First day home testing and it was a disaster!!

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imogen

imogen

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Well, home testing "started" today and the only thing I accomplished was making Imogen think I am the strangest Human on Earth, suddenly doing things to her that she couldn't understand. I finally gave up after 4 tries and feel like a total failure. She is not an "ear" cat and doesn't love them touched to begin with so she was quickly on to me when a tried to put a warm rice sock on her. At one point it felt like a scene out of the 3 strooges with the me chasing her in circles.
I still question my insulin shots and have no idea if they are even going in! Is it normal to feel like you are completely failing your cat? Please tell me it gets easier.
 
Yes, many times it is hard to get blood from a cat's ear. I remember the first time I tried. I go nothing and I think I had to try several times a day for a few days. When I adopted Twigie she was very hard to test at first. She is Scottish Fold with very small ears. Now she is easy to test. Just keep trying and you will get it. I use the lancet pen which I fin easier that just using the lancet freehand like some caretakers prefer. Make sure you warm the ear, apply Vaseline to get the blood to bead up vice being absorbed into the fur and back-up the ear very firmly when you prick. If you do not firmly back-up the ear gets deflected by the lancet instead of the lancet piercing the ear.
 
toooooooootttttttttally normal!

actually your story of today brings back memories of my first several weeks of trying to do this with Mousie. heck, i had to chase her around in circles just to give her her shot since the first vet didn't have me hometesting. let alone when i did learn about hometesting AND putting pills down my wildcat's mouth. YEAH RIGHT!!

the key is to not "teach" that this is a bad thing. try it a few times a day, like morning and evening, but only try a couple times, give the cat a reward whether you got blood or not, and let kitty go. when kitty is gone, sigh, cry a little, curse, but not in front of kitty. a bit later, try again. always rewarding kitty. that way they "learn" that "wow, mommy manhandles my ear and i get goodies for it. i like this." and, they don't pick up on your frustration over it.

it is NOT normal to get blood on your first few tries. one, you have to learn a technique and two, kitty's ears have to learn to give you blood. so what you are experiencing is completely normal. and you'll probaby experience it for the next day or two too. just don't give up. it does work out.
 
It is the RARE person who gets it on the first try. We spent a weekend poking Oliver before we got a drop. We used the burrito with him at first. It might help you get Imogen to stay still while you practice. We put a towel down on the couch next to the arm and wrapped him up until only his head was showing. I could press him up against the arm lightly and keep him there. At first, we fed him treats while we poked. Later the treat came after.

It sounds silly, but I think the ears "learn to bleed." It does seem like once you get blood, you get it better each time.

So be patient. It will work and you will be so pleased!
 
Thanks. The towel sounds like a great trick. She spent all day at the vet yesterday being poked and prodded so I think she is still miffed about that as well. Luckily right after eating she went to the bathroom so I was able to at least get a urine read which was at 1% so gave her her 2U as was prescribed yesterday. I suddenly feel I am back in school with all the educating going on!
 
Another trick is to massage the ear instead of using the rice sock. Combine that with head scritches and Imogen may fall completely in love with you. :lol:

Massaging helps to warm the blood and get it flowing.
 
Your post made me laugh because it brought back the oh so dramatic memories of me and Calliope staring hometesting. I was in a cast at the time, so she'd hide under the couch or a low chair and I'd have to stick my crutch under it to try to get her to come out, so I could scoop her up without falling over.

When I'd finally get her, I had to do the "kitty burrito" technique like the towel. I wrapped her in a soft blanket and put her on the kitchen island, so I could have her up against my body to keep her still while trying not to put a lot of weight on my foot. Before I even touched her, she moaned and groaned and whined like I was torturing her, so I moaned and groaned and whined because I thought she was right. We were a sight and now I can truly laugh about it and you'll laugh, too, after you get it down.

Calliope ate the treats I gave her after the testing, but she never became one of those cats who would come for testing. She did get better, though, when she figured out the testing was going to happen regardless of her antics and I think she knew it was part of the process of making her feel better. She just didn't have to like it. She had tortitude with fortitude!

One thing that helped was the Halo Liv a Little chicken treats. She LOVED those. I ordered them on the internet because they aren't sold anywhere near me. Folks here recommended them and they were so right. They were like kitty crack to her, so you might want to try them.

You have not failed. You are just in the initial stages of success!!! Keep trying!!!

ETA: Calliope didn't like the rice sock either. She much preferred me to massage her ears. I'd massage them and then put the vaseline on. That helped me so much!
 
Something you might try is the warm rice sock massage.

Get your rice sock ready and then use it to massage her neck, shoulders, spine, (sneak up on the ears),
top of head, etc.

Make it a wonderful spa treatment.

Do this several times per day, not necessarily just at testing time...give treats.

Make this a happy experience.
 
It does get easier… After 1-2 months of regular testing, the ears bleed easier (no need for massage or warming anymore)..

I remember I used to plan 10-15 minutes to test his BG (poke 3-4 times).. Now I can test him in less than 2 minutes (and rarely need more than 1 poke)…

At the beginning I used treats (after test), but after 1 month, he just didn’t want them anymore… cat_pet_icon but I still used treats after insulin shots!!!

Believe it or not... It even becomes a special bonding time (yes seriously!!!)
 
I was just about to post what Barb already said. My cat the right ear has "learned" and I can do it in a snap on the first try most of the time. The left ear? It's like trying to get a rock to bleed. Eventually something will happen that might worry you - and you will just be able to get the blood because obtaining it has taken priority over worrying about the cat's feelings. I use the Lancet pen as well - something underneath the ear is easier too. Wait until you do finally get your first drop and then the cat shakes it ears while you are getting the strips into the machine...... :-x

Good luck with everything - if only they knew!
 
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