Finally got some numbers, struggling with getting blood

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NomNomsmom

Member Since 2013
I switched off of the Freestyle Meter to Reli On, but I've only been able to get three readings from Nom Nom. He was at 380 before I fed him, then 2 hours later he was at 357. He let me try and test him every two hours after that but I could not get any blood from his ear until around an hour and a half before his next scheduled feeding, and he was at 335.

Today I ran into the same problem of not getting any blood from his ear. Does anyone have any tips or tricks? He loses patience if I don't get it the first time and tries to bite.
 
Have you tried warming his ears before poking? If not that was the biggest thing that helped me when I was first starting out, what I did was take a thin cotton sock, put about 1/4 cup of uncooked white rice in the toe and knotted it, then tossed it in the microwave for about 20 seconds until it was very warm but not hot. Check it on either the side of your neck or the inside of your wrist (sorta like you would a baby bottle) then hold the warm sock to his ear, in fact I used it to back the ear while I poked. Also once you get the poke, massage the ear towards where you just poked to help the bead of blood flow to the hole. And lastly a little teeny bit of neosporin with pain relief on his ear (ointment not cream) will keep the blood bead from getting lost in the fur as well as make it less irrating to NomNom.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Yep, warming the ear when first starting out is really important to get the blood flowing. General rule of thumb is 3 pokes then treat, regardless of whether or not the test was successful. Don't worry if you're not getting blood every time; it will get easier over time as the ears start creating more capillaries. Hang in there! You're doing great. :thumbup Here are a few more tips for testing if you haven't already seen them.
 
I just read your previous post. 4 years old seems awfully young for a diabetes diagnosis. Are there any other issues with him? Infections, dental problems, allergies? Was he on steroids for anything?

It looks like you were feeding him IAMS Proactive Health Cat Food, Indoor Weight and Hairball Care. Are you still feeding him this? I highly recommend checking out the food list as well as further nutritional information at catinfo.org and consider switching Nom Nom to a better, low carb (less than 5-10%), wet food. The food switch alone should significantly help reduce his insulin dependency, perhaps even making him diet-controlled (i.e. needing no insulin).

ETA: You had asked about protein options and I completely failed to address that :oops: (and it was the main point of this second post ohmygod_smile ). I use the catinfo.org food list, but I also created my own specialized version of it because I have two growing kittens in need of higher protein and Michelangelo is also allergic to red meats. I sorted it by Carbs, then Protein/Fat %, then Phos/100kcals, then Brand and Flavor. Various studies have found the target range for healthy adult cats to be around "26 g day protein, 9 g day fat and 8 g day carbohydrate, yielding a macronutrient energy composition of 52% protein, 36% fat and 12% carbohydrate." For diabetics of course, the carb percent is much lower (less than 10%).

In addition to the food, as a diabetic, Nom Nom is going to be particularly ravenous starting out. I suggest giving a read-through of the thread on FEED KITTY AS MUCH AS THEY WANT? for some ideas on feeding schedules and caloric intake.
 
I found success with the sock trick. Put rice in a sock, tie off the end, then about 30 seconds or so in the microwave. Use that to warm the ear. Then I use the sock to put under his ear to stick him. Seems to work pretty good. All while he's eating freeze dried turkey treats to occupy his attention.
 
We really need a bumper sticker "Vampire Club"!

A bit of Neosporin ointment (not cream) applied to the test area a few minutes before testing and then wiped off helps reduce the annoyance of testing and helps the blood bead up for testing. A dab after testing will help the prick mark heal.
 
Did you want to set up that spreadsheet? I think sue was going to send you a PM? Also how's the transitioning to wet going or are you trying a lower carb dry?
 
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