? Best Way To Admin Insulin?

[Ben & Lucky]

Hello Everyone,

So it looks like little Lucky is going to start insulin soon. She had an appointment Tuesday to remove some teeth and to check her diabetes to see if her diet helped, which it did but not enough. At the vets (granted it was likely elevated) she was around 422 BG. We are going to run one last test, but we are fairly certain she is going to need the insulin. The vet suggested starting her at 1 units on a U40 for PZI. She hasn't had any injections yet. The vet showed me how to deliver the injects and everything. However, she was sedated at the time.

So I'm looking to general advise on what is the best way to inject my cat on a daily basis? Lucky is a very skiddish cat. She is friend and nice, but only when she wants to be. I am going to try and give her the first inject while she is eat (probably sometime this weekend). However, I'm fairly certain she is going to freak out when she realizes what's going on. I know a lot of people suggest doing the home monitoring, but I don't think Lucky will be too willing to do this (unless chasing her around my apartment counts as willing lol). I tried getting a reading today while she was relaxing and the second she felt the poke she jetted for the bedroom to hide.

Open to any ideas or suggestions on administering Insulin and getting BG readings.

Thanks in advance
B

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Welcome! We can help you. Take a look at the various info stickies here on testing and injecting. There's also a lot of useful stuff on YouTube.

Your vet is starting Lucky on a good dose. We think home testing of BG is the essential tool to keep your kitty safe.

 

[Sharon14]

Welcome. One thing to remember is that you need to be relaxed when shooting or testing, if you're not Lucky will sense it. Since you haven't started the shots yet, begin practicing by pinching up the skin several times a day, while she is eating and other times during the day. This desensitization will help with testing too. Take Lucky to the spot where you will always go for testing, rub her ear, then give her a treat and let her go. Do this as often as possible and soon she'll look forward to the process then you can add the prick. Also, as Kris says, read the stickies and watch videos, be sure you are comfortable with the meter and the syringe. If you have any problems post here and we can give you more suggestions.

 

[Rachel]

Welcome Ben and Lucky! As Kris and Sharon said, the stickies and videos will be super helpful. Sharon's plan of desensitization is a good one too. Treats are the key! If she's super skittish, you can go a little slower...just take her to the spot where you'll test and give a treat. Then add in the rubbing ears and the treat. The treat is necessary though...maybe even get some special "testing treats" that she only gets at test time? That way, she'll look forward to it for the special treat.

I'd start that now so that when the insulin and the testing starts, you've already gotten her somewhat used to it.

Your vet sounds great! The low starting dose is exactly what we'd suggest. What other questions do you have that we can help with?