Am I doing it wrong?

[Myrtlesmum]

Hi, I've only been injecting my cat for 9 days so far, last night I was pretty sure I gave a fur shot as it didn't feel like the needle went in right and she gave a bit of a twitch. So this morning and tonight I made sure I could feel the needle going in before pressing the plunger bit and waited a few seconds before pulling it out. Was very proud of myself and thought I did I ok but I just picked Myrtle up and had the side I injected next to my face and I can smell the medication - is this normal or didn't I get it into her (don't worry I won't inject her again). I tented the skin and everything - she's quite fat and doesn't have a lot of loose skin - could the meds squeeze out again? Thanks for the help.

 

[Dyana]

Insulin has a strong smell. Maybe there was just a bit of a drop on the syringe and it got on her fur.

 

[Amanda & Ham]

Ham is also of the round shape... I pinch his fur and part it just so I can see some skin then roll my hand back towards his head to get a little tent (not much extra to give when they're round ), but I can see his skin and I know the needle goes in.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

I tent Noah. It means I kind of pinch a blob of his hind quarters and slide the needle in, right to left, almost parallel to his body. I plunge the syringe with my right hand and use my left hand to hold him steady and keep the needle from either going in too far and hurting him or having it slide back out. I really do know how hard it can be to basically poke a hole in your cat but I've done it with broken bones (me, not the cat), a migraine, other cats butting in. Myrtle looks medium length hair, can you shave or trim a spot where you can see better? I can do it in the dark now, I need new glasses.

 

[Myrtlesmum]

Thanks for all the advice, Myrtle has a double coat (like a British Shorthair) so viewing skin is unfortunately very hard. Anyway, I gave her this morning's shot and it seemed to work - I think up around her shoulders might work better than further back where she's a little chubbier.... I'm still perfecting my technique but I'm sure we will get there. We are off yo the vet this morning and I bought some Feliway spray for her carrier to hopefully keep her a bit calmer (gets VERY stressed in the car) this is all a big learning curve for both of us.

 

[Tracey&Jones (GA)]

I just inject in Jones' scruff. I kneed him in the neck and they will naturally relax and sit for you. Then I create the tent and inject with needle horizontal to his body. I move around from one side to the other. I have only had 1 fur shot early on. That said, as you will hear many times, this is a marathon and not a sprint so 1 fur shot can be recovered from.