Wally & Luke

[Luke]

hi everybody,
Wally's blood glucose numbers are high. I took him to the vet and we raise his lantus from two units twice a day,
to three units twice a day. Was instructed to give him a curve test in one week. He's showing signs of improvement
after four days. Wally's a difficult cat to draw blood from, I curve test every three months because of this. I want to start testing before shots and mid-cycle. Any tips for drawing blood from ears. There has to be a better way than what I'm doing.

Thanks,
Luke

 

[Jack the Cat]

This may sound silly, but this is how I got my Jack the Cat to be calm during testing.

I would pick him up and ask him "What's your number, Jack?" Repeating that phrase over and over while I place him on the counter in my bathroom. I would pet and pet for a little bit, still repeating that phrase. I then would let him smell the meter so he would associate the smell with the experience that was coming.

Then I got 2 cotton balls, a little bit of vaseline on his ears, then rubbed an ear til it was warm. I put the cotton balls in his ears, and started poking until I got a place that bled enough for the test. At the beginning there were lots of unsuccessful pokes until I got to know his ears and the best place to poke. It took a couple of days to do that. I then rubbed his ears until they stopped bleeding. Obviously in the beginning both Jack and I were stressed. But I knew I needed to calm down in order for Jack to calm down. I told him we would get through this together and we did!

If I was doing a curve, I would give a small treat - piece of chicken - after each test. Otherwise, Jack knew food was coming after the test.

I did the same thing when I was dosing him. I put him on the same counter, let him smell the syringe while telling him it was shot time...

Just my story. Good Luck Luke.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Hi and welcome Luke and Wally. It would be helpful to have more information on Wally, so we can help more effectively and see what's going on with him. The 2U twice a day is a high starting dose and raising it to 3U twice a day is a little alarming to me. Sometimes, too much insulin can look like not enough, I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. If you give a large dose, then the BG drops..kitty's body isn't used to a lower BG and the liver releases hormones and glycogen to bring the BG back up to what he's used to (even though the BG might be too high). So please create a signature so we can see diagnosis date, weight, what he's eating, etc.

Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the country/time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

Another thing that will help us help you when you get started consistently BG testing at home is to set up a spreadsheet like the one we use here. You will see how the trends and patterns emerge, and members can review his progress before offering suggestions or advice:
SPREADSHEET INSTRUCTIONS
UNDERSTANDING THE SPREADSHEET

Testing is a process of practice and patience. It takes awhile for the ears to "learn to bleed", as the more you test, the more capillaries form in the testing area, enabling you to get that blood drop easier. Here is a link to testing tips and videos:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
and a great on by one of our members: How to test your cat's bg at home: Video I made showing how to test your cat's blood sugar

It's very important to test before every injection, then again during the 12 hour cycle between shots. Please visit the Lantus forum HERE and read the yellow tagged stickies at the top of the page. Very important information for all Lantus users to know.

We would like to help you help Wally to a good regulating dose of insulin and will help you work on testing, plus...if needed see if adjustments need to be made to his diet.

 

[JeffJ]

Welcome to the forum Luke and Wally. Lots of good info here.

Lou (Idjit's mom) is correct - testing is quite the art form. Janet's video is quite good at showing how to get blood out of a squiggly worm (cat).

 

[Jill & Alex (GA)]

Hi Luke! So glad you've posted publicly.
Please check out the links provided. I think they'll be of help.

Obviously in the beginning both Jack and I were stressed. But I knew I needed to calm down in order for Jack to calm down. I told him we would get through this together and we did!

I wanted to quote @Jack the Cat because what was said is so important! You've probably heard the expression, "Never let them see you sweat!" Well, the same thing is true when dealing with cats. They tend to pick up on every feeling and emotion we have. So talk to Wally. Be as calm and confident as possible to reassure him.

A little practice goes a long way! Hang in there! You'll be a testing pro in no time!

 

[Marianne M]

Hi Luke and Wally. It does take lots of practice to get it down. Just ask my Mango. We poked and sometimes poked again but now we are a team of poke and bled in sometimes just one poke. I've poked myself plenty of times, had the head shake blood flung in my face, and through it all I can laugh and make Mango feel comfortable even if I am freaking out inside. My sugar boy now lays down waiting for the poke and test and then he get his meal. I even figured out the best way to give the insulin. He was getting annoyed when I picked my up after eating to give the shot and would hiss at me. So now I put his food down, let him start eating, the pinch of skin, slip the needle in, let it hang for a moment, he goes back to eating and then I push the plunger, wait a few seconds and remove the needle. He doesn't even seem to notice he got a shot! I know if the needle is hanging it's in the proper place and secure and leaving if for a second to two after the shot I am not removing it too soon and not getting all the insulin in. Works for me. We all seem to find what works for each of us. Singing, talking, petting, whatever works is a wonderful and confidence building. Good luck and come back often. We are all here for you and anyone else that needs help or just an place to share.

 

[Fedya and Izzy]

Hi, Luke and Wally, we're pretty new here too! I know how stressful it can be to get BG numbers we just started doing so about a week ago. It was really stressful at first we couldn't get Fedya to sit still and he would always twitch his ears so we could never get a sample from his flopping ear. It does take a lot of patience and understanding but I'm pretty sure that Fedya is pretty similar to Wally in that they both really like to resist. Slowly my father and I developed a system where we grab Fedya in our arms and lay him down on a toweled table on his side. You can keep him on his side by holding him lightly by the scruff and what I usually do is I take the towel he is laying on and put it underneath the ear that I am testing just so there is some support underneath his ear. I know this may seem a bit unorthodox but I hold a small flashlight in my mouth so I can see the vein at the edge of his ear and try my best not to hit it with my lancet (its okay if you do you'll just have some more blood), and then I quickly prick and test it with my monitor. Giving Wally a treat after testing is a great way to associate positive things with testing. If it's hard to capture the blood on the ear with your monitor because he resists or you can't be quick enough you can always try to get some blood on the back of your nail and test from there. Best of luck to you and Wally! You'll get it soon!