Get started with SugarPaws
SugarPaws is a native iOS app for iPhone running iOS 18 or later, distributed through the App Store. There is no iPad, web, Android or Mac version, and no account to create: the app works entirely on the iPhone it is installed on. On first launch it shows a medical disclaimer you have to scroll through and agree to, then a three-step setup for your cat; after that you land on the Add tab ready to log your first reading. Everything set up here can be changed later in Settings.
What happens on first launch
Section titled “What happens on first launch”-
Splash screen. The SugarPaws logo and Version 1.0, for under a second (with Reduce Motion on, a plain half-second pause). If it ever stays longer than about three seconds, the app forces its way through on its own.
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Important Disclaimer. A scrolling page with five sections — Medical Disclaimer, Veterinary Consultation Required, No Liability, Data Accuracy and Emergency Situations. The button at the bottom reads Scroll to Read Full Disclaimer and stays grey until you have scrolled to the very end; it then turns blue and reads I Agree - Continue to SugarPaws. You see this once. (Settings › Advanced › Always Show Disclaimer brings it back on every launch; deleting all data does not withdraw your agreement.)
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Set up SugarPaws — three steps, each pre-filled and each skippable with the Skip Setup button in the top corner. Each step is saved the moment you tap Next, so quitting halfway keeps what you had already entered.
Step What it asks Pre-filled with 1 of 3 — What’s your cat’s name? A name, and optionally a photo from your library. Choosing a photo opens Position Photo: drag to move, pinch or use the slider to zoom, so the face sits inside the circle. The placeholder name Unnamed cat (replace it — an empty name is never saved over the existing one) 2 of 3 — Which glucose unit do you use? mg/dL or mmol/L, matching your meter and your vet. Below it a worked example: A reading of 180 mg/dL shows as 10.0 mmol/L. Guessed from your device’s region: mg/dL for the US, Japan, Israel, India, most of Latin America and a few others; mmol/L everywhere else 3 of 3 — Target range and insulin A minimum and maximum, in the unit you just chose (the range must sit inside 20–999 mg/dL / 1.1–55.5 mmol/L and the maximum must be higher than the minimum — Done is disabled until it does), and the insulin you use from a list of six 80–180 mg/dL (4.4–10.0 mmol/L) and Lantus (Glargine) The target range is your vet’s number, not the app’s: SugarPaws only uses it to draw the dashed lines on the charts, colour readings in History and count Readings in Range. Until it reflects your vet’s guidance those figures are measuring against a placeholder.
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The app, on the Add tab.
The four tabs
Section titled “The four tabs”| Tab | Screen title | What it holds | Docs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add | Quick Entry | A Glucose / Insulin segment switch above one entry form at a time; the cat header strip; the save toast | Log a glucose reading, Log an insulin dose |
| History | History | Every entry for the active cat, newest first, grouped by day, filterable to All / Glucose / Insulin; a share icon that opens Import/Export | History |
| Charts | Charts | Glucose line chart, insulin bar chart, the insulin activity curve, four summary tiles; a Report button | Charts, Insulin activity curve |
| Settings | Settings | Cat profile, units, insulin type, reminders, appearance, chart default, Export & Backup, Advanced, About | Settings reference |
Above the tab bar, only when you have more than one cat profile, a cat switcher bar shows the active cat’s photo and name with a chevron; tap it to pick another cat or Manage Cats. With a single cat there is no bar — see Cat profiles.
The header strip on the Add tab
Section titled “The header strip on the Add tab”Both entry forms start with the active cat’s photo and name, and under the name a one-line last reading · last dose strip: for example ✓ 142 mg/dL 6 hours ago · 💉 2.0 u 6 hours ago. The symbol before the reading is its position against the cat’s target range (down arrow = below target, tick = in range, up arrow = above target); anything logged less than a minute ago reads just now. Before the first entries it says No readings yet and No doses yet. The strip refreshes when the app comes back to the foreground, so “12 hours ago” does not sit stale overnight.
This strip is the app’s answer to “did I already give the morning dose?” — you no longer need to open History to check.
Save toasts, undo banners and error alerts
Section titled “Save toasts, undo banners and error alerts”- Saving shows a toast at the top of the Add tab — Glucose reading saved or Insulin dose saved — for two seconds, and the phone taps once. There is no OK button to dismiss.
- Deleting from History shows a black Undo banner just above the tab bar for five seconds — see History.
- If a save, delete or profile change fails at the database level, an alert titled for the action (Couldn’t Save Changes, Couldn’t Delete Profile, Couldn’t Create Profile, Couldn’t Load Cats, Couldn’t Delete Data) says Something went wrong: … and nothing is written. If the database itself cannot be opened, the app shows Your data couldn’t be loaded instead of the tabs — see Troubleshooting.