Heather&Dagron
Member Since 2017
Ten year old DSH nm just diagnosed with diabetes. Strange thing is, when his blood was first tested 4 weeks ago, he was symptomless. I mean it, between he and his brother, not even a cup of water in a 24 hour period. No excessive peeing. No acting under the weather or changes in behavior at all. And BG at that time was 450.
Now, after multiple blood tests, he has started drinking/peeing a bit more and has slight changes in behavior. Insulin started Friday night. I have no problem administering the insulin - I've had to do much worse with other animals. I do have a fear of giving him too much and his BG dropping dangerously low.
I've been trying to home-test his BG, and really have problems with it. Thought his ears were too cold, and didn't think he would tolerate a warm washcloth on his head, so have been rubbing/playing with his ears before testing. I also have a big problem hitting the right area. Either I hit the main blood vessel and it bleeds like crazy (and he flicks it all over the house), or I don't and it doesn't bleed enough to fill the well in the test kit (AccuChek Aviva btw). Only three times since last Monday (and probably 50 pokes) have I been able to get the right amount of blood. One of those three, he shook it off before I could collect it.
He associates the beeping on the glucometer with getting poked, even with treats. Very smart cat. I know the catinfo.org website says to hold his head so he can't shake and then hold a paper towel over the ear so it doesn't bleed everywhere. I'd like to know how people with only two hands can do all this - hold the cat so he can't run, hold his head, hold the lancet, hold the paper towel, AND get the test strip up to his ear.
I want to be able to do his glucose curve at home next weekend instead of taking him to the office next Tuesday to save me money and save him stress. Desperate for help figuring out the home BG testing. (Also, I've been freehanding the lancets because the pen is a headache. Maybe a different pen?)
Now, after multiple blood tests, he has started drinking/peeing a bit more and has slight changes in behavior. Insulin started Friday night. I have no problem administering the insulin - I've had to do much worse with other animals. I do have a fear of giving him too much and his BG dropping dangerously low.
I've been trying to home-test his BG, and really have problems with it. Thought his ears were too cold, and didn't think he would tolerate a warm washcloth on his head, so have been rubbing/playing with his ears before testing. I also have a big problem hitting the right area. Either I hit the main blood vessel and it bleeds like crazy (and he flicks it all over the house), or I don't and it doesn't bleed enough to fill the well in the test kit (AccuChek Aviva btw). Only three times since last Monday (and probably 50 pokes) have I been able to get the right amount of blood. One of those three, he shook it off before I could collect it.
He associates the beeping on the glucometer with getting poked, even with treats. Very smart cat. I know the catinfo.org website says to hold his head so he can't shake and then hold a paper towel over the ear so it doesn't bleed everywhere. I'd like to know how people with only two hands can do all this - hold the cat so he can't run, hold his head, hold the lancet, hold the paper towel, AND get the test strip up to his ear.
I want to be able to do his glucose curve at home next weekend instead of taking him to the office next Tuesday to save me money and save him stress. Desperate for help figuring out the home BG testing. (Also, I've been freehanding the lancets because the pen is a headache. Maybe a different pen?)
Glad you are doing some desensitizing exercises, i.e. playing with his ears. You can even do that without poking so he won't always expect the poke. Be sure to give a low carb (LC) treat after he lets you. Also, what size lancets are you using? We usually recommend 28g to start until their ears "learn to bleed". As you get into a testing routine his ears will develop more blood capillaries making it easier to get blood without hitting the vein. That can hurt them some. Don't feel bad though! We've all done it and probably still do once in a while, especially when kitty decides to move at the last second 
. For helping to hold kitty still, I sit a little bit from the corner of my sofa so Maury's butt is in the corner but not against it. If he backs up he's backing into the sofa corner. I just hang the front paws over my leg. We're going into Month 6 so he knows if he hangs there and is a good boy he'll get a treat 
. If you really have an issue there is something we call a caturrito (cat burrito with a towel or blanket). There are videos for that too! Glad you are tackling home testing. You'll have it down in no time! And you're keeping Dargon safe 
