Fur Shots

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PerpetualAscent

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I am unable to give my cat a shot.

My cat was diagnosed with diabetes last Wednesday. We took him to the vet and got instructions on how to give him shots - he requires two ccs of insulin every 12 hours. The procedure seemed nice and easy and even though I am dreadfully afraid of needles it looked like something I would be able to do. They gave him his first shot and we took him home.

12 hours later it was my turn. Everything went fine, with no spill or miss whatsoever. I was feeling pretty good then.

Not so much now. Every time since then (3 times, my family gave him an injection once because of my inability to do so myself) I have missed, completely I think. I have no real way of gauging how much I missed or if he got anything, but I'm pretty sure he didn't.

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I'm using the exact method the vet showed to me and still missing. She would pinch up some of his skin on his lower back, and inject there. I do the same thing, the same place. I feel the needle penetrate his skin, and I can tell by his reaction that he can too. I inject. Pull out... there it is, dripping down his side. Every time.

The vet didn't give me anything to monitor his levels, so I have no idea how this is effecting him or not, but I know it can't be good. He's missing so many shots, 3 out of the 6 he's scheduled to get, and he needs this stuff to live. My family isn't always around to do my dirty work. I need to be able to do this myself.

Another forum suggested I shave a patch of his hair off to make things easier. That sounds like a good idea but I would prefer not to. I would just like to know how to give a shot. It bewilders me how I was able to do it the first time perfectly but I can't do it to save my life now.

This seems to be a pretty uncommon problem - I don't see any threads about "fur shots" here, though I did on the archives from years back, but even then they were said to be rare occurrences. Not for me, I guess. 3/4 times I've missed.

I just missed recently (the third and counting) and I'm freaking out. He doesn't seem to be acting differently but I know he's suffering and I'm not helping him at all due to my inability to do what I need to. And I can't try again because I'm not really sure if he got any or not, and I don't want to send him into insulin shock.

Please help me give my cat a shot.
 
Do the syringes you're using have 1/2 inch needles? You may be doing a through and through shot, where the needle goes in, it's coming out again, so the insulin is getting squirted down his fur. The solution would probably be to pull up more skin. You won't actually see this affect because of all the hair - only the needle tip has to be poking out to cause this.

You can get insulin syringes with 5/16th length needles, although I think those may only be available in U100 type syringes, which can be used with any insulin except that for the PZI and Vetsulin types you would need the conversion chart as they are U40 solution. Find that here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/insulin-conversions.htm
The insulins Lantus (glargine) and Levemir and N are U100 insulins, so no conversion would be necessary.

Pharmacies should have syringes like that, although you may need a prescription from your vet for them. We have the link near top of each message board page to a wonderful online pharmacy called Hocks which carries lots of different insulin syringes and you do not a prescription to order from them.

Hope this helps.
 
Where do you live (City, State)....perhaps we have a member near you
to give you some personal help....observe your technique.

You are wonderful to try this in spite of your fear of needles.

You will get this...for your kitty.
 
How do you know if you are having fur shots or not? What insulin are you giving and what needles are you using?

Many times we watch others and think we can do that too, easy, but then when we try later, we find we are not sure and have questions. How about the next shot that a family member would do, you give the shot and have the family member watch you. That way you are getting instructions and hands on experience. The shots get easy very soon. Before you know it you will be better at giving shots than brushing your teeth!

You can buy yourself a regular BG meter from the drugstore or Walmart that's used by humans; you don't need anything fancy. I use a few different ones but like the One Touch mini and ultra2. You can ask others what meters they use and why, but there are several types you can get and use.
You really need to be testing before every insulin injection to be sure you know what you cat's number is first. If already low, you should not give a shot. If you are unsure, all you have to do is post on here, say what the BG number is and then others can check your spreadsheet (once you get it set up) and give you their thoughts and opinions.

You can record the numbers you get from your own home testing into a spreadsheet and that way you can track the progress your cat is making on insulin.

You can create a profile as well that tells everyone about your cat and that way you won't get asked the same questions over and over. Food is VERY important and you will be getting many people asking 'what are you feeding your cat?' so it's best to put that info all in your profile and people can read it and know. Saves alot of asking and alot of repeat telling!

Here are a couple links for you:
Spreadsheet Template and Instructions
Profile Creation

You can put links to both your spreadsheet and your profile in your signature and everyone can see the info on any message you submit.
 
Hi there

I think it would be really useful if you could come back and help answer some of the questions posted to you

How do you know if you are having fur shots or not?
What insulin are you giving
and what needles are you using?
Click to expand...

hope things work out for you - do post back and let the board help you out ok?
We have members all over North America (and Europe too) there may be someone near you who can help out

I will highly encourage you to pick up a meter from any pharmacy - you really should be testing the blood glucose levels.
If you think you gave a furshot, it is recommended you do not reshoot, as you have no idea if any insulin went in,
but you should get a meter to test your kitty! Honestly, the injections and blood testing does get easier!
 
All good advice given here. Please come back and answer some questions so we can help you and your kitty.

Walmart has the ReliOn meter which is inexpensive and has very inexpensive strips. Test your kitty before every shot. Without this data, it's hard to regulate your kitty. We test on the ears and most cats know you are helping and are pretty good with it.

You said you were shooting at the lower back. Most of us shoot at scruff of neck where there is a lot of skin. I agree you might be 'shooting through' if your needle is too long. Try only putting some of the needle under the skin, not the whole thing.
 
Hi,

you can ask vet to shave a square for you-this sometimes helps.

When ypu go to put the needle in, try pointing it in at a 45 degree angle.When we first started our sugar journey I used a pen torch and progressed to a little lamp I set up against the radiator to give better light and could see what was goiung where.

Length of needle is also something to think about as has been said.

If you can/do still have family member that has done this successfully, ask them if they can do again and see if they do it differently to you.

Hometesting is strongly recommended by the board and we can help you with this (although you use a lancet, you don't really see it if your using a penlet device)

Try and breathe and calm yourself-maybe your stressing and shaking and that is throwing you off.Your kitty knows your trying to help. I found by talking to Lucky it helped my heart feeling like it was in my mouth!
You will get there.

Just post your area and I'm sure we can find someone nearby if you think this might help.

Please keep asking questions for anything you think we may be able to help on. Everyone here was a newbie once :mrgreen:
 
I'm not going to even try to offer advice here because there are a lot more experts here than little old newbie me...But if you just want someone to talk to about the scary parts. My himalayan Muse was also just diagnosed on Wednesday. So if you just want someone else that is as new and as scared to talk to I'm more than willing to send you my email addy if you want to PM me. So far shots have been know problem for me, but I have years of giving my own vacinations at home it's kind of the same thing except I'm trying to get use to remembering where I shot last. Just thought it might be nice to have someone to talk to that is right in the same place in treating their sugar-baby.

Mel & Muse
 
Hi there!
I too am a newbie too, doodels was just diagnosed 4/19, since then I have changed her diet, )which you NEED to do if no one has told you, go to Janet and Binkey's food list and print out the food with the least amount of carbs, I was told 10 and under. I try to keep doodles around 3-8 carbs) and I freaked just like you and got frustrated about the fur shot and her not getting enough and so on :cry: I also changed insulin to Lantus from N.
It's soooooo much to take in, be patient it will come, promise. Make it a special time for you kitty. I keep a SS sheet and also a diary of test times (it is a must to get the BG's when shooting). I found the testing part the easiest ;-)
I do not shoot on the back, I use the back of the neck, I found that works for me. I couldn't make a "tent" :cry: and couldn't see to shoot. I read some of the "stickies" about shooting and I now pinch her skin on the back of the neck with my fingers, moving the hair out of the way to see ;-) , pinch hard to make it less painful and I shoot. Make sure to push the needle all the way sometimes a little drop will not make it in if you don't push.
This is how much of a nerd I am I used an orange to practice on cuz the skin felt like hers. And it made it more comfortable for me to shoot.
Well, hope this helps...you're doing great, it will all work out promise. Then you get into the numbers game all that goes with that.
But it is very important to have a SS so these great people can help and they will they are all awesome!!!
You may want to have someone come to your house that lives close by and show you til you are comfortable to do it on your own. Why these vets think we can just punt is beyond me. Make sure to change to wet food only if you haven't. No kitty krack....dry food, too many carbs!
Oh...print out the information on hypos, I have it all taped and highlighted with the vets numbers and my good good friend Lori who has been my lifesaver for sure.
Good luck!

Heidi and doodles from LL :smile: >"<
 
Fur shots sometimes happen, even with experience.

I know I've done a fur shot when I can smell the insulin. The problem is one doesn't quite know how much did get injected. any, most...? So you can't just redo the shot. Just try to be more aware the next time.

Are you injecting across the skin? Or inline with the pinched up skin? If you are injecting horizontal to the pinch ...then you might be going all the way through.

Keep trying and have courage. You can do this. ~O)
 
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