Charley is a pokey addict

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Charley

Charley

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He makes my heart smile. We have designated a corner of our bed as the pokey place, insert your own jokes folks. Anyway, I do all Bg and insulin there. Charley will just about run you over anytime we go near the bedroom, goes to his spot, and plops down...waiting. There is no more calling him when we need to test. It the funniest thing to me. He wants that piece of chicken. Such a lovely boy. We are going to wait until spring break to see what happens with a dose increase, but his numbers are starting to be more consistent.
 
Isn't it amazing how they get used to the routine and cooperate.

Will you be able to get a curve done this weekend? It would be really helpful to see how the insulin is working during a cycle for Charley.
 
Someday find a newbie on Health who is really struggling with home testing and tell your story about Charley's Pokey Place. :-D It means so much fo them to hear from a recent member about how it does start to work, and it isn't impossible.....

Glad to hear he is settling in and easy to work with. Now to get the numbers moving...
 
Good for you and Charley :-D It is funny how they get in a routine.

I bring frozen chicken up to the bedroom at night for Asher’s “midnight” snack and if I need it to test overnight. He knows this now and hears when I put it in place in a container on my nightstand. Sometimes he’ll “stand guard” in there by his chicken for an hour before I come into the bedroom for the night. They are funny little furry creatures sometimes :-D
 
Great visuals! These are the things we need to tell our friends who think we're OCD about testing, and how cruel it is to the cats to poke them so much.

Poke? What poke? NOW GIVE ME THE CHICKEN!!! :lol:
 
Awwww Charley! I love this. glad he loves his chicken!!

I am pretty OCD about testing - sometimes every hour. Before he became DKA we had a testing place in the bathroom and he would follow me there chirping away whether it was testing time or not because he new it meant a few licks of his favorite chicken baby food. That doesn't happen anymore - he won't eat baby food or follow me around but he is very good about testing.
 
I'm taking this to heart and I am going to work more with Linus to make it better for him and easier for me. Right now I test while he is eating. The nice thing about this is the location (shelf in the laundry room) is high, and the light is pretty good. I'm at that age when the eyes go bad, and between that, poor lighting in my house, and a cat with black ears, I attack the poor cat with reading glasses and a headlamp on (you all can stop laughing now :lol: ). I told my husband this morning that Linus had that "cat in the headlights" look.

I haven't yet found the treat that makes it all worthwhile - right now we are trying bonito flakes, he likes them ok, but doesn't go nuts. I have also used some turkey treats that he likes. The problem is - I haven't trained him that the treat comes after the poke, so I have to give treats, poke, and give more treats. He can be fairly cooperative when he is eating, but once the treat is gone, katy bar the door. That's why we've gone to doing it while he is eating food, and every time I go in the laundry room, he will jump up and check his dish and nibble on whatever is in it, even if I am wearing a headlight.

I've got some chicken in the freezer, and will try that today. I'm just really jealous of Charley and his "pokeys". Must be nice :)
 
Hi gang!

With Ruby, I have the meter in one hand and the piece of freeze dried chicken in the other. As soon as she sees me coming, she looks at the meter so I hold up the treat and say "Look! Chicken bite for Ruby!". She doesn't crawl into my lap herself yet but as long as she can see it while I'm poking, she's good with it.
For the shot, I used freeze dried whitefish cubes. I'll sit on the floor next to her, with my legs stretched out and put it in down near my calves. For this she will step over and sit between my knees, facing away from me. (she looooooooves those fish cubes which is why she gets them with shots). I touch her back and she'll crouch down but I don't let her take the treat until she lays down all the way. Sometimes I'll touch her front legs and tell her to put her paws down and then she will lay down all the way. I've noticed if she can't see the syringe coming, she doesn't tense up as much. Its not perfect but its way, way better than it was 2 months ago!
 
Amy -
How many hands do you have? :-D

I need:
Reading Glasses
Headlight
cat food or treat in one hand
meter and strips in the other
lancet between teeth

Put down meter, serve food, grab ear w/left hand, grab lancet w/right hand, poke, put lancet back in teeth, scoop drop onto right thumbnail, grab meter, put strip in left handed, wait, put strip in drop, wait, get really high number I don't believe, repeat.
 
For the testing, I sit indian style on the floor. I'm right handed so I have the lancet pen, meter and treat on the floor next to my right leg. One big advantage to the AlphaTrak is that you put the strip in while its powered off, so I can have it in place before I start. Because I've got the chicken bite, she'll be hovering around me. I just scoop her up and nestle her in my lap. As long as she can see where that treat is, she's pretty content to let me do what I want.

I know I'm really lucky with that, though. There is no way Midgie, our civvie, would be nearly as mellow about the whole thing. Its a fight just to get her nails trimmed.
 
Dragonfly229 said:
I'm taking this to heart and I am going to work more with Linus to make it better for him and easier for me. Right now I test while he is eating. The nice thing about this is the location (shelf in the laundry room) is high, and the light is pretty good. I'm at that age when the eyes go bad, and between that, poor lighting in my house, and a cat with black ears, I attack the poor cat with reading glasses and a headlamp on (you all can stop laughing now :lol: ). I told my husband this morning that Linus had that "cat in the headlights" look.

I haven't yet found the treat that makes it all worthwhile - right now we are trying bonito flakes, he likes them ok, but doesn't go nuts. I have also used some turkey treats that he likes. The problem is - I haven't trained him that the treat comes after the poke, so I have to give treats, poke, and give more treats. He can be fairly cooperative when he is eating, but once the treat is gone, katy bar the door. That's why we've gone to doing it while he is eating food, and every time I go in the laundry room, he will jump up and check his dish and nibble on whatever is in it, even if I am wearing a headlight.

I've got some chicken in the freezer, and will try that today. I'm just really jealous of Charley and his "pokeys". Must be nice :)
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I'm learning you have to celebrate the small stuff. This whole thing is really overwhelming most of the tIme. There have been plenty nights I've just collapsed in a puddle of tears because I'm a ball of nerves. Just breathe and take one day at a time.
 
arozeboom said:
For the testing, I sit indian style on the floor. I'm right handed so I have the lancet pen, meter and treat on the floor next to my right leg. ...As long as she can see where that treat is, she's pretty content to let me do what I want.
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Are you kidding? Grayson would rip my leg off and beat me with it before he'd leave a chicken treat on my leg! He's a rabid dog when it comes to them!!!

Dragonfly229 said:
I'm at that age when the eyes go bad, and between that, poor lighting in my house, and a cat with black ears, I attack the poor cat with reading glasses and a headlamp on (you all can stop laughing now :lol: ).
Click to expand...

I'd say I'm laughing, but I can relate WAY too much. Don't have the headlight, but today I left the readers at home while I went to meet a petsitter at my friend's house to test/shoot. I couldn't see if there was a drop of blood on his ear! :shock: That part really sucked!

I do things a little differently, if possible. First, either I don't even bring the food in, or I bring the can and a fork in. I've told Grayson if HE can open it before I get to it, he can eat it. Removing the food from a "rabid dog" cat makes testing a little calmer. He lies down on the table in front of me, facing my right, my left arm over him and hand in position to cradle his head/scruff if needed (not needed 98% of the time). His right ear is flipped over my left thumb, and I poke right handed. I've used the blood on the nail, and it's great... Grayson's not much of a bleeder - more of a turnip, so there's usually not that much blood to spare. So once he's tested, I bring in the food and while he's eating, I poke him. He'll pretty much let me do anything while his face is in the bowl of food!

Good luck on finding the best way for you. I have to be somewhere where I'm comfortable - that age thing again! ;-)
 
Sneakers knows night feeding=ear pokes.
Pokes at breakfast and when I get home from work.
She jumps up and goes to the poke pillow for pokes, then food :-D .

No, I haven't found a treat she likes yet. I'm looking for a place with bonito flakes around here.

A lot better than me chasing her down under the table or behind the couch :lol: .
 
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