8/24 Mia AMPS 178;PMPS 134
- OP Janet & Mia
- Start date
How is Mia feeling and acting today? Cats are so much more than their BG numbers.
Carrying on the conversation from yesterday on dosing, there are some tricks people have used to help with those in between doses. You can get craft gear that has both a light and a magnifier. Some people use something you can put on your head that combines the two. I found it really helpful to do the dosing with the syringe over something white, only time I was happy I had a white kitchen sink! If not there, I would put a piece of white paper under where I was dosing. I used both a magnifier and sometimes a pair of cheap readers with extra magnification. If you have a light table, that might work too. Overhead light really helped. Another trick I saw, someone would take pictures with their phone of what they had put in the syringe, then magnify the picture to see if it really was what they wanted.
Carrying on the conversation from yesterday on dosing, there are some tricks people have used to help with those in between doses. You can get craft gear that has both a light and a magnifier. Some people use something you can put on your head that combines the two. I found it really helpful to do the dosing with the syringe over something white, only time I was happy I had a white kitchen sink! If not there, I would put a piece of white paper under where I was dosing. I used both a magnifier and sometimes a pair of cheap readers with extra magnification. If you have a light table, that might work too. Overhead light really helped. Another trick I saw, someone would take pictures with their phone of what they had put in the syringe, then magnify the picture to see if it really was what they wanted.
Janet & Mia
Member Since 2026
Thank you for this, Wendy .. and the understanding. I did order a head worn magnifier. Also got out my jeweler’s loupe. A friend with experience with a diabetic pet (cat) suggested I count the drops in 1 unit, then subtract 1/4, using that for future dosing reference. I used that this AM. Unfortunately, my eyes are bad enough that it took 20 minutes to try to confidently reach some semblance of .75! Mia is ok, not as perky. She has very pale ears and, even with the flashlight, there are few rewarding capillaries to be found. I warm the ears, massage, used a 30g and 26g lancet, use the proper area of the ear .. still get ‘color’, but not enough blood to coat the strip. I have to puncture the main vein to have a positive result. Today, I poked her 10 times with too little blood .. finally quit. In my mind, there is a happy medium between helping her and torturing her. I love her dearly, but she has never taken kindly to ‘procedures’, and her sweet demeanor toward us is changing to wary and no purrs. So, I will keep doing the best I can, but I will let her body and demeanor tell me when she has had enough, rather than trapping her in my perception of what could be /should be. She’s had a fabulous 13 years with us. I do so appreciate all the (support) advice offered on this forum and try to put it into play as best I can given the whole picture. Thanks so much!
I had a different problem with black ears. The blood would run and immediately hide! I found that a very tiny smear of Vaseline helped the blood to pool in one spot. I would put away the 30 gauge lancets for now. Mia's ears will learn to bleed over time, and then you can switch to the smaller lancets. The blood also flows from the top pointy bit of the ear down towards the head. With your fingers, you can hold the edge and make a little dam just below the poke site that can also help with blood pooling. And you can milk or pulse the vein above the dam. Everybody has to find the technique that works for them and what they can do. I shed many a tear in the beginning. Make sure Mia gets a treat, regardless of whether you are successful or not.
The drops method for dosing definitely works. You just have to practice twisting the plunger to get even sized drops, and consistent number in 1 unit. Practice with a used syringe and a coloured liquid like juice, tea, or pop.
The drops method for dosing definitely works. You just have to practice twisting the plunger to get even sized drops, and consistent number in 1 unit. Practice with a used syringe and a coloured liquid like juice, tea, or pop.
Janet & Mia
Member Since 2026
Great info .. thank you, again.
