10/26 Tiny Sole AMPS 184, +5: 220, +9: 137, +11: 89, PMPS: 94

Now for the rest of the evening Tiny RXs this

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On the ear. The bumps will go away in time. A couple of things you can do.

Make sure it's nice and warm. Use other ear when you can. Smaller Lancet might help. Does meter require large blood drop? Use law pad if Tiny allows it. Plenty of pain relief ointment each time. Pressure applied after poke.
Having same problem with the bumps, need to use rice bag everytime, a good cleaning with which hazel every few days has helped too.
 
That's a great idea!
I soak a paper towel pretty good with it,and have a dry one handy, watch the eyes ;) and then dry good. Then I try to use the triple antibiotic without the pain med in it, just the WM generic, and rub in real good, switch ears, even tho he prefers one over the other, but, no choice at this point :( I get good drops too at the top of the ear, trying to gine the sweet spot a break. OH, these cats :banghead:
 
Both, perhaps. Not sure because I don't know what I don't know, so aren't even sure what to ask. Is there additional information, or more that I might read or print?
 
Some kitties could definitely be more prone to developing some scar tissue
Why only one ear? In the beginning I poked both ears equally. The right one started getting the bumps & It must have hurt ,he would jerk his head away. Finally I just could not get blood from that ear It's been several months & I only use his left ear.
Used Neosporin on both but the left one has not developed bumps & still gives blood good. I do apply pressure for a few seconds & know where the "sweet spot is.
Ravan has always been very good about getting poked,lately he has run away, jerks his head away ,just does not want me to touch his ears any more. Like "he has had enough"

Also I started adding Binder to his food. Marje said she has never heard of a cat refusing to eat the food because of Binder in it. I'm very careful to mix the binder in a small amount of food & add more food on top. He'll sniff the food (a LOT)
look at me & walk away. His 2 sisters will run to his plate & sniff & walk away also? They obviously must smell it in the food. I found if I sprinkle a tiny bit of FortiFlora on top it masks the smell & he will eat his food then.

All Cats are Different! ;)
 
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There isn't any one document that discusses food in general and how to use it to control BG better to my knowledge.

There is documentation for hypos which goes into some details about when to use food and when to use karo/honey but to some extent, even that becomes an ECID scenario. Some cats are more carb sensitive than others so with some cats, LC will bring up numbers and with others one has to resort to MC or HC. There is no one size fits all and it depends on whether kitty is sitting on the edge of low numbers or they've already taken a deep dive or worse, taken a deep dive and want to stay there. I'm pretty sure you've found that one already but if not, holler.

Same pretty much holds true for everyday steering. Some folks feed 4 times a day, others 5 or 6 and the timing of feedings differs to some extent too. Some folks find that if they feed most of the cycle food allowance before +6 they get better control and a flatter cycle. Some of the food techniques come from paying attention to how much of a food bump you get when you feed them what food because most are eating variety of foods. The documentation for SLGS doesn't go into using food much at all....nothing more than a mere mention because it's not an aggressive approach as likely to require steering with food. The TR documentation about shooting and handling low numbers has a tad more in it about food but that's because folks are shooting low BGs.
 
Why only one ear?
That is the $1M question. While you'd expect the tissue in both ears to be the same, there could be a subtle difference even if not visible. It could be that whatever angle you are poking from for that ear is causing a little more tissue disruption. I know I found it easier on me to test my girl's left ear simply because I poked with my right hand. Even with kitty turned around facing the other way, the right ear always seemed a bit less comfortable for me (Her head was in the way!) Are you poking on the outside (hairy side) or on the inside of Ravan's ears? Either is fine but if the usual side is bothering him, you could try the other side although I know all too well that the hairy side is more problematic with a black cat!
 
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