Tips on getting cat less stressed

[Aito]

So I've just posted my first thread yesterday after finding the forum and I was gonna ask: What are some ways to make cats more comfortable with the process? My cat gets so stressed out and acts like she hates me whenever I prick her ear or give her insulin shot. I know we've only been doing it for two days but will she always act like this? She's always been a bit of a grump, hating being disturbed or being pet when she wasn't in the mood.
Also, how do you take a cat's glucose without help? I've seen people do it and I can't seem to do it, I tried it today and had a full blown panic attack about not being able to do it right.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

With testing, giving a treat every time you test can help for your kitty to associate testing with getting a treat. You want to give a treat regardless of whether the test is successful or not. Most of the members here use freeze dried chicken (or other protein) or even cooked, unseasoned chicken but as long at it's low carb, any threat is fine.

When giving a shot, I would give my kitty her insulin when her head was in her food. She was very food motivated and didn't even notice the shot. And again, food is a "treat."

I managed my cat's diabetes on my own. We had a testing spot -- or at least in the beginning, I had a spot where we tested. I used my kitchen counter because it was a good height and it was well lit. I held Gabby's ear firmly. The meter was set up with the strip almost all the way in, and I tended to hold the lancet between my teeth. I'd grab the lancet, poke, milk her ear a bit, push the strip fully into the meter and test. If that doesn't work, you can try burrito wrapping your cat.

Just an observation, the Royal Canin food you're using is quite high in carbohydrates. You may want to find a lower carb bood.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Up on the counter is a good idea. It looked like a crime scene with my first sugar cat until I spread out a beach towel on the table where the light was better and the other cats and a dog wouldn't snoop around. I made it a ritual so there were no surprises, laid everything out ahead of time and even sang Mockingbird, Hush little baby don't say a word... Trust is everything, they know this is going to hurt but eventually I could just thump the chair and Nigel would just jump right up.
Noah was our second and that was a bit more work. He hated being picked up so I moved his schedule to a time when there was no barking, traffic noise or ringing phones. Same thing with him, laid everything out ahead of time and sang the same song.
Your profile says you're just 21. I know this is not what you expected and your life schedule will change, it's easier when you're retired and have all the time in the world. I know all about panic attacks, it's not just you. Poking holes in a cat is never easy but it doesn't have to be awful. Keep posting and know you're in the best possible place being here. There are no stupid questions here and we've all been where you are now.

 

[Aito]

With testing, giving a treat every time you test can help for your kitty to associate testing with getting a treat. You want to give a treat regardless of whether the test is successful or not. Most of the members here use freeze dried chicken (or other protein) or even cooked, unseasoned chicken but as long at it's low carb, any threat is fine.

When giving a shot, I would give my kitty her insulin when her head was in her food. She was very food motivated and didn't even notice the shot. And again, food is a "treat."

I managed my cat's diabetes on my own. We had a testing spot -- or at least in the beginning, I had a spot where we tested. I used my kitchen counter because it was a good height and it was well lit. I held Gabby's ear firmly. The meter was set up with the strip almost all the way in, and I tended to hold the lancet between my teeth. I'd grab the lancet, poke, milk her ear a bit, push the strip fully into the meter and test. If that doesn't work, you can try burrito wrapping your cat.

Just an observation, the Royal Canin food you're using is quite high in carbohydrates. You may want to find a lower carb bood.

Thank you for the advice! She would absolutely love some cooked chicken. Her insulin shot isnt really a problem as she doesn't seem to mind it much but she hates her ears being touched, she makes a fuss out of everything haha!
And yes, you are right about the royal canin food, someone else also mentioned it on my thread from yesterday and sent me a list of better options so don't worry, I'm looking into switching her food to one of those!

 

[Aito]

Up on the counter is a good idea. It looked like a crime scene with my first sugar cat until I spread out a beach towel on the table where the light was better and the other cats and a dog wouldn't snoop around. I made it a ritual so there were no surprises, laid everything out ahead of time and even sang Mockingbird, Hush little baby don't say a word... Trust is everything, they know this is going to hurt but eventually I could just thump the chair and Nigel would just jump right up.
Noah was our second and that was a bit more work. He hated being picked up so I moved his schedule to a time when there was no barking, traffic noise or ringing phones. Same thing with him, laid everything out ahead of time and sang the same song.
Your profile says you're just 21. I know this is not what you expected and your life schedule will change, it's easier when you're retired and have all the time in the world. I know all about panic attacks, it's not just you. Poking holes in a cat is never easy but it doesn't have to be awful. Keep posting and know you're in the best possible place being here. There are no stupid questions here and we've all been where you are now.

Thanks a lot for everything you said! I started putting her on a couch in the living room so she knows that when she's on that specific couch she's getting tested/insulin. She does trust me a lot because she always comes to me whenever she has a problem, like when she throws up a hairball (very rarely) she always does it right in front of me and makes sure I notice that she is having a hard time. I think I'm just annoying her tho haha! She still sleeps on the same spot in front of my door but I just know she's grumpy because I keep trying to poke her.
And yeah, I am 21 and this is really unexpected. But I would do anything necessary to help this cat. She has been an emotional support animal for me since I was 9 years old and struggling with anorexia. I may be young but she's an old lady now (12) so it's my turn to support her.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

That's a very sweet and honest story. It took me too long to be a really good cat daddy, if this had happened to me at 21 I would have run out of the room screaming with my hair on fire. I had very long hair, was a bachelor and worked seven nights a week after my day job delivering pizzas etc. You know the deal with most men, 21 on the outside, 12 on the inside. That was me.
You're only young once but you can be immature forever.

 

[Aito]

That's a very sweet and honest story. It took me too long to be a really good cat daddy, if this had happened to me at 21 I would have run out of the room screaming with my hair on fire. I had very long hair, was a bachelor and worked seven nights a week after my day job delivering pizzas etc. You know the deal with most men, 21 on the outside, 12 on the inside. That was me.
You're only young once but you can be immature forever.

That's very true haha! And I wouldn't lie, I'm pretty overwhelmed myself and it would have probably been worse and harder if there wasn't a pandemic. I already don't get out of the house much, I go to online classes and I have a remote job so it's not that difficult to keep an eye on the furbaby.

 

[Chris and Checkers]

Working and schooling from home sounds like you are in a great situation to look after your furbaby.

Starting blood glucose testing is really hard in the beginning. But with time it will get easier. I think the hardest part for me was getting over my fear and anxiety about hurting him. But then I realized that it is really important for his safety to test. Now he comes to remind me when it is time for testing.

Building a routine around it and of course offering treats as a reward really help. Plus the more you do it the easier it is to get a big enough drop of blood for the meter, as the capillaries in their ears adjust.

 

[Katherine&Ruby]

Testing at the beginning was absolutely the hardest thing for me. I was so stressed out that my kitty could feel my anguish and for weeks it was like . At some point, I got one of those lancing devices instead of trying to poke her ear freehand (everyone here said it was the easiest way ) and it changed everything. I got blood out quickly, we found a place on the couch next to the arm where I would cuddle up with her, and how when she hears me warm the sock in the microwave, she comes out of where ever she is napping and hops onto the couch to wait for me to do my thing. Cats have a reputation for being stubborn but they absolutely LOVE routine. For most of the first year of Ruby's diabetes I managed her testing and shots on my own because she wasn't used to my partner yet and I didn't want him to make her nervous or jumpy, but now he tests her all day long while he works from home and they have bonded over the experience. It does get better, please don't lose heart. Sica will love you even more for taking such good care of her.

 

[Aito]

Working and schooling from home sounds like you are in a great situation to look after your furbaby.

Starting blood glucose testing is really hard in the beginning. But with time it will get easier. I think the hardest part for me was getting over my fear and anxiety about hurting him. But then I realized that it is really important for his safety to test. Now he comes to remind me when it is time for testing.

Building a routine around it and of course offering treats as a reward really help. Plus the more you do it the easier it is to get a big enough drop of blood for the meter, as the capillaries in their ears adjust.

Omg speaking of blood I think i poked her wrong last night and there was so much blood and she scratched it and there was more. It stopped after a couple minutes when I held her ear tight with a cotton ball. But that was so scary and I keep being worried that she'll hate me because she thinks I'm hurting her for no reason.

 

[MaSha]

So I've just posted my first thread yesterday after finding the forum and I was gonna ask: What are some ways to make cats more comfortable with the process? My cat gets so stressed out and acts like she hates me whenever I prick her ear or give her insulin shot. I know we've only been doing it for two days but will she always act like this? She's always been a bit of a grump, hating being disturbed or being pet when she wasn't in the mood.
Also, how do you take a cat's glucose without help? I've seen people do it and I can't seem to do it, I tried it today and had a full blown panic attack about not being able to do it right.

You've got some great advice! I'd just like to add one thing that has helped A LOT. Tissue can get inflamed even after one poking, let alone if it's a regular thing. I use calcium-alginates in powder not only to stop the bleeding, but to prevent and if need be treat inflammation and infection.
They are nothing short of a miracle. Cats are less stressed if there are no consequences once the main stress-event has ended.

I had been using these products for years before using them on our cat. They come in different forms. The most convenient one is the powder. You just wet the area with a saline solution (very important since the potassium in it will interact with the calcium and accelerate the stopping of bleeding, btw blood itself has the same effect) and put some powder on it and that's it.

The brand I use and can wholeheartedly recommend is this: https://www.easyparapharmacie.co.uk/coalgan-blood-stop-powder-8g.html
In the US they have only dressings BleedCease, but it's the same thing and works in the same way.
For those who live in France, just look for Coalgan poudre, Laboratoires Brothier.
You can take a look at this site to see if they have a distribution in your country: https://www.brothier.com/entreprise/international/#onglet_panel_content

It also helped with the wounds from scratching.

 

[Aito]

You've got some great advice! I'd just like to add one thing that has helped A LOT. Tissue can get inflamed even after one poking, let alone if it's a regular thing. I use calcium-alginates in powder not only to stop the bleeding, but to prevent and if need be treat inflammation and infection.
They are nothing short of a miracle. Cats are less stressed if there are no consequences once the main stress-event has ended.

I had been using these products for years before using them on our cat. They come in different forms. The most convenient one is the powder. You just wet the area with a saline solution (very important since the potassium in it will interact with the calcium and accelerate the stopping of bleeding, btw blood itself has the same effect) and put some powder on it and that's it.

The brand I use and can wholeheartedly recommend is this: https://www.easyparapharmacie.co.uk/coalgan-blood-stop-powder-8g.html
In the US they have only dressings BleedCease, but it's the same thing and works in the same way.
For those who live in France, just look for Coalgan poudre, Laboratoires Brothier.
You can take a look at this site to see if they have a distribution in your country: https://www.brothier.com/entreprise/international/#onglet_panel_content

It also helped with the wounds from scratching.

Oh awesome!! I'll totally look for it thank you, I was worried today that her ears were getting a little bit inflamed

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Testing at the beginning was absolutely the hardest thing for me.

The day Nigel came home I got my first lesson. A tech took his blood and then I did "the hard part", injecting him. That was a bit misleading, testing was much harder and is the number one thing I hear from new members.

there was so much blood

Our second cat had only one good testing ear and even after years of practice there would be days when he would flinch and it looked like I shredded his tiny ear. When a cat shakes his head and you have to wipe blood droplets off the wall I don't know if 'guilt' really describes it. It's probably going to happen to you and you'll both get over it. It sounds so corny to say an animal knows you're only trying to help but they do. Everyone has at some point stepped on a cat's tail; you apologize, they don't hold a grudge, it's over. It's only humans that are good with manipulating other humans with guilt, not really a nice quality. Yes mother I know I pooped my pants and I'm still sorry, if I recall I was only four months old at the time.