First of all, welcome, and kudos for doing home BG testing. It's important to keep your cat safe by testing at home.
I know this will be counter to what others are saying, but I went to finer needles almost from the start. My cat barely feels them and his ears show no evidence of frequent poking. I use 33 gauge and I poke free hand. I cut cotton cosmetic pads in half and use a half to hold behind his ear for poking and then I fold the pad over the bleeding for several seconds after. I reuse the pad a few times. I get the best pokes just to the outside of the "edge" vein. And I try to mimic a lancet device with my motion, going very quickly and lightly. You do not need to poke hard or thru, those lancets are VERY sharp (as you will find out the first time you poke yourself). Once you discover the sweet spot, it doesn't take a hard poke to draw blood. You will get better with practice, and I do think you will like free hand better than the lancet device. Better control. The only time I have trouble is if his ears are cold, like first thing in the morning or wee hours, so I just rub his ear a bit, he likes it. Some use a bag of warmed (uncooked) rice to warm ear, but my cat hated that. Oh, cheapest lancets are at WalMart if you have one (don't see where you are located). I get the ReliOn Micro-Thin 33 gauge lancets. they are turquoise in a blue box, about $1.48 for 100.
I started with AlphaTrak meter, as well, as directed by my vet. But, after being convinced by others here that a cat can be monitored using a human meter, I switched to the ReliOn Micro, also WalMart. The strips are MUCH cheaper. If you were feeding your cat dry food at Dx and are now switching to wet only, he may go in to remission quickly, so you may not be buying strips long, as he may go into remission from diet change only. But, the savings from using a human meter can be substantial, so it is something to consider.
There is lot to learn and absorb and it can be very overwhelming at first. But be assured that there will come a time when you are feeling more confident about what you are doing! I see you are using lantus, so go to the lantus forum and post (if you have not yet) and ask for help getting your Spread sheet up (if you have not yet). You will be amazed at the support.
or use a pill bottle filled with warm water to hold again ear also gives you a surface to poke against. If you try to poke yourself you'll see how sift or easy you can really be and still get a droplet. Or use a bigger gauge lancet say a 28 gauge. Good lucK and kudos to you for home testing!! It gets easier, I promise. And remember to reward after each session good or bad.
