Cat is wincing when I shoot his insulin

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Heather38

Heather38

Member Since 2021
Hi everyone,

I am new to this diabetes thing and this forum has helped me a lot already just from me reading and searching.

My cat Sebastian was diagnosed a couple weeks ago and he is doing pretty good with his insulin shots, but I have noticed he sometimes winces when I shoot the insulin in. I got some smaller needles today (31 gauge) and he winced even with those. But I noticed he doesn't react when the needle goes in, only when I push in the insulin. I can't tell if it is causing him pain or if it maybe just feels weird to him. It's not bad enough that he tries to get away and he hasn't started avoiding the needle yet.

Does anyone else's cat do this or is there anything else I should be doing? I watched my vet and I am doing exactly what she showed me, tenting the skin up and not poking into his muscles or anything.
 
Poor Sebastian. What length are your needles, 5/16, 1/2?
What insulin are you giving him and how many units?
 
Hi Heather, my Mocha does the same thing with Vetsulin. I changed him from the 29g down to the 31g and I think it's helping a bit. But another thing I do is draw up the insulin about 30 mins before I use it and leave it on the counter to get up to room temperature. I was thinking maybe it was the cold that was making him flinch. I'll test him first, try to feed him (that's a whole issue in and of itself), draw up the insulin and wait about 30 mins to give it to him.
Where are you injecting it? Maybe try changing injection sites?
 
Things changed for us when I started injecting in the flank (photo below)
Are you "tenting"? How can I describe this? You gently pinch some mass so it doesn't feel like you're going straight into the cat, slide the needle in almost horizontally and Presto! Eventually because of screaming migraines and cluster headaches I could do this in the dark. Getting the blood sample was voodoo.

injsitesforcats1.jpg
 

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I'm going to try the flank for Mocha's evening dose. I've been doing mostly near the scruff/between shoulder blades & he yelps sometimes.
 
Mocha's_mom said:
I'm going to try the flank for Mocha's evening dose. I've been doing mostly near the scruff/between shoulder blades & he yelps sometimes.
Click to expand...
I rotate with Fritz - left shoulder, right shoulder, left hip, right hip. I don’t do the abdomen/side of the belly. For some reason, those four areas are easier for me to shoot than the scruff. That way I’m reshooting an area only every four days, so it won’t get sore. I draw the insulin into the syringe snd let it sit for a few minutes as well. Not long with the ProZinc, just enough to take some of the chill off.
 
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