Cat Screams during testing

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Hosanna

Hosanna

Member Since 2012
We are having more and more of a problem with Martha. Tonight she fought and screamed like a banshee. She has never screamed like that before and my husband and i both started shaking. But George held her down---I hated to do that, but that's what we did--she did settle just a bit because papa is her Alpha---
But this is looking really serious. I honestly don't know how much longer we're going to be able to do this. The shots maybe, but taking her blood is a different story. Surely other people have cats like this. What does one do?
I think I'm doing pretty well pricking and getting her blood. I don't understand it.
 
There was someone else recently who discovered she was hitting the vein of the ear instead of the tiny capillaries
that are on the edge ( that sweet spot) and she wasn't rotating and moving around. She was hitting the same spot
over and over.
That does hurt. The nerve endings are in the middle of the ear, not so much on the edge.

The other possibility is how much pressure you use if you freehand a lancet. You only need a slight sideways prick,
not a full dead-on poke.
If you are using a lancing device, it could be turned to the highest setting so that it has a higher pressure than your cat needs, especially if you get blood on the first stick and it's a fair size drop.
After the first weeks, it can be turned to a lower pressure setting.

And thirdly, my cat went thru a short period where she fought hard a few times and then realized I wasn't going
to stop and she relented. Just like being in a cat fight, posturing so you'll be left alone.
Every so often she'll try to escape from me but she knows I'm gonna hunt her down and do it my way so she's learned
to just put up with it, sit still and maybe it will be over soon.
 
How are you holding Martha? If you or your DH are holding her while the other is testing, she may object to being restrained. The other possibility is that she's legitimately in pain. Is she uncomfortable when you pick her up? Will Martha let you scratch her ears at other times?
 
Hey, (Sorry, I don't know your name) -

As Rhiannon said, if you're using the lancet device, you can turn it up to the highest setting for a while. We had ours on "4" (We found "5" went through his ear - ouch!), but not keep it on "2."

Also, we bought the antibiotic ointment with lidocaine in it to help with any pain he may experience. We don't use it much anymore, though.

Do you give treats after testing? Usually, the treats alone are enough incentive for kitties. :-D

I don't know what you've tried so far, so I apologize if I'm repeating something. Do you always test in the same place? We have one chair that we test in (Well, now he doesn't really care where I sit to test him as long as I assume the same posture.), it's the one by the lamp (for my maturing eyes!). I put him in my lap and cross my leg kind of around him, so he knows I want him to stay there. I rub him a little (sneaky way to warm his ears) and talk to him.

I hope it gets easier for you soon!

Have a great night -

Libby (& Hershey, too!)
 
I was going to suggest that if it's a pain issue, maybe some neosporin with pain relief rubbed on the ear where you intend to test may help to dull the pain from the pricking? I know I've seen it suggested in threads where people are having problems getting a droplet to form too, so it won't do any harm.
 
Give this cat some food while you are testing her and she will begin to associate a treat with the test (freeze dried chicken or fish, livalittles chicken dried treats, real chicken or even tuna little bits of turkey Or whatever it takes) While she is eating it, test her & put neosporin with pain relief on the ear right after the test! Took me 11 months to test Moonie, it was TERRIBLE!!!
But You Can Do it!! Cats love to Eat!..Believe me it was quite an experience--
Dont give up & they sense your fear & nerves--be calm & talk sweetly to her--Let one person do the test & sometimes I even test Moonie lying on the couch--She is soooo used to it!

YOU CAN DO IT--Lose the fear & just say I am doing this for my baby!!
 
Kathy-and-Cleo said:
I was going to suggest that if it's a pain issue, maybe some neosporin with pain relief rubbed on the ear where you intend to test may help to dull the pain from the pricking? I know I've seen it suggested in threads where people are having problems getting a droplet to form too, so it won't do any harm.
Click to expand...
I use the Neosporin with pain relief (occasionally, now) in the cream version which will not help the blood to bead.
You'll need to get the Neosporin with pain relief in the ointment form if you want to apply before hand and help the droplet of blood to bead up.
 
Many people use the lancet free-hand, but I have found that using the lancet device enables a much faster and more uniform "prick" that might be less painful for the cat. Lancet devices differ in their settings, so you have to experiment to see which setting works best. Experiment on yourself!
By all means, always give a treat when testing (before, during, or after--you'll see which works best for your kitty). A little vaseline or Neosporin ointment on the ear before the test helps the blood to bead up. Put a little pressure below where you intend to prick: this acts as a "dam" and allows the bead of blood to form better (blood flows from the tip of the ear down). Try to stay near the edge of the ear. At bedtime, after the last test, we always put a little Neosporin creme with pain killer on Rusty's ear to help it heal overnight.

Good luck, and it gets so much easier as you go along. It really does!

Ella & Rusty
 
Grayson was real fidgety when we first started, and I was by myself. I did the burrito thing... a beach towel on the table, with some hanging over the side. I pulled him close to me (paralel to the table edge), pulled the other side of the towel over him and locked it on the side of the table with my stomach. By doing this, he didn't feel pressure of being held, which some of my other kitties would certainly object to! And he learned to stay still, cuz there was a freeze-dried chicken or shrimp treat in it if he did. A couple times, I didn't even poke, just burritoed him, fiddled with his ear, and gave him a treat. Now he jumps up and "assumes the position" with and without the incentive treat. And he'll let me poke him while he's other places too. It just takes time. Try to be as patient as you can with him... in spite of how challenging it is. It does get easier! Good luck!
 
Wow, you are a wealth of information, thank you so much. I do appreciate the encouragement, too!
I can't imagine using the lancet device, because it makes a loud clicking sound--and Martha would bolt for sure.
I did hit a vein a couple of times at the beginning but now prick just between the vein and the edge of the ear. I have a hard time getting the drop of blood, though. I use the warm sock and it first it was like a little miracle worker! Worked super every time. But now it barely gets warm and neither does her ear. I've warmed it for 30 secs.
I usually use her treatment table to do all this. Sometimes she's already lying up there and that makes it easy. But when I have to pick her up and carry her, it adds a lot of stress. She always gives a little cry when I lift her up, I love her and kiss her and talk sweet to her all the way back to the table. I know that helps.
This morning she was a sweetie. Not a problem. I have purchased some Neosporin with pain relief and will use it next time. Except for that one time last night, when she was screaming and so angry, we both are there with her but don't both hold her down. I hate restraining a cat. But since I'm working everything, hubby is there to place a hand on her when I have to move mine.
It does not seem to be getting easier, but getting harder. Her BGs are better, several in the blue together. I wonder how much this kind of stress might raise her BG?
 
Hang in there. It may not seem like it will get easier, but in time it will. It took me quite a while with Furball to get a good routine going and get her to sit still long enough to get the testing done. She would fight me and try to get away. I didn't think it would ever get easier and then one day it just was easier. The only times I have trouble now are if I can't get a bood drop right away and I have to prick more than once or if I hit a spot I've just recently pricked. Then she hisses and tries to get away. Always remember to praise her and give her treats even when things don't work out. That way she won't be afraid of getting tested.
 
Pirate Fitz is still not one of those purring while I test kitties. She hates it with a passion I've rarely seen in any kitty.

I test on the same couch - and change lancets every time. For awhile I was using one lancet for an entire day - but that just added to the problem so now, no matter how many tests I have to do - I change the lancet each time.

I've done free hand and using the lancing device. For some reason known only to the kitty gods, no matter what setting I have the lancing device on I puncture through her ear. OUCH. Not good.

So, now I use it free hand only and move from one ear to the other and up and down the edge of the ear to keep her sore spots protected from over poking as much as possible.

I know I'm only repeating the info you received from much more experienced LL inhabitants - but I understand the pain you're feeling. When my stomach really ties in knots over hurting my baby - I try to remind myself that if I didn't do this, she would already have passed away from starvation - as feline diabetes will do.

Hang in there. I'll hang with you and I know we've got a lot of company.

Shai and Pirate Fitz
 
You will have better luck by using the lancet device and just dial down the setting so that you don't go right through the ear. It is faster than freehand, and it's consistent... the cat will know exactly how each test will feel.
 
Do you need to use the treatment table? She sounds ok as long as you do it where she is. If she is already on the table she is ok but when you pick her up to take her there she gets upset. Can you do it where she is settled? I wait till Tiggy is settled down and sleepy and then stroke his head and ears and do the prick. Then more strokes afterward and treats. I found he objects too much when he is active .
 
When I outlined the "burrito" technique I use, I failed to mention this...

I'm right handed, so Grayson is laying in front of me facing the right. I typically poke his right ear, cuz for the first 6 months, that was the only one that would bleed. Now I switch around. Anyways, he "assumes the position" and I lay my left arm over his back. That helps keep him still, allows me to pet him, and enables me to scruff if necessary to keep him still. I freehand, so I wrap his right ear around my left thumb and poke. My guys are not accustomed to being scruffed, so when I do do it, they usually stop in their tracks.

Although Grayson's ear isn't red any longer, they are still sensitive sometimes. Just be as gentle as you can, without compromising your ability to get the blood test. It really does get easier - and they become more agreeable to having it done... but you're right - without it, I would've shot a number like 125 when he was accustomed to 450 preshots. I can only imagine what that would've done to him. If there's anything that reinforces the value of testing, it's seeing one of those really low numbers at a shot time.

Hang in there...it gets easier.
 
It is very, very difficult for me to do it in other places than the table. I learned a couple of years ago when administering daily fluids that she was more comfortable and accepting, knowing what was going on and the table served that purpose. otherwise, she became fearful all over the house, never knowing when I was going to treat her.
Also, it is so hard for me to bend down, I cannot sit on the floor--this old body just rebels at the thought. I DID indeed try that this morning, she was in a donut under the table and I got down there with her. I just can't seem to get the right angles at other places. And I messed up the testing strip and had to get up to get a replacement, when i fell. So I hope it makes sense why I use that particular spot.
 
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