11/5: Cliff|AMPS=431, PMPS=410

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MiCo

MiCo

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Hello, & Happy Caturday from the US! :)

Our civvie cat Stella woke us up right before 5am here, to start Cliff's morning routine of test/feed/shoot! He is still being a little skittish, but we got the job done.

In terms of my pre-shot routine (because some of you asked yesterday) here's what we are currently doing:
  • Come downstairs to the kitchen, where we normal feed them, and Cliff is waiting in his normal spot.
  • I warm the rice sock and get the insulin ready (measure and put the cap back on, so it's all ready to go in a few minutes.)
  • I try to talk to them and pet both cats, especially on the ears. Cliff stays for all that. But as soon as I start to reach for my supplies to poke, he gets skittish and runs. I put everything down and go back to giving them affection. I have treats to lure him back to the spot. If I walk towards him, he starts running from me. I eventually get close and grab him, warm his ear while petting him and then test. This doesn't take long now. I give him a treat immediately after and then I feed them.
  • I wait until he's just about done eating, and then we grab and poke. He's pretty skittish and positioning himself to run the entire time he's eating.
Please help! Any advice is appreciated. I don't want him to be so skittish/nervous around me, or about feeding time. I have less time in the morning to hangout pre-test, but at night when I get home I usually have 45 min to an hour to just hangout and pet them both. He didn't seem as nervous last night.

Oh, and Cliff is not a cat we can pick-up, at all, ever. Unless we need to grab and move him in case of an emergency. Like, if we have a tornado warning or something and I pick him up to go to the basement with me. So, I can't just pick him up and hold him to snuggle/talk pre-testing. :)

Thanks in advance!
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Well, I completely crashed today (after the AM routine.) Might post more about that in an off-topic thread. Aside from feedings, I did nothing today. Tried to get a BG test mid-morning, but Cliff flicked his ear so I got an error (too little blood) and tried poking again, but didn't have a extra strip handy where we were.

So, due to fatigue, not much experimenting with the routine tonight. Notes below:
  • Took a little longer with the routine tonight & tried singing the hokey pokey song. Hubs liked that; cats-not do much.
  • Tried Purina DM food tonight (mixed with spoon of FF) and civvie cat loved it-gobbled it up. Cliff ate less vigorously and seemed to get nervous when he was almost done, bc that's when we've been poking him. So, for the first time-he didn't clean his plate. Will keep an eye on that at future feedings. He's at abt 5.5oz so far today, so I'm not really worried. Just don't want him to associate the food with the poking and stop eating.
  • I gave the shot! That's the big woohoo moment! I hope it went in. Hard to tell with just 1u to administer, bc there's not much of a "plunge" and it feels like you didn't do much. But I gave him a treat and gently touched his fur to feel if it was wet. I think we can call this a success! First shot by me, by myself!
  • Will try to test before bed.
Ok my new friends! Thanks again for all your help & support.

Quick 3 below:
Thankful for...
  1. Supportive Hubby
  2. Flannel sheets
  3. My nephews (we facetimed last night-cuties!)
 
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You're well on your way to getting this new routine under control, Michele. It's still very early days. :)

Teasel is a very cooperative cat but I've stacked the odds in my favour by training all three of mine to eat in separate rooms. Makes feeding different food, etc. much easier. Teasel's special area where testing, feeding and shooting happens is on the bath mat in my main bathroom. I keep his treats in a jar in the vanity in there and he knows this is where the goodies are doled out. It's easier for me to be sitting on the floor with him between my legs facing forward to do ear pokes or shots. He now usually waits in the hall near the open bathroom door when it's time for "stuff" to happen. He also doesn't really like being picked up so I use virtually no restraint other than enclosing him loosely between my legs.

Sounds like Cliff is more skittish and will need more training time. If there's any way you can get him to accept eating, etc. in a small area it'll make it all much easier.
 
I like Kris' idea. Also, could you build in a little more time in the am? It sounds like when things are less rushed at night, it is working better? Something you might try over the weekend is to give treats without a poke - lots of pets, playing with the ear and then the treat and let him go. The trick is to associate the restraint and the ears with a treat.

One thing you are definitely doing right is to not take no for an answer. Lots of people get intimidated by the cat and worry about his reaction and feel bad about "hurting" him, but a part of this is to understand clearly in your mind that this process must be done and that it doesn't hurt. You have to test and give him insulin to keep him safe. (And you are the mommy and what you say, goes)

Are you feeling stressed about the whole routine? (Very understandable). Some people softly sing during the process to calm themselves and the cat. One favorite is a version of the hokey pokey - "we have some treats, some great good treats, then we get a pokey poke and we all settle down. That's what it's all about... (Or something like that)
 
Thank you, both! All great suggestions. This is the first weekend since starting the insulin, and I have no plans other than trying to regain Cliff's trust and spending quality time both cats. I will definitely try to incorporate some of your suggestions! I love the hokey pokey song idea. :)

It's amazing what we are capable of doing for our cats. When I first got Cliff's diagnosis and watched the first cat insulin demo on YT, I started crying and thought there was no way I could do this. And even at the vet's office with the tech and their hospital/house cat--I didn't want to hurt their cat, But knowing that this is what Cliff needs to get better drives me to do what is best for him! I hope that helps others to know we all may feel nervous to start, but we are more capable than we realize in terms of what we can do.

Thanks again!
 
MiCo said:
Thank you, both! All great suggestions. This is the first weekend since starting the insulin, and I have no plans other than trying to regain Cliff's trust and spending quality time both cats. I will definitely try to incorporate some of your suggestions! I love the hokey pokey song idea. :)

It's amazing what we are capable of doing for our cats. When I first got Cliff's diagnosis and watched the first cat insulin demo on YT, I started crying and thought there was no way I could do this. And even at the vet's office with the tech and their hospital/house cat--I didn't want to hurt their cat, But knowing that this is what Cliff needs to get better drives me to do what is best for him! I hope that helps others to know we all may feel nervous to start, but we are more capable than we realize in terms of what we can do.

Thanks again!
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So, so true! :smuggrin:
 
I agree, I think Kris's suggestion is great. A smaller area would probably help, especially if no one else was around. I think the best thing to do for now is to do lots of treats like Sue suggested. If you can get him to the "test spot" and play with his ears, then treat, that might help a lot. :)
 
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