Cat won’t let anyone inject her but me

[morgs]

Tiny was just diagnosed in October and I’ve been so proud of both of us. I have no issues testing or injecting her so when I left her with the cat sitter for a day and a half and the cat sitter told me she couldn’t inject her I thought it was just the sitter being weird.

Now I’m on vacation in New Orleans and I find out from my new sitter that Tiny goes full on My Cat from Hell when I’m not around. As a result, she wasn’t able to give Tiny her shot this AM. She’s going to try again tonight, this time accompanied by her daughter, and I am very worried. The vet tech is coming over tomorrow and I’d hope she would be able to tangle with Tiny but the what if’s are making it hard to enjoy my time away.

Any suggestions or commiserations besides the obvious (treats, towels, pheromones, etc.)??

Another cat Mom suggested ordering some CBD oil for Tiny. Does anyone have experience with this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sharon14]

Welcome! I was in New Orleans yesterday! Hope you’re able to enjoy your vacation. Is your sitter able to pet Tiny while she’s eating? Maybe try giving the shot then. Also tell her to be sure and relax, take deep breath, him a little. Tiny can tell if she’s nervous and will react. Tell us what the sitter has tried and maybe we can come up with some ideas.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

If nothing else you could cocoon Tiny. So as not to surprise him or make him feel tricked have him lay down on a towel, then wrap up the 4 corners. Have as little of his head exposed as possible, certainly the mouth, nose and ears for testing. If he's a squirmer or fighting it injection will be an issue, do not do a scruff (neck) shot. Try instead to tent him around his rear shoulder blades.
You could also try what I do when carrying a cat that needs a carrier. This may be hard to visualize. Right hand under his tummy and keep his paws firmly together. With your left hand scruff him. Cats cannot escape this position but now your friend's daughter will have to be there. If the ear test is the easy part then the rest shouldn't be too dramatic. Basically you want Tiny to give up and stop fighting, it's not as mean as it might sound. Good luck.

 

[morgs]

Thanks all!

So Tiny would never even let me pet her when eating. She has very specific boundaries. lol

I’m not sure why the cocoon didn’t work for the sitter because I wasn’t there. I’m going to suggest this tummy paw scruff grip!

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Did things go any better? I should have asked/told you this yesterday. If a cat is fighting you it's going to be so much harder with a syringe as opposed to a pen, especially the 1/2" needle syringes I used. We learn something new every day.
It seems like 100 years ago but I've bent syringes and even had a cat run down the hallway with a syringe hanging off his behind. Just be thankful you even had a vacation, that's a foreign word to many of us.