Nicked the Ear Vein :-(

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Michele A & Christy

Michele A & Christy

Member Since 2022
Please tell me I'm not the only one whose cat jerked their head and the vein got nicked and OMG so much blood.

I feel like the worst cat mom, ever.

I got the bleeding stopped within seconds but not before she and I both got it all over everything. Her by shaking her head (just once, then I held her head firmly but gently) and me by reaching for another cotton pad with a pretty big blob-streak of blood on my hand.

She was trying to scratch the ear with her back leg while I was applying pressure and, nope, we can't have that. Thankfully the urge to scratch subsided the instant I put pain-relief antibiotic cream on the wound (after the bleeding stopped).

I test and inject on the kitchen counter and there were blood splatters and globs on the counter, the cabinets, the sink, the dish soap, the floor, the backsplash, in her food bowls, and on my face and arms.

And she has anemia! And I made her bleed out all those precious red blood cells!! :arghh::arghh::arghh:

I did, at least, have the presence of mind to touch the test strip to one of the blood blobs on her ear fur so at least I got a reading. Yay?

:arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh:
 
:smuggrin: Lol, this had me laughing!
I just sliced open Abbots ear two days ago. I was going in for the poke just as he was diving in the food plate, I usually test with treats, sometimes when he’s eating, but usually wait until he’s into the bowl a bit. BIG mistake. He flicked his head like 180 with the lancet in there and it basically ripped his ear. There was blood EVERYWHERE

funny thing is, he just kept eating! o_O
It’s since healed up fine. So no you’re not the only one.
 
AbbottTheCat said:
:smuggrin: Lol, this had me laughing!
I just sliced open Abbots ear two days ago. I was going in for the poke just as he was diving in the food plate, I usually test with treats, sometimes when he’s eating, but usually wait until he’s into the bowl a bit. BIG mistake. He flicked his head like 180 with the lancet in there and it basically ripped his ear. There was blood EVERYWHERE

funny thing is, he just kept eating! o_O
It’s since healed up fine. So no you’re not the only one.
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Oh, nooooooo!!

But that's hilarious that he just kept on munching. I had home-cooked, diced liver standing by as a treat for being poked and I dumped a pile of it in front of her as an apology. (And to help her regenerate more RBCs). So at least the testing session ended with her feeling like she'd just won the treat lottery.

Thanks @AbbottTheCat and @Kahluasmom for letting me know I'm not the only one.
 
I think nicking the vein is a rite of passage. They don’t call it the “Vampire Club” for nothing. :)
(and yes, I’m pretty sure we’ve all done it at one time or another, so don’t feel bad)
 
Michele A & Christy said:
And she has anemia
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Oh Michele, your description of the bloody scene made me belly laugh. I'm sorry for laughing but bloody horror scenes happened a lot to me in the beginning too. Cleo wouldn't stay still so the blood went into EVERY room, plus her favorite place...on my bed. Bloody sheets:banghead:.
Great job with the testing:bighug: and awesome job getting things done. With all you have going on, you keep going forward and that is truly amazing.

I just read that Christy has anemia. I am tagging @Suzanne & Darcy for you. I think she has experience with it. I would also encourage you to add this info to your signature.
 
I can’t remember if we have talked about anemia before. What is the cause of the anemia? Does she have CKD? What level of anemia? What’s her hematocrit number and what is the RBC? Do you have labs? I’m hoping it’s just mild anemia. What does the vet say? As for the blood…. sorry about this, but, yep, it happened to us too! I remember someone saying that it looked like a crime scene at their house, which made me laugh (I could relate.)
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I can’t remember if we have talked about anemia before. What is the cause of the anemia? Does she have CKD? What level of anemia? What’s her hematocrit number and what is the RBC? Do you have labs? I’m hoping it’s just mild anemia. What does the vet say? As for the blood…. sorry about this, but, yep, it happened to us too! I remember someone saying that it looked like a crime scene at their house, which made me laugh (I could relate.)
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@Suzanne & Darcy - Christy had a slightly low RBC count when first dx'd on July 16. Then it was still at the same low level at the 1-week and 2-week checkups.

Christy's BUN and creatinine are elevated. They weren't at the diagnosis visit, but were at 1-week and 2-week checkups. We're probably at "early" stage CKD. Vet said to give her home-cooked calf liver to see if that helps and to, of course, get as much water into her orally as I can.

When the BUN and creatinine were elevated at the 1st checkup (July 25), her WBC was high. So we did a week of Veraflox, hoping that there was a UTI causing the high kidney values. But at 2nd checkup, WBC (and monocytes and lymphocytes) were normal yet kidney values were still up.

Numbers from 2-week visit, Aug 1, 2022:
  • BUN 44 (range 18 - 36)
  • CREAT 3.1 (range 0.6 - 2.0)
  • Glucose 269 (range 56 - 153)
  • RBC 6.25 (range 7.7 - 12.8)
  • HCT 35.18 (range 33.7 - 55.4)
  • MCV 56 (range 35 - 52)
  • MCH 17.3 (range 10.10 - 16.9)
 
Michele A & Christy said:
@Suzanne & Darcy - Christy had a slightly low RBC count when first dx'd on July 16. Then it was still at the same low level at the 1-week and 2-week checkups.

Christy's BUN and creatinine are elevated. They weren't at the diagnosis visit, but were at 1-week and 2-week checkups. We're probably at "early" stage CKD. Vet said to give her home-cooked calf liver to see if that helps and to, of course, get as much water into her orally as I can.

When the BUN and creatinine were elevated at the 1st checkup (July 25), her WBC was high. So we did a week of Veraflox, hoping that there was a UTI causing the high kidney values. But at 2nd checkup, WBC (and monocytes and lymphocytes) were normal yet kidney values were still up.

Numbers from 2-week visit, Aug 1, 2022:
  • BUN 44 (range 18 - 36)
  • CREAT 3.1 (range 0.6 - 2.0)
  • Glucose 269 (range 56 - 153)
  • RBC 6.25 (range 7.7 - 12.8)
  • HCT 35.18 (range 33.7 - 55.4)
  • MCV 56 (range 35 - 52)
  • MCH 17.3 (range 10.10 - 16.9)
[/QUOTE
I would start her on a B-Complex supplement and do B-12 injections at least monthly (starting with weekly for a few weeks) you can ask your vet for a recommendation as you would need an Rx for a bottle of B-12 or just buy it from the vet. I take Jarrow B Right Capsules and divide them into tenths by putting them into size 4 gelatin capsules. A B-Complex supplement can be very helpful to CKD kitties and help them go a lot longer before they need to start other treatments like ESAs (and you are a LONG way from that and I really hope she will be stable for a long, long time.)
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Suzanne & Darcy said:
I would start her on a B-Complex supplement and do B-12 injections at least monthly (starting with weekly for a few weeks) you can ask your vet for a recommendation as you would need an Rx for a bottle of B-12 or just buy it from the vet. I take Jarrow B Right Capsules and divide them into tenths by putting them into size 4 gelatin capsules. A B-Complex supplement can be very helpful to CKD kitties and help them go a lot longer before they need to start other treatments like ESAs (and you are a LONG way from that and I really hope she will be stable for a long, long time.)
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Thanks, @Suzanne & Darcy.

I had a CKD kitty back in the late 1990's/early 2000's. I did eventually start giving him e-poietin, but it was in the last maybe year and a half of his life.

However, B-Complex wasn't recommended back then, so I'm happy to see more things I can do to help Christy this time around. Also, back then we were told to cut protein intake drastically, which I didn't agree with because "obligate carnivore", so I'm also happy to see that vet thinking has come around on that.

I'll get the B-Complex ordered and request a prescription for the injectable B-12. I used to have a little piece of wood with half-drilled holes in it to put the empty bottom halves in while I filled them with powder; hopefully it's still around here somewhere because my ex took the drill when he moved out. :banghead:

Thanks again!
 
I use the flat Lego pieces. The back side of the standard Lego pieces holds the size 4 gelcaps perfectly. My son made me a little stand by snapping 4 Legos together into a square/rectangle. Your thing with the holes in the wood sounds really good. This gets me to thinking. I understand that there are little things sold on Amazon for holding the capsules while you fill them.
 
I'm linking the felinecrf.org (the best site for all information on CKD and has a wonderful support groups associated with it, too.) This is long and covers all causes, etc. You will eventually scroll down to the section on treatments and there's a little about B-Vitamins. There really isn't a downside to giving the B-Complex (well... maybe having to fill those little capsules :-) ) Loads of people on the CKD support group use the Jarrow B Right. It's highly recommended.

I'm with you on the protein! Cats need protein to build muscle mass. I have used renal diets, but only after exhausing all other possibilities and the kidney values just got very bad. My vet won't even recommend using them up until a certain point. She will recommend that I feed them what I want and then add in the phophorus binders if the phosphorus values warrant it. I have transitioned all of my cats over to lower phosphorus foods to just reduce the workload on their kidneys.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I use the flat Lego pieces
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I get PEG into Daniel by mushing it up into probiotic yogurt. He's one of our two problem children, cannot be pilled unless he's in his high chair with his favorite Looloo. Cats are lactose intolerant but it doesn't mess with their systems. He won't see it unless it's on a darker dish and his 'high chair' is being up on the counter, the last place on Earth they still understand is the forbidden zone. That way the others won't disturb his fine dining. ;)
 
Noah & me (GA) said:
I get PEG into Daniel by mushing it up into probiotic yogurt. He's one of our two problem children, cannot be pilled unless he's in his high chair with his favorite Looloo. Cats are lactose intolerant but it doesn't mess with their systems. He won't see it unless it's on a darker dish and his 'high chair' is being up on the counter, the last place on Earth they still understand is the forbidden zone. That way the others won't disturb his fine dining. ;)
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What is PEG?
 
For anemia, you may want to try Liqui-Tinic. It's the only liquid vitamin I know of that also contains iron and is safe for diabetics (there is a similar product, Pet-Tinic, but the first ingredient is corn syrup which no cat needs ever). I've used Liqui-Tinic for senior cats with kidney disease and sickly foster kittens that came in with flea anemia, and believe it saved their little kitten lives. It can be hard to find locally but these places are supposed to have it:

https://www.amazon.com/Liqui-Tinic-4x-2-oz/dp/B006N5NJWC

https://www.walmartpetrx.com/p-10711-liqui-tinic-4x-vitamin-supplement-for-dogs-and-cats.aspx
 
Deborah & Muffy(GA) & Wendall said:
For anemia, you may want to try Liqui-Tinic. It's the only liquid vitamin I know of that also contains iron and is safe for diabetics (there is a similar product, Pet-Tinic, but the first ingredient is corn syrup which no cat needs ever). I've used Liqui-Tinic for senior cats with kidney disease and sickly foster kittens that came in with flea anemia, and believe it saved their little kitten lives. It can be hard to find locally but these places are supposed to have it:

https://www.amazon.com/Liqui-Tinic-4x-2-oz/dp/B006N5NJWC

https://www.walmartpetrx.com/p-10711-liqui-tinic-4x-vitamin-supplement-for-dogs-and-cats.aspx
Click to expand...

Thank you so much, Deborah! I just ordered a bottle.
 
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