Introducing Teddy Cat

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

Bailey

Member Since 2015
Teddy is a 6-year-old tabby we adopted at age 3. Diagnosed in May of this year. He is on two units of Lantus twice-daily, and injections have been easy. It's testing his blood glucose that we cannot seem to do!! Despite the tremendous amount of advice/tips on the site, and reviews of several good YouTube videos, we cannot seem to master the technique. We wouldn't mind having our veterinary clinic do it, but car travel is extremely stressful for Teddy, and he and his crate end up in a mess.

I was hoping that perhaps I could find someone in our area who would be willing to visit and help us learn. We are long-time pet owners of cats and dogs, have had other health issues to deal with in our animals, but the monitoring is the one thing we cannot seem to learn!
 
I'm so sorry you are having such difficulty. Could one of the vet techs from your vet clinic come help you? I've paid one to come to my house before to help me with some things I couldn't do alone. Or, to find someone in your area, maybe post on health or in the Lantus forum.
 
That was an idea we had, Sharon, so it is helpful for you to suggest it. We are not keen to subject Teddy to veterinary visits - of all of the cats we have ever had, a car ride/visit is the most stressful for him. I will contact our vets to see if one of the techs could make the trip (not far).

Ironically, I am a medical writer; I have a ton of experience in endocrinology and have written countless instructional guides on self-monitoring of blood glucose for humans... but we cannot confidently do what we need to for Teddy. Since the injections were so easy (and he's so accepting of them), we did not anticipate such difficulty with the monitoring.

Thanks for your quick response and kind help. I'll keep you posted.
 
You can also test from the pawpads. the big one in the center of the foot not the ones on the toes. I have to use this method on Squeaker and it is much easier on both of us.
 
Thank you so much, Anita - I did wonder about that since it is something I have read about. It might be easier for us - and for Teddy. It's certainly worth a try. The target would be the exact centre of the large pad on any of his feet?

With thanks from us in Dorval (a suburb of Montreal).
 
I don't have any advice to give that isn't elsewhere on this site, but I wanted to say that the biggest help for us was the rice filled sock (warmed in the microwave), and using a large enough lancet to start. We started with a 26 gauge, which is listed as "alternate site testing".

It still might help to tell us more about what you were having an issue with. Is he resisting you? Are you not getting any blood. Are you getting blood, but not enough? Etc. whatever the problem, I am sure we have all experienced it at one time or the other!

And I whole heartedly agree with the previous suggestion. When we had to give an intramuscular injection for the first time, my boy wasn't calm enough at the vet to be able to do it, so we paid a vet tech to come to the house. The first time she did it while we watched, and the second time we did it and she observed. It was very helpful to be able to do it in her own home where we were all comfortable.

Sorry I can't give pad help, we've always used the ears as neither boy liked his feet being touched at all.

Best,
Sandi.
 
Last edited:
Bailey said:
. The target would be the exact centre of the large pad on any of his feet?
Click to expand...
Not necessarily the exact center but anywhere on the large pad. If there is a lot of resistance, you can wrap him up in a towel like a burrito leaving the back feet exposed, lay him on your lap on his back and it makes then very compliant. I also have a baby sock filled with oatmeal that I microwave for 30 seconds and use it to warm the pad. I've used this method from the beginning of our journey into sugarland and it works very well for us. There are some folks who have said they would worry about infection but after 2 years there hasn't had a problem----the poke seals quickly.
 
Hello all... thanks for taking the time to write. I appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness.

Teddy is a very sweet and gentle cat - he does not resist his injections because he knows it means a treat. I think it is us that is proving to be the obstacle! We cannot get blood (he really wriggles when we go near his ears); he then tenses and of course so do we! It seemed easy every time our veterinary clinic's staff showed us - but we're failing at home.

I'm interested in the foot pad option.

I think ultimately our goal is to be able to monitor quite easily and frequently - with a solid feel for where his BG is, we can then make nutritional decisions. He likes DM but of course it is not inexpensive, and we have two other cats in the household. Ideally we would find one or two non-prescription products that would ensure Teddy's diabetic health but also be suitable for the others.

Thanks again to all.
 
Hi Bailey and welcome from a fellow Canuck.

I have found that testing Genghis is easiest when she is eating. That is not always the best thing to do if you need to stall a shot, but it worked for us. I started out by fussing with her ears and rubbing them a lot at every meal (she is fed multiple meals per day) so she got used to me doing it, it warms her ear and the food is a great distraction - I also "freehand" the lancet instead of using the device which works much more easily. She will not let me test her unless her face is in the bowl! This may also work for Teddy's feet. If you want to keep trying the ears, I started by putting bandaids on the thumb and forefinger of the opposite hand so I could be swift and deft without poking so many holes in myself (and yes, I was a pincushion for a week). Genghis simply wouldn't tolerate a cotton ball or pad or anything braced up against her ear.

About nutritional options - we started with DM but soon found it both expensive and Genghis tired of it. I have done a lot of research on Canadian food options and have made up a spreadsheet you can view here

I personally feed President's Choice Extra Meaty - the chicken variety in the medium sized purple can. It is a good quality food and very low-carb. If you peruse my spreadsheet (see Genghis SS below) you can see that I log the foods she eats and even a few % difference of calories from carbs makes a big difference. I have several pets with medical issues (costing me more than my mortgage each month!) so the PC varieties were a great choice for both carb content and my wallet.

There are other foods listed as well Performatrin and Boreal - once you get the testing under control, have faith I know you will! - you can see how different foods affect BG levels, sometimes dramatically. Fancy Feast pates (nothing with "gravy" or "slices" in the title) are also a good option, but they are 75 cents for a 3 oz can and the PC I can find at No Frills for 85 cents for a 5 oz can!!

Welcome again and hope this helps. Sorry I'm too far away to come and help you!
 
Last edited:
While you work on blood glucose testing, check my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for additional assessments which may be helpful in monitoring your cat, particularly, urine ketone and glucose testing, elimination, appetite, and water intake.
 
Melanie, your advice is precious - thanks to you and everyone else who took the time to write. We're going to try Teddy's ear again - and if it doesn't work, we'll try his pad.

Huge thanks for the food list. We'll use up the DM we have but transition to the PC food. We don't have No Frills in Quebec, but Maxi sells the 3 oz can for 65 cents/can. I spoke to the owner of the store we buy our dog's food from this morning - she is an amazing resource on nutrition questions - she is very big on Boreal food, and I do like that it is made in Canada - label looks good from a carb point of view so we'll likely try that as well.

I'll keep you posted on our progress!
Thanks, all.
 
As for the ear, one thing I found (and I'm new too) is to try to poke on the outer edge just above where the ear "bends" when he wrinkles it or pulls it backwards when I touch it. Also, close to the edge, but not on the edge. It took me a while, and sometimes I have to poke 3 times to get a test. Personally, I can't freehand, but the lancing device works for me. And, I too am a pincusion if the needle penetrates his ear straight through.
 
Hello sorry for the late reply, I am not an expert and you have alrady had such great advise but somehting that helped me when I had to test snafu and it was so hard in the begining was to get a small torch, just a mini one and then I rested his ear against the torch after the ear had been warmed with the rice sock with the light from the torch I was able to spot the red vein and hopefully get the lancet in the correct place to draw some blood... (but so many times he shook his head and this would have to be repeated with me crying !!!) but it does get easier over time and with practice , now when its time for a test he hops into the pot a kind of bed with built in scratch post - I put it in the middle of the kitchen and he just knows its that time ... We re now down to testing once a week as he is OTJ wish you well.
 
Janet, thank you so much for your note and for the tip! I'm happy to hear that it does get easier over time. Teddy is such a big gentle soul so we're hoping he'll forgive us...:)
 
It will get easier as you go! You just need to gain a little confidence with the whole procedure and you'll be fine; just keep reminding yourself that you're doing this to help him, not hurt him. And yes, he will forgive you, don't worry. :) Just remember to give special treats when you poke his ear so he learns to associate the two. I use one type of treat that Squallie is just crazy about and is ONLY a test-time treat, so he comes running now for the ear pokes!:):)
 
I wonder what I could get him. He has standard Friskies treats with his injections.
Our dog loves freeze dried liver treats. I wonder if I could find something like that to tempt Teddy with.
 
He tensed, we tensed, kitten and dog tried to see what was happening with Teddy, lancet went flying, husband cursed... just another morning in the office. We'll try again later.

Sigh.
 
Someone here suggested singing before you start to test. I tried it; it does help. I was more relaxed and Bubba was more relaxed. Our kitties pick up our emotions so if we can stay calm, they benefit. See if you can take Teddy to a spot where it is quiet and no other pets to interfere ( I know, my dog sometimes is in the kitchen waiting for her food and growls softly at me as I test Bubba ) and see if that will help you and hubby to be calmer.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top