Hard time taking care of my kittie

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Joanne and K.C.

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My cat K.C. was diagnosed in December 09 with diabetes. I have been struggling with trying to take care of him. Very difficult for me to give him shots, can't seem to get blood out of him for home testing and feeling really overwhelmed with my inability to care for my baby. He is only 9 years old and he senses my anxiety when I have to give him shots. Several times I have incorrectly given him his insulin - mostly it ends up on his fur rather than in him. Last week I had to take him to the animal hospital where his glucose was over 600!

I realize I have only been dealing with this a few months, and I am not looking to get rid of my guilt for thinking these thoughts, but wanted to know if anyone out there has had these feelings. I am lucky that I have the money to support him - $800 vet bill was shocking to me, plus cost of special food, insulin, test strips - but at what point does one decide not to continue with the treatment and say, the cat is has a great life, I love him but this might be it? The guilt and anxiety and tears I am experiencing is horrible. I live alone so there is no one else to help me. Anyone?
 
I have been taking care of Thomas' diabetes for over 9 years no--along with several other issues, and at time it still gets overwhelming. You should probably tell us about his special food, because I am pretty sure that it is purchased from the vet, and not really doing anything good for his diabetes. Thomas used to run away at first, but he always let me catch him. Now I just sit in my chair and call him, and he comes to me for the works.
Diabetes is very treatable.
Dana
 
I'm new at this as well, and I am sorry to hear how frustrating this has been for you! I am going at this alone as well, so I definitely feel your pain! From reading many stories here on the board, it takes time to find the right dose for your kitty, and home testing is really important so you can adjust that dose more often, and avoid expensive and far apart vet blood tests! Once your kitty is regulated, there is a chance that his pancreas will kick back in, and the turmoil will be well worth it. My Oscar is only 7, and he has many more loving years ahead of him! Since your kitty has had high blood glucose numbers (500 and above), make sure you pick up ketone sticks from your pharmacist (no prescription needed) or get a ketone measuring blood meter. Ketones can be very dangerous and it is important to read up on the symptoms. Other than that, read ...read.... read! There is so much information out there, and it really helps you feel more optimistic :-D
I'm sure other, more experienced mommies will chime in here, but I want to extend a welcome to you - you've come to the right place! cat_pet_icon
 
Hi I am sorry to hear that you are having difficulties. Maybe we can break this down and take it step by step to find out exactly what the problems are and how we can help.

So let's start with some basic questions:
- what kind of insulin are you using?
- How much and how frequently are you giving insulin?
- What kind of food are you feeding?
- What is the frequency of feeding?
- Can you get any home tests done?
- What is the technique you are using?
- What size (gauge) lancets are you using?
- Do you test free hand or with the lancet device?
- What type of insulin syringes are you using - size/gauge, length etc.
- Where do you live? City/state, province/country is fine

Now, please don't feel guilty or bad. The important thing is you are coming here and asking for help.

Depending on where you live, there may be a member local to you who can help teach you how to home test and give you some in person support and suggestions.

Is your vet supportive of your efforts to home test? If yes, then I recommend that you ask the vet for lessons on ear testing AND insulin injecting.

My vet helped me with the insulin injecting and I got it and don't think I ever did a fur shot. Of course, I thought all of them were, considering how little insulin was being used.

I asked syringes and lancets as it could be possible that you are using a lancet that is too thin to draw blood and a larger one may work better for you.

Do you warm the ear before testing? It's easy to do - make a warming sock - take one sock - put about 1/4 cup of oatmeal, rice or beans in it. Knot the top, place in microwave for about 30 seconds. Remove and place behind kitty's ear - hold there about 30 seconds or so until ear is warmed up.

this will help the blood flow.

Technique about poking - Hold the lancet at a 45% upward angle and poke that way. Also you want to poke along the edge of the ear, between the vein and edge:

101_0669.jpg


sweetspot.jpg


1) Feline Nutrition: Now, as far as diet - definitely dump the dry food (if you are feeding any) and if the vet recommends purchasing prescription food like DM just say "no thank you". ALL cats, and especially those with diabetes, do best on a species appropriate diet that is high in protein and low in carbs. Dry food DOES NOT fit that bill and DM food, even canned, just really isn't that great as far as quality. Most here on FDMB feed low carb/high protein canned, raw bought from a pet store or they make there own.

Here great links, one is to a food chart put together by one of our board members that breaks down the carb % and protein % of most of the commercial brand foods. You want to keep the carb % below 10% and around 7% is great. The other link is to a site by a vet "Dr. Lisa DVM" ... who also posts on this board from time to time ... there is in-depth info. there about many things, including nutrition and how to make raw food.
Nutrition/food info

The good thing with feeding your diabetic cat this way, is that it is ALSO good for any non-diabetic cat too. All your cats can safely eat the same food without worry and it may save you some costs and headaches of having to do separate feedings and keeping track of what they are eating.


There is lots more assistance we can offer, but in order to do so, please answer the questions asked.
 
Hi deltaj49,
would u be able to give us ur first name? its ok if you choose not to.


Hillary mentioned this in her post
- Where do you live? City/state, province/country is fine
Click to expand...

often times, there may be another member in your area that may be able to assist with the testing and injections.

Dont give up ok? Feline diabetes is manageable, many here manage very well, with families and jobs on the go. The first while can be really overwhelming, but it is do-able.

You're going to get a lot of support here, so hang in there ok?
 
Dana & Thomas said:
I have been taking care of Thomas' diabetes for over 9 years no--along with several other issues, and at time it still gets overwhelming. You should probably tell us about his special food, because I am pretty sure that it is purchased from the vet, and not really doing anything good for his diabetes. Thomas used to run away at first, but he always let me catch him. Now I just sit in my chair and call him, and he comes to me for the works.
Diabetes is very treatable.
Dana
Click to expand...


He is eating Hill's Science Diet M/D dry food and I buy the canned as well. He is on 5 units x 2 day of BCP PZI. The same vet hospital (different vet) originally prescribed Humilin N. I tried doing the bg check this morning in his ear but I had to restrained him and I actually was unable to poke him hard enough to draw blood. And I tried like 5 times and he was getting madder and madder. So frustrating! The vet wanted me to check his blood three times today (I brought him home from the hospital on Thursday) but so far not successful. I will try again this afternoon.

My big worry is that he will go hypo or hyper-glycemic. I watch him and am super-sensitive about his behavior. I think - oh, he looks like he is hyperglycemic or if he's sleeping I wake him up to be sure he is okay. I just can't relax...
 
I've cross posted your thread to the PZI forum, so some PZI users should be along thru the day to assist you with the insulin, ok?
 
Please tell us what city and state you are in. We have so many members everywhere. It is so much easier when you have a little support from someone that has been in your shoes. This disease is very manageable. At 9 years old, K.C. has many, many years ahead of him! Let us help you.
 
Hi and welcome,

I'm not going to give you any advice right now, I just want to tell you what it was like for me when I adopted Tucker.

Late summer in '05 we found each other. After his first day I knew something was wrong. Many tests and issues later, one thing he had was diabetes. I found a site about a cat named Jasper with neuropathy, the site owner Laurie helped me learn to hometest. But I had this old Bayer meter that needed tons of blood.

Every single time I tried to get a hometest I would cry before during and after. I was killing Tucker and myself. Sometimes I even had to press him down against the bed to get him to stay still. I wanted to give up. Then I found a different meter and learned to calm down a little. Then I learned to calm down a lot. If I was anxious, Tucker was anxious. Things got so easy after a few months that in February of '06 I asked my vet to ever tell me if a cat was surrendered for FD because I could take another and they did have one that was surrendered to be put down a few weeks earlier but my vet had the owner sign over the cat to them.

I adopted Sadie the very next day. By the time I got to FDMB I had two diabetic cats and wanted to learn more. Here I learned about proper diet and most importantly how to understand the data I was collecting on the BGs. I learned about different insulins and eventually adopted a third diabetic off this board named Misty.

Sadie passed from heart disease and Misty from stomach cancer, but Tucker is still here and doing well.

I truly believe that once you find this place, you listen to the stories, you learn about FD, I do believe that you will become confident with treating FD and you and your kitty will have a great quality of life.

Give yourself a break, don't beat yourself up, just learn, read and ask questions, lots and lots of questions. Then know that you are already doing an amazing job with your kitty, you started treating and you did your research and found the Board.
 
Hillary & Maui said:
Hi I am sorry to hear that you are having difficulties. Maybe we can break this down and take it step by step to find out exactly what the problems are and how we can help.
I am overwhelmed with the responses from everyone on this site! YOu have given me some fantastic info. I will check the links below. Thank you!
So let's start with some basic questions:
- what kind of insulin are you using? BCP PZI
- How much and how frequently are you giving insulin? 7 a.m. and 7 p.m 5 units x 2 day

- What kind of food are you feeding? Hill's Science Diet M/D dry and wet-
What is the frequency of feeding? 2/3 cup dry free feeding, I give him wet before his shots since he likes it and I know he has eaten- Can you get any home tests done? I am trying to test his blood - I will follow the tips below
- What is the technique you are using?
- What size (gauge) lancets are you using? Not sure-
Do you test free hand or with the lancet device? I tried both but havent done in the area of the ear that your picture shows. Also, I tried warming the ear, he wasn't happy with that! Just I will try again,
- What type of insulin syringes are you using - size/gauge, length etc. 1/2 cc 29G x 1/2" U-40 Insulin-
Where do you live? City/state, province/country is fine small town in Alaska USA

Now, please don't feel guilty or bad. The important thing is you are coming here and asking for help.

Depending on where you live, there may be a member local to you who can help teach you how to home test and give you some in person support and suggestions.

Is your vet supportive of your efforts to home test? If yes, then I recommend that you ask the vet for lessons on ear testing AND insulin injecting. the vet has been great - he is diabetic as well.

My vet helped me with the insulin injecting and I got it and don't think I ever did a fur shot. Of course, I thought all of them were, considering how little insulin was being used.

I asked syringes and lancets as it could be possible that you are using a lancet that is too thin to draw blood and a larger one may work better for you.

Do you warm the ear before testing? It's easy to do - make a warming sock - take one sock - put about 1/4 cup of oatmeal, rice or beans in it. Knot the top, place in microwave for about 30 seconds. Remove and place behind kitty's ear - hold there about 30 seconds or so until ear is warmed up.

this will help the blood flow.

Technique about poking - Hold the lancet at a 45% upward angle and poke that way. Also you want to poke along the edge of the ear, between the vein and edge:

101_0669.jpg


sweetspot.jpg


1) Feline Nutrition: Now, as far as diet - definitely dump the dry food (if you are feeding any) and if the vet recommends purchasing prescription food like DM just say "no thank you". ALL cats, and especially those with diabetes, do best on a species appropriate diet that is high in protein and low in carbs. Dry food DOES NOT fit that bill and DM food, even canned, just really isn't that great as far as quality. Most here on FDMB feed low carb/high protein canned, raw bought from a pet store or they make there own.

Here great links, one is to a food chart put together by one of our board members that breaks down the carb % and protein % of most of the commercial brand foods. You want to keep the carb % below 10% and around 7% is great. The other link is to a site by a vet "Dr. Lisa DVM" ... who also posts on this board from time to time ... there is in-depth info. there about many things, including nutrition and how to make raw food.
Nutrition/food info

The good thing with feeding your diabetic cat this way, is that it is ALSO good for any non-diabetic cat too. All your cats can safely eat the same food without worry and it may save you some costs and headaches of having to do separate feedings and keeping track of what they are eating.


There is lots more assistance we can offer, but in order to do so, please answer the questions asked.
Click to expand...
 
Lee and Tida (GA) said:
Please tell us what city and state you are in. We have so many members everywhere. It is so much easier when you have a little support from someone that has been in your shoes. This disease is very manageable. At 9 years old, K.C. has many, many years ahead of him! Let us help you.
Click to expand...

I live in Delta Junction Alaska - 100 miles from Fairbanks. It's a small town, don't know anyone else here with this issue....
 
(just fyi I added an xpost in Community for Alaskans....)

Yes it will get easier, hang in there!!!

I struggled with shots for a long time - I was all shaky and sometimes in tears - now I don't even think twice about it, it's so darn easy!!!

Hometesting too took me a long time to master, and a lot of tears and frustrations. The key for me turned out to be to establish a routine first without the actual ear prick - get the test kit out and set up, let Bix sniff it and get used to it, get him used to having his ears handled, etc. Once I discovered that I could be leisurely about it and he wouldn't run away - he enjoyed the attention actually, and found the test kit interesting to look at and paw at - I realized I had time to breath and let my hands stop shaking! Then the actual ear prick became just a small part of the bigger process, rather than this terrifying thing that I felt like I had to do as fast as I could with a growling cat before he ran away.

You've gotten a lot of good info here so I won't add much, but want to be sure you know that if you make a food change, you should definitely drop the insulin dose down. 5u might be ok on dry food (could be too high, but hard to say really w/o data), but will most likely be too much on LC canned. My cat needed about 4.5 units on dry MD/d/m, and more like 1.5u on LC canned. That's just my cat, but to give you an example of what it can look like.

p.s. I found using Ketostix regularly to test for ketones helped me a lot to calm down about the high #s. You can get those from any drugstore, and then you just stick the strip under them when they are peeing. If that is negative and they are not obviously really sick, you can be reasonably confident there is no immediate crisis with higher #s.
 
hi there,

I think we were all in your shoes when we first got the diagnosis. Very overwhelmed and scared. I can assure you though that while the learning curve is very steep it is pretty short. Concentrate on home testing, and everything else will fall into place.

When my Em was diagnosed, she was on 7 units of insulin BID, but she was also eating dry food. Once I switched her over to a low carb high protein food (m/d is high carb) her insulin need dropped down to 1 unit bid. Many cats get off insulin all together with the right diet (but not all do)

I found that home testing went a lot smoother with a few tweaks. first off my Em hated to give up blood. It was almost as bad as getting blood from a stone. So a transition to a meter that required the smallest amount of blood made it a lot easier on both of us. Second was to have a tissue folded up several times to be thicker then the lancet I was using. I was mostly scared of poking through her ear and poking myself to be confident. Once I started using the tissue on the under side of the ear, I was able to poke her with enough force to get blood. Lastly I stopped poking just once. I took the lancet and poked in three different spots close to one another to aid in getting blood before trying to "milk" her ear to encourage blood to flow through the holes.

I find that if you make testing a loving time with your cat, lots of kisses and if your cat is food motivated a jar of treats in front of her first and a small treat after wards, you can get her to put up with it. I have even seen some owners have cats who *want* to be tested.

Your attitude does make a world of difference too. If you are nervous then they are nervous and won't let you do anything to them. Take a few minutes to give yourself some courage. Remind yourself that you are doing this for the best interest of your kitty.

Once you get home testing down, you'll know how the insulin is acting in your kitty. so when you decide to change the food to something with less carbs, you will have better control of what is going on. I always like to remind people that it is better for your kitty to live with high glucose numbers for a long time then to go too low for even a moment, so if you ever have doubts, give less or no insulin.

You can do this. The fact that you found us and posted here shows me that.

Connie
 
Hey there and welcome. It sounds like the others have been offering some great help.

I certainly had a difficult time when I started. You can read my testing tips here:
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=6727&p=67873#p67873

I thought I would share the Clothes Pin / Peg trick with you. It might help if your kitty is getting a little too crazy:
http://www.felinecrf.org/giving_sub-qs_ ... _peg_trick

Also, I like to use 28g lancets some are 30 or 31g and are too small for beginner IMHO.

Also once you get up and running or anytime for that matter, please feel free to join us over in the PZI Insulin Support Group.

Once you get going with the testing you will also probably want to get a spread sheet going instructions here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16

And also a profile - instructions here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=531
both of these will help others here help you better.

Jennifer, that's a great story. :smile:

Good luck, keep us posted on your progress.
 
Hey, it's February, and to me EVERYTHING seems worse in February. I'm pretty sure that if you spend a little time around here, talk a few things out, get and take some suggestions, you might just be surprised how much better things can get for both you and kitty. Pretty much every one of the hundreds of people who frequent this board have gone through something similar and many of us have really improved our kitties lives by taking the time to read, answer and listen to advice they have received here.

You seem like a sensitive, intelligent person who CAN do this, you are just feeling overwhelmed. Kitty sounds like your buddy and friend and for that he/she deserves you giving it a try.

A really good place to start is our "Health Links" forum. viewforum.php?f=14

Wow, I just realized i'd been away from my computer and a lot of others have responded, so I'm sorry if I'm being repetitve

Welcome and please come back- help is here! :-D
 
Hi there!
Others have given you great advice. I am relatively new to hometesting and have dealt with diabetes for only 5 months, so I won't try to advise you on any specifics.
I just wanted to add even more moral support. The wonderful people on this board are truly caring and helpful.
I remember how overwhelming the diagnosis can be. IT DOES GET BETTER! There's a big learning curve, but with a little time and patience you will be able to get your kitty back on track!!
Joanna's advice for establishing a routine was spot-on. Its important for you and your kitty to feel relaxed and calm. Doing those simple things she mentioned will go a long way to successful testing and shooting.
I remember all those sleepless nights worrying about hypos--and waking him every hour to make sure he wasn't too low. With hometesting, the anxiety goes away!! Its one of the most important things you can do for your kitty.
Take a few days to let all the info you are receiving to settle--remember to breathe; and you will do great!
 
Just to make sure,

BCP PZI can come in U-40 strength and U-100 strength.

Do you know which strength you BCP is? Probably U-40 since you are using U-40 needles. But just wanted to double check.

100 miles is like next door in Alaska terms, right? :smile:
 
Hang in there.

5u twice a day is quite, quite high. The dry food is probably keeping him from hypo. Dry food has too many carbs for diabetics, but unless you lower the dose and start hometesting, let's take it one step at a time.

The board is a little slow now, but we have many members in Alaska. Hang in there. We will help you figure this out. confused_cat :YMPEACE:
 
Gator & H said:
Just to make sure,

BCP PZI can come in U-40 strength and U-100 strength.

Do you know which strength you BCP is? Probably U-40 since you are using U-40 needles. But just wanted to double check.

100 miles is like next door in Alaska terms, right? :smile:
Click to expand...

Yes , 40U.
 
Joanne,
Saw u posted in my recent pzi thread asking what otj means. Its great that u r asking questions, its the best way to learn! I'm replying here 'cause I doubt you would see it on the other thread.

Have u checked out the 'common terms' list? A lot of people here use abbreviations and its helpful to have a reference to what everything means!

http://www.gorbzilla.com/fd_glossary.htm

I know this helped me a lot at first--I'm new to posting anything online, and don't always know what abbreviations mean:)

There are a few of us who have been lucky enough to have kitties that are in a 'honeymoon' period due to a change in diet, and careful bg monitoring. Not everyone has these results, but there is hope; especially if the disease is caught early and there are no other health complications/issues.

Good luck, and keep posting info about your sugarcat & questions!!

Jen
 
Just wanted to say hello and to add my support. This will get easier.....esepcially with all the help you will get from people here.....I used to cry everytime I had to test Zoe....and then someone told me, if I was calm, she would be calm.....guess what? It worked. So I learned to be calm around her when testing or shooting....even if I had to fake the "calm". :smile: There is so much to learn and you have already gotten a lot of great info....just know there will always be someone here, to help or answer questions....keep reading and keep asking.

Sherry & Zoe
 
So it's another day and I tried several times to get blood form K.C. to no avail. No now it's time for his morning shot and he hasn't eaten. Normally he eats his wet food (the treat I give him before shots) and at least some dry. But without knowing his BG and without him eating, I don't want to give him a shot. It could be because I stressed him out by TRYING to get blood. This is not easy. It looks like he is back to drinking a lot and peeing a lot -is that a sign of too high glucose? This is very hard. :(
 
Joanne and K.C. said:
So it's another day and I tried several times to get blood form K.C. to no avail. No now it's time for his morning shot and he hasn't eaten. Normally he eats his wet food (the treat I give him before shots) and at least some dry. But without knowing his BG and without him eating, I don't want to give him a shot. It could be because I stressed him out by TRYING to get blood. This is not easy. It looks like he is back to drinking a lot and peeing a lot -is that a sign of too high glucose? This is very hard. :(
Click to expand...

Without him eating and not being able to get a reading, if you shoot, I would do a really small one. Is he just squirming a lot? Have you tried the burrito method? (wrap the cat up in a small blanket like a burrito to keep the paws from flying). This gives me as much time as I want to be able to milk my Oscar's ear for blood. It is less stressful for both of us.
 
What kind of "clicker" [lancing device] are you using? And what setting do you have it on? And are you getting that ear warm enough with that rice sock so that the veins start to bulge a little?

I can only image how chilly it gets up there in AK right now and there little ears seem to get quite frosty in the cold and can take a while to warm up.
 
You are right, drinking & peeing a lot is a sign of high glucose. Many cats can tolerate that for quite a while (days/weeks) though, so don't freak yourself out over it. If you can check his pee for ketones, that is ideal - if he doesn't have them then no need to worry too much.

I agree if he is not eating you should be more cautious about giving insulin. Is he acting really sick, or just not in the mood to eat right now? Sometimes when their BG is high they are not that interested in food, but at other times it can be a sign of something more serious.

One vet told me once to give a 1/2 dose if my cat wasn't eating. There isn't really a right answer that I know of on that front - some people will say don't shoot anything if you don't have a test. I'd say maybe give 1 unit or something? It's really some amount of guesswork. Their bodies are pretty good at protecting themselves from hypo though, so while I wouldn't give him a full dose if he isn't eating, I also wouldn't get freaked out about giving him something.

You can get this under control!!! As people told me when I got here "this is a marathon, not a sprint". You just take it one day at a time, and do your best.
 
OK, I really don't know that we have any one up by you so you'll just have to learn and you can. I just had the videos to go by and here is what I learned. Don't try too many times at once. I put our limit at 3 times. The more anxious you get the more anxious he will get. You are already shooting blind, so it's not like you are losing anything.

Learn the amount of pressure to poke with by poking yourself. It takes a bit of pressure and a good backing to the ear. I use my finger. Some use their warm rice bag (I found that had too much give). Some put a tissue folded on their finger in case they poke through. I find poking through is not all that helpful. Deeper settings on the lancet device is not that helpful. A little more firm pressure is. Notice, poking yourself, how much you have to push. Transfer taht "feel" to the ear against your finger. It's like poking your own finger, just with the ear between.

Try hitting as near the edge of the ear as possible. Note where your hole in the lancet device is and just match it up to the edge of the ear.

Once you poke, gently milk the ear a wee bit. When you start out, there is this feeling of FAST FAST FAST I HAVE TO BE FAST! But there is actually quite a little bit of time between putting the strip in and getting your "beep" and it erring out. Try not to race. There is time for a second or two of milking.

What kind of meter are you using? Maybe it is one that takes a larger sample of blood. If you have a Walmart, try a Relion Micro. In other brands, the Accu-chek Aviva and the Freestyle work best for tiny blood samples.

To help calm you both, try occasionally to do the "poke" without any lancet in, while the kitty is relaxed. Sleeping. Lying nearby. It will get you BOTH used to hearing the click, to being in a relaxed frame of mind for poking.

You WILL eventually be successful. Really you WILL. It's just a matter of when.

What did your cat eat before? What does he like? Many cats just quit eating that vet food. Eating is more important that what he is eating for now.

I sure wish you were closer to make this easier but you CAN do this. I know it is overwhelming and sad and hard at first. It's just something we have to accept to get to where it isn't that way anymore and we are on the right treatment regime.

I really sense you are stressing about the testing so much you may be hindering yourself. It's important, yes, but it's not going to do you a bit of good to stress out so much about it you are both roiled up.

It sounds like your vet may advise hometesting, since he wanted some numbers. Do they teach it? COuld a vet tech come by and maybe show you or help you?

Remember we are here and you can talk with us as much as you need. I know there is more to address, but it really seems like you need the testing advice above everything and the very first thing you need to learn about that is to try to not make it a big deal. To breathe. To relax. Easier said than done, I know. It's the same with shots. The more casual you are, the more it will work.

About the shots, you probably have u40 needles which are bigger. You *can* get the much thinner u100 needles and use this conversion chart:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/insulin-conversions.htm

Those thinner gauge needles (31 gauge) are WAY easier to use. I know I just had a terrible time until I switched to them.

It will look like more insulin, but it is the same amount if you *use that chart*.

Also, it may be a technique issue. Can you describe how you give the shot? Maybe we can help too with that if you tell us how you approach it.

I know this is hard but hang in there. We are ALL rooting for you.
 
Welcome!

I can promise you that it will get easier. Take a deep breath, eat some chocolate, and give K.C. a little lovin'. Others have already addressed the diabetes with you so I'll pass along the best advice I received when i started. Head over to the Community forum and relax a little bit. Easier said then done I know. I was reminded that there is so much more to this board and while we are vigilant about diabetes care, it's important to take care of ourselves as well. Between the shots and testing don't forget about yourself. I even got some help today with my homework over there :-D! People here are amazing and if you give it a little time, you'll get to see it for yourself.

BTW When Margaret was diagnosed, I was in tears many times the first 2 weeks. We had even discussed when "enough was enough" for her as she hated testing! Needless to say we didn't give up, she's now off insulin, and is currently sleeping on the couch in the lap of luxury. She still hates being tested but for the few seconds it takes, she can deal with being unhappy. Plus, she get's a special treat after tests.

You can do this!

Good luck!
 
Just chiming in to add to the long list of people already telling you... "honestly, it gets WAY easier".. I was a member of the cryers club when I first started (and a while into it hahah).. would take me over an hour locked in the bathroom with my cat to get a test and shot done..

My cat absolutely hates her ears touched.. "warming" is a no go.. and milking her ears is a good way to get her REALLY mad.. she prefers I stab repeatedly if necessary to any mucking with her ears.. until I got the hang of it I tested my cat in the sink (slippery so they can't get away so easy).. since I didn't have anyone to hold her for me. Lots of bribes are important too.. low carb treats like freeze dried cat treats, bacon bits (real bacon) or pieces of cooked chicken.. that sort of thing is preferred.. bribes for you too.. chocolate.. wine.. etc.

Try all sorts of different things.. every cat/human is different..

I use a lancet device.. when I first started it was on a pretty high setting.. often I'd go right through the ear.. took me a while to figure out where her sweet spots are. You can use either edge of the ear (towards the middle of the head/towards the outside) and from either the inside or the outside of the ear.. if the blood that does come out spreads along the fur before you can get it.. try putting a little bit of vaseline on the area before you poke.. it helps the blood pool.

If your cat is like mine and hates ear touching.. you can try the trick I use.. I cut an inch at a time off a straw and cut the end off at an angle to make a little spoon (sort of like a slurpee straw) and scoop the blood up with that and test from it.

Use polysporin after the pokes to help heal the ouchies.


As for the needles.. I used to have a big fear of needles (having a diabetic cat clears that up quick! :) )..and used to get the shakes really bad.. I just fed my cat a ton of cookies to distract her while I gave the needle.. garbage cookies at first, and migrated her to healthier cookies for diabetic cats when I got better at shooting.. not really the healthiest thing to do.. but it turned things around in a week.. short term pains for long term gains.
 
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