? First time giving insulin, cat won't allow us to inject her

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Three Cats & a Baby

Three Cats & a Baby

Member Since 2022
We've been trying off and on for the last hour. As soon as the needle touches her skin, she starts jerking and jumping to get away. Right now even with my husband holding her still (or trying to) I still can't get the needle in for long enough.

The vet tech and the tutorials we've watched all show pulling the plunger back before injecting, to ensure there's no blood. Does everybody really do that? I feel like I'd have better success just poking and plunging, without the extra step.

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!
 
Someone here suggested singing a song while injecting and it helped me tremendously. It sounds silly, but it distracts my brain from being nervous which makes my cat less nervous. I sing real dumb songs (old jingles! Christmas carols! Tv theme songs!) that I’ve put his name into and pet him till he’s relaxed, too.
 
Previous post intro
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...ith-diabetes-1-day-before-my-due-date.266284/
I've never pulled back the plunger either

In your previous post you said your due day for the baby was today, how are you feeling?

Try giving Phoebe a treat while you go to inject the insulin and one after
Any freeze dried treat is fine you can find some in any pet store

Here is another video
JUST Ignore what she says about pushing the insulin back into the vial
We never do that whether we use a vial or a pen

Just draw out what you need
 
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I know you must be going crazy right now with everything going on but when ever you have a chance can you fill out your signature

Are you home testing yet, it's the only way to keep Phoebe safe

To set up your signature which you will see is at the end of everyone's post in gray, click on your name up top and then tap on the word signature and add this information
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

Take a look at mine


If you would like to set up our spreadsheet where we track our cats BG to see how the insulin is working and how low it's dropping in case you want advice here is the link , if you need help with it just ask and I can have a member set it up for you

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/



Freeze dried treats
https://www.chewy.com/halo-liv-littles-grain-free-100/dp/29214

You can give her any freeze dried treats for a snack
most members give freeze dried treats , they are low carb, you can probably find them in some local pet stores also
I did a search for you on here and copied what some members said they use,

When testing you can give them a treat so they will associate after testing they will get a reward, any freeze dried treats are ok such as
PureBites Freeze-Dried Cat Treats with Chicken Breast 2.3 oz ()https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071P

Also chewys has freeze dried treats also


The freeze dried treats you can get at petsmart, petco and order from chewy. Purebites is popular (cheaper if you buy the dog food ones). My crew like vital essentials it's dehydrated freeze dried raw comes in flavors

freeze dried minnows, made by Vital Essentials. I also buy the ones made for dogs. They're the same as the freeze dried minnows for cats. just cheaper. They also carry other freeze dried treats. I ordered mine through Amazon.

I think the vital essentials are more of a crunchy texture than the purebites

If you cat likes any of these you can buy the bigger bags for dogs they are the same ,you will get more for your money just break then up into smaller pieces
.

You can Google freeze dried treats and see what other ones there are and different flavors
Just make sure that is the only ingredient in them meaning turkey, chicken, minnows etc

Here is another one , I see you can get these in different flavors also just look
You may have to break any freeze dried treats in half if they are too big
https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Essent...ocphy=9003521&hvtargid=pla-630511512365&psc=1
 
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Thanks everybody! She got so agitated last night that we gave up after an hour and tried again this morning. My husband was able to get the shot in quickly after putting a bowl of food in front of her. I did her ear test right after that (I didn't want to risk annoying her so much with the monitor that it would prevent her from taking the shot), and her blood glucose was 305. So, I'll test it again in 4 hours and see what happens.
 
Thank you! I just added my signature. Yes, for testing, we got the AlphaTrak2 meter yesterday. And yes, yesterday was my due date! Spent it driving back and forth between the OB and the vet :-) No baby yet. When I go into labor, I have two friends ready to switch with my husband to take shifts at the hospital with me, so that he can come home to check on Phoebe and handle her medication and testing. As long as he's with me for the actual birth, it's fine if he misses some of the before/after. Luckily we live about 15 minutes from the hospital, so it should all work out.

Diane Tyler's Mom said:
I know you must be going crazy right now with everything going on but when ever you have a chance can you fill out your signature

Are you home testing yet, it's the only way to keep Phoebe safe

To set up your signature which you will see is at the end of everyone's post in gray, click on your name up top and then tap on the word signature and add this information
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

Take a look at mine


If you would like to set up our spreadsheet where we track our cats BG to see how the insulin is working and how low it's dropping in case you want advice here is the link , if you need help with it just ask and I can have a member set it up for you

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/



Freeze dried treats
https://www.chewy.com/halo-liv-littles-grain-free-100/dp/29214

You can give her any freeze dried treats for a snack
most members give freeze dried treats , they are low carb, you can probably find them in some local pet stores also
I did a search for you on here and copied what some members said they use,

When testing you can give them a treat so they will associate after testing they will get a reward, any freeze dried treats are ok such as
PureBites Freeze-Dried Cat Treats with Chicken Breast 2.3 oz ()https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071P

Also chewys has freeze dried treats also


The freeze dried treats you can get at petsmart, petco and order from chewy. Purebites is popular (cheaper if you buy the dog food ones). My crew like vital essentials it's dehydrated freeze dried raw comes in flavors

freeze dried minnows, made by Vital Essentials. I also buy the ones made for dogs. They're the same as the freeze dried minnows for cats. just cheaper. They also carry other freeze dried treats. I ordered mine through Amazon.

I think the vital essentials are more of a crunchy texture than the purebites

If you cat likes any of these you can buy the bigger bags for dogs they are the same ,you will get more for your money just break then up into smaller pieces
.

You can Google freeze dried treats and see what other ones there are and different flavors
Just make sure that is the only ingredient in them meaning turkey, chicken, minnows etc

Here is another one , I see you can get these in different flavors also just look
You may have to break any freeze dried treats in half if they are too big
https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Essent...ocphy=9003521&hvtargid=pla-630511512365&psc=1
Click to expand...
 
Three Cats & a Baby said:
Thanks everybody! She got so agitated last night that we gave up after an hour and tried again this morning. My husband was able to get the shot in quickly after putting a bowl of food in front of her. I did her ear test right after that (I didn't want to risk annoying her so much with the monitor that it would prevent her from taking the shot), and her blood glucose was 305. So, I'll test it again in 4 hours and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Good going ! That's great you have 2 friends too do that for you so you don't have to worry about Phoebe . I'm glad the hospital is close . Wishing you all the best with everything
 
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I tried "Marsha Marsha Marsha!" but that only made things worse. What did help was the Mockingbird song along with my little routine. I laid out everything in front of him so there wouldn't be any big surprises, cleared the room of the other cats and dogs and turned down the volume on everything including a sock in the doorbell. They know it's going to hurt so trust is everything. They really do know you're only trying to help.
You could try swaddling her. That's when you wrap her up in a big towel and proceed from there. The problem there is that there's no going back as far as trust is concerned so it's a last ditch effort. Best of luck.
 
Best of luck with the delivery! For insulin, I usually put half my cat's food out and allow her to eat a bit to keep her distracted. The syringe is pretty small and I find she often doesn't even notice or acknowledge the poke; for me the trick is to remember to really "tent" the skin near her shoulder blades pretty high up, and to go in at 45 degree angle so I don't poke through the other side. You'll get the hang of it in no time. :)
 
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