedPreparing for a vet visit
Get your data organised and learn what questions matter most.
Get startedCould this be diabetes?
A few common early signs to watch for.
Not a diagnosis — always confirm with your vet.
Mello in your day
A routine you can actually keep
Morning meal
Insulin record
Water and appetite note
Symptom observation
Evening routine
Vet-ready report
So you're not relying on memory when your vet asks what changed.
FREE TOOLS FOR EVERYDAY CARE
Practical Tools for Everyday Care
Simple tools for converting readings, planning costs and preparing for vet visits.
Glucose Converter
Convert glucose readings between mmol/L (used in the UK) and mg/dL (used in the US) instantly.
Unit Conversion
Cost of Care Planner
Add up your own monthly costs for insulin, supplies, food and insurance, so you can plan ahead.
Cost Planning
Vet Report Preview
See an example of the report the Mello app is being built to produce, using made-up readings.
Report Preview
A calmer record
What to track daily
A consistent record turns scattered moments into a clearer conversation with your vet.
Insulin
Food
Water
Glucose
Weight
Symptoms
Behaviour
Questions for your vet
Built for the realities of home care
The real work of managing diabetes happens at home — you're the one giving the injections, watching for changes, noticing the small patterns nobody else sees. Mello keeps all of that in one place: glucose, insulin, meals, and the notes that matter, so nothing depends on memory or a scrap of paper by the fridge. When you see your vet, you bring a clear picture instead of a guess.
1
Track daily without fuss
Five quick fields — time, glucose, insulin, meals, notes — and you're finished for the day.
2
See patterns emerge
Charts show every reading against the range your vet set, over whatever period you choose.
Example data (not real readings)
Typical week of glucose readings showing target range and variation
Example only. The shaded band is the range this owner’s vet set for their pet.
Mello does not have a target range of its own. Without one from your vet, it shows the number and says nothing about whether it is high or low.
3
A report your vet can read
Pick a period, check what is in it, send it. Every entry with its time, amount and who recorded it, so you talk about what happened instead of squinting at three weeks of notes.
4
Catch the small changes
Note appetite, energy, water intake and anything that seems off, so patterns show up before they become problems.
Mello logs what you tell it. It never invents or changes an insulin dose — that's always your vet's call.
Coming soon
iOS & Android apps built for daily diabetes care.
Mello logs what you tell it. It never invents or changes an insulin dose — that's always your vet's call.
Apps on your timeline
We're designing native apps that bring the same calm, confidence-building care routine to your phone. Early-access list members will be the first to hear when it launches.
Why Mello exists
The tools for this are worse than they should be
I'm Conor Brennan. I run Lanayr Ltd, in Scotland. I'm not a vet, and Mello is not a veterinary service.
I started building it after watching friends try to manage a pet with diabetes: injections twice a day timed around meals, readings written on whatever was to hand, and then the appointment where the vet asks how the last fortnight went and nobody can quite say.
What surprised me was what owners are expected to use. The Royal Veterinary College built an app for exactly this and stopped updating it in 2017. The tool most owners actually rely on is a colour-coded spreadsheet passed around a forum. That gap seemed worth closing.
Start with the right route
Dog or cat diabetes?
Choose the short species-specific overview, then follow the links to the detailed guide you need.
Where our information comes from
Our guides draw on published veterinary sources, such as the AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for dogs and cats and the 2025 iCatCare consensus guidelines for cats. Every guide is dated and lists what it drew on. It is general information rather than advice about your own pet, so always check with your vet before changing anything about their care. Mello is a communication tool, built to make that conversation clearer and faster.
The kit that actually helps
Nobody hands you a list at diagnosis, so most people buy the wrong things twice. These are the items that come up again and again in the first few months — what each one is for, what it does not do, and where to get it. Ask your vet before changing anything about your pet's treatment.
How we choose
Products are selected for practical usefulness, compatibility and transparent pricing. See How we choose products.
Worth considering
Sharps bin
Safe disposal of used needles and lancets
- + Keeps used needles out of household bins
- + Sealed and puncture-resistant
- + Cheap, and one lasts months
- Limit: Does not collect it for you - councils and vets differ on how a full bin is taken back
Any BS-marked sharps container is suitable for insulin needles and lancets. Size is the only real choice: a 1 litre bin suits most single-pet households.
See sharps bins on Amazon UKWorth considering
Insulin cooling travel case
Travel and transport
- + Keeps supplies together
- + Useful away from home
- Limit: Cooling performance varies by design
Confirm the case can hold your insulin and does not freeze it.
See insulin cooling cases on Amazon UKWorth considering
Digital kitchen scale
Measuring meals
- + Supports consistent portions
- + Easy to replace
- Limit: Does not assess food suitability
Use alongside the feeding plan your vet has given you.
See digital kitchen scales on Amazon UKMore in the full equipment guide, including continuous glucose monitors, feeders and storage.
Popular questions
Clear answers for the next question
What are the signs of diabetes in a dog?
Drinking and urinating much more than usual, losing weight despite a good appetite, and tiredness. Many diabetic dogs also develop cataracts — a clouding of the lens — sometimes quickly, and for some owners cloudy eyes are the first thing they notice.
Signs in dogs →What are the signs of diabetes in a cat?
The same thirst, urination and weight loss as in dogs, but cataracts are rare. One sign is specific to cats: diabetic neuropathy can make them walk flat on their hocks rather than up on their toes, giving a crouched, flat-footed back end.
Signs in cats →What should I feed a diabetic dog?
Consistency matters more than any particular brand: the same food, the same amount, at the same times each day, timed around the injections. Some dogs do well on a good-quality maintenance diet and others need a therapeutic one — your vet decides which.
Feeding a diabetic dog →What should I feed a diabetic cat?
Diet does more for a diabetic cat than for a diabetic dog. Most vets aim for a low-carbohydrate wet food, around 5–10% carbohydrate on a dry-matter basis. What matters is a measured daily ration rather than unlimited food; a cat that grazes can still be managed.
Feeding a diabetic cat →What is a glucose curve?
A series of blood glucose readings taken across 12 or 24 hours, so your vet can see how your pet responds to their insulin over a whole dosing cycle rather than at a single moment. It can be done at the practice or at home if your vet asks for one.
How glucose curves work →My pet will not eat and insulin is due. What do I do?
Do not inject and then hope. Insulin given to a pet that has not eaten, or that has vomited the meal back up, can take blood sugar dangerously low. Contact your vet before the dose — this is one of the most common reasons owners ring out of hours, and they expect it.
If your pet refuses food →I think I missed a dose, or gave one twice. What now?
Never double up to catch up. Too much insulin is far more dangerous than too little, so an uncertain dose is a call to your vet rather than a decision to make alone. If a dose may have been given twice, treat it as urgent.
Missed and uncertain doses →What are the signs of low blood sugar, and what do I do?
Weakness, wobbliness, trembling, a vacant look, sudden intense hunger and, in severe cases, collapse or seizures. If your pet is awake and can eat, offer a meal. If they cannot, vets generally advise honey or glucose syrup on the gums while you arrange transport. If they are unconscious or seizing, put nothing in their mouth and go straight to a vet.
The hypoglycaemia guide →Can a diabetic cat go into remission?
Some cats can, with early effective treatment and ongoing veterinary monitoring, though it is never guaranteed and diabetes can come back. Dogs usually need insulin for life, because their diabetes more often involves a loss of insulin production rather than resistance to it.
Cat diabetes and remission →Does the Mello app tell me how much insulin to give?
No, and it never will. Mello records what was given and when, and who gave it. It does not calculate, suggest or imply a dose, and a reading is only called high or low against the range your own vet set. Without one, Mello shows the number and says nothing about it.
What the app does and does not do →Join the early-access list
Be the first to know when the Mello app launches on iOS and Android.