Trouble getting blood from Loki

[Lynda and Louis]

Hi Friends,
I’m posting this request for help for a friend who is not keen on the computer or internet

Her beautiful black Loki was recently diagnosed and she is having a hell of a time getting any blood out of him.
I have been her coach as I have been at it for a couple years with my Louis

Loki is a long and skinny guy. Too skinny really. But he has been doing really well on his new high protein diet. His mama even thinks he’s gained a bit

Anyway we have poked the hell out of his ears. I finally got enough to get a reading. Mama tried his paw and he nearly too her hand off

any suggestions? Next we were going to try maybe shaving his ears so we can see veins better. Also going yo warm them up first.

Im not aware of any other sites to poke him.
I am forever grateful to the people on this site. It saved me when I was first dealing with my Lou. He is doing great and stable. Still on Prozinc.
TIA
Lynda and Louis

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Yes you can try shaving his hair on his ears, sime people try and poke on the opposite side Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming

Here is a video one of our members did
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
don't want to aim for the vein

Diabetic Cat Care Home Testing Your Cat’s BG

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

It's often hard to see what's going on if a cat's ears are black. One trick is to poke on the inside surface of the ear vs the outside surface since often there's both less fur and the skin may be lighter which makes it easier to see the blood. You still poke the same area -- along the outer edge -- just not on the furry side.

It also can take a while for the capillary bed along the outer ear to develop. It can actually take a couple of weeks of poking before it becomes easier to draw blood. It can help if you use a wider gauge lancet, as well. Using a 28 gauge may make it easier and once Loki's ear starts to bleed more easily, you can use a thinner lancet (e.g., a 30 gauge).

Finally, a small amount of vasoline may help the blood to bead up.

A couple of practical suggestions: If the first poke doesn't draw blood, try to poke as close as possible to the original spot for a second poke. If necessary, scrape the blood onto your fingernail and test from that drop.

 

[Lynda and Louis]

Yes you can try shaving his hair on his ears, sime people try and poke on the opposite side Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming

Here is a video one of our members did
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
don't want to aim for the vein

Diabetic Cat Care Home Testing Your Cat’s BG

Yes you can try shaving his hair on his ears, sime people try and poke on the opposite side Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming

Here is a video one of our members did
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
don't want to aim for the vein

Diabetic Cat Care Home Testing Your Cat’s BG

Thanks so much. This helped a lot!

 

[Lynda and Louis]

It's often hard to see what's going on if a cat's ears are black. One trick is to poke on the inside surface of the ear vs the outside surface since often there's both less fur and the skin may be lighter which makes it easier to see the blood. You still poke the same area -- along the outer edge -- just not on the furry side.

It also can take a while for the capillary bed along the outer ear to develop. It can actually take a couple of weeks of poking before it becomes easier to draw blood. It can help if you use a wider gauge lancet, as well. Using a 28 gauge may make it easier and once Loki's ear starts to bleed more easily, you can use a thinner lancet (e.g., a 30 gauge).

Finally, a small amount of vasoline may help the blood to bead up.

A couple of practical suggestions: If the first poke doesn't draw blood, try to poke as close as possible to the original spot for a second poke. If necessary, scrape the blood onto your fingernail and test from that drop.

Thanks so much. Really appreciate the help!

 

[JL and Chip]

Good lighting can also help. I often tested under a bright light or used a small flashlight to see the bead of blood.

 

[Mikey’sDad]

I am fairly new on here, since August, but I was having a Hell of a time with the ear thing. It got solved by the good people on this site
1 rub his ear a bit gently
2 dab a tad of Vaseline
3 use a 28 gauge Lancelet
They are cheap and sell them at Walgreens.
My poor cars ear were like a pin cushion until I used these tips. But the 28 gauge is the real deal, as I was using 33
Tom