First Time testing cat’s blood glucose

I am trying to test my cat’s blood for the first time, and I am failing miserably. I have lanced my cat’s ears over 200 times over the past 4 days. I am using the Microlet lancets and the Contour Next One meter. I have only been able to draw a speck of blood a few times. I just finished my last attempt, and I was able to draw a drop of blood. Unfortunately, the meter turned off, and my cat shook his head which wiped away the tiny drop of blood. I think I can use the same spot again, but is it advisable to use the spot for blood tests? I have not been able to find anything that says if it is good to use the same spot to test. Thank you all in advance.

 

Hi there ,yes you can use the same spot to try and get more blood .
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with
Here is a video one of our members made testing her kitty
She's using a pet meter that has to be coded ,with a human meter you don't have to code it.
So ignore that
I have always used a human meter
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

 

First, take a few minutes (or a whole day) to calm down and breathe

Now, read the hometesting tips and watch the videos: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Tip: Insert the test strip only partially into the meter, just far enough in that the meter won't turn on. Warm the cat's ear and poke. Once you have a nice drop of blood, quickly push the test strip all the way into the meter to turn it on. When the meter flashes the blood drop icon (exact icon may vary depending on the meter) and is ready, touch the edge of the test strip to the blood drop to draw it in by capillary action.

Warming the ear for a minute or so really helps to get the blood flowing. The rice sock is popular and works well. Take a small old cotton sock, fill with uncooked rice or dried uncooked beans. Exact amount depends on how big the sock is but less than 1/8 cup is generally more than enough. Knot close. If you're a crafty person, take some scrap cotton fabric and make a little bag to fill with your choice of rice or beans. Sew the bag closed. A 2 inch square bag is plenty big enough. Heat in microwave until just barely comfortably warm enough for you to hold in your hand for a minute. Wrap the sock around the edge of the cat's ear for a good minute if possible to get the blood flowing. Then poke. If the rice sock is too warm for your cat's ear, you'll know because the cat will flinch and try to move away. Some people do the hot damp washcloth in a baggie method but I could never get that to work. The washcloth would be cold by the time I got it on my cat plus my cat hated the crinkly sound of the baggie so close to his ear. I've heard of some people using a small prescription pill - type bottle filled with hot water. Try different things to see what works for you.

I'm not familiar with the lancet device that comes with Contour meters. Does it have adjustable depth settings? If it does, try a higher setting. It it doesn't, you can try freehanding the lancet itself (be careful) to poke. Or try a different lancet device with matching lancets.

Press the lancet device firmly against the edge of the ear before clicking. Hold the rice sock or whatever you are using to warm the ear with under the ear to provide a firm surface to press against and keep your fingers safe.

You may need to "milk" the area around the blood drop if the drop isn't big enough to fill the test strip window. If you get too much blood, not a big deal. Get the blood on the waiting test strip, set the meter aside to do it's thing, and hold a tissue to the ear to stop the bleeding.

Cats have two ears so if one ear just won't give you blood, try the other ear You can poke anywhere along the edge of the ear and the large visible vein. Most cats have a sweet spot. My cat's spot is right above that weird curl thing at the outside base of the ear. Try to vary the poke spot each time so the spots can heal.

 

I will not get enough blood from my cat's ear unless I apply a warm cloth to it first to open up the blood vessels. Not hot, but warm. Also, be sure that the ear surface is dry before lancing. I have also noticed that his left ear is much easier to draw blood from than his right ear. Just suggestions that have worked for me. Perhaps the other ear would also be worth trying.

 

Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate the picture with the detailed explanations.

 

Thank you for your reply. I will try the tip with partially inserting the strip in the meter.

I stopped using the lancing device the first day. I use the lancets freehand.

 

Thank you for your reply. After reading all the replies I think I found the crucial step that I have been missing, warming the ear. I tried it in the beginning, but my cat kept wanting to play with the sock. The other warming options are not viable. He hates pills so he runs when he sees a pill bottle. He hates swabs and napkins because I used both when I gave him eye drops. I might just use the rice sock and a decoy sock.

 

I have a very thick knit sock that I use. It holds warm temps well from the faucet to wherever my cat is being tested. If I don't warm the ear, I won't get enough blood either. Hope it was helpful!

 

I failed again. My cat keeps playing with the sock. I was not even able to draw a speck of blood this time. I will try again in a while. I don’t want to stress him out.

 

Perhaps try to swing the sock around back of him. Sometimes I scratch my cat's chin as I apply the sock. It's actually quite a long sock. Bunch it up behind kitty so he doesn't see it. Good luck.

 

I have my cat facing away from me and warm up his ear and poke from behind. Maybe give that a try. You can also try to distract the cat with a low carb treat or a toy.

 

I use a warm (ceramic or glass) mug/cup that I pre-heat by filling with hot water (and then tossing the water when it's warm). The mug will hold the heat for a while and then you can just hold it against the ear. Like how holding a hot cup of coffee warms your hands.

 

If the sock is too big, try a smaller one. Maybe a baby or toddler sized one. It should be big enough so that you can wrap the sock around the edge of the ear to warm it up.

 

UPDATE

SUCCESS!!! After nearly a month of failed attempts, I finally successfully tested my cat’s blood! For me and my cat, the difference was the size of the lancet. I was using 29 gauge Microlet lancets for all my attempts over the past 2 months. I switched to Walmart ReliOn 26 gauge lancets, and they worked the very first time! The drop of blood I drew was large enough for multiple tests. I was only able to test twice because I had unknowingly used nearly all the test strips in the bottle from previous attempts. To maintain accuracy, I dispose of test strips if I remove them from the container even if I don’t use them. My cat didn’t even notice the attempt, but he did wipe the blood away before I could open another bottle of test strips.
Thank you all for your help and support!