HELP! I am butchering my cat's ears

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RobinCot

RobinCot

Member Since 2013
I am a new and committed foster mom to a precious sugar cat and am having a lot of stress over testing. I was trained by a great volunteer but left on my own, it's just not working. Either I can't get blood or he moves before I can grab the reader. He is white so I can see every bloody poke and bruise. He is not as cooperative as he was when the trainer was here. I haven't been able to get a good test in two days.

I am however excited that since I am transitioning my own cats to a raw diet, I offered my sugar cat a plateful and he ate most of it. So he's doing really well but I am not being a good foster mommy to him. I am going to try the rice in a baby sock thing but I can't seem to find an unbruised area to poke into. How can I help heal his poor ears. I really hate hurting him but I know it is necessary. cat(2)_steam
 
Breathe. Relax...
Seriously - they can tell when we are getting stressed out. My Chester is a great guy for testing, until I'm running late in the morning or I'm having a grumpy day. Then he turns into Mr. Squirmy. Cats pick up on our body language, and you sound like you are a little nervous. Try to relax, and make sure you give a treat for every poke until he gets used to your routine.

If you can get a good blood drop, you can get it onto your fingernail and test from there. If your cat won't sit still long enough, that's definitely an option. Just make sure your nails are clean before you test.

It does take practice to get the routine down. Treats are important for the cat and for you.
Breathe. You'll both be OK.
 
White cat's ears do look worse than others. You can hold the spot for a few seconds after the poke to minimize bruising. You can use neosporin with pain relief. And you can alternate ears.

We used the kitty burrito with Oliver until he got used to the process and realized a treat was always coming afterward. You wrap the cat in a towel with only his head showing. Would that help?
 
are you warming the ear before you poke? Also are you massaging his ears to get him used to having them touched?

To warm the ear - get a sock - any sock without holes will do.
Add 1/4 cup (doesn't have to be exact) of regular rice (not instant), dry beans OR oatmeal (my preference)
Knot the top of sock, so stuff stays in
Put in microwave 15-30 seconds, until warm to touch
Place behind cat's ear to warm it up

You can also keep it there when poking so as you don't poke your fingers and you can feel more confident in poking.

Are you using the lancet device or poking free hand? Maybe try the opposite. Personally I find poking free hand that I have more control. Just be sure to poke at an upward 45 degreeish angle. Not straight on (like you were to pierce).

Are you using neosporin with pain relief on the ears after poking? This will help reduce the bruising and heal the scars that are forming.

If you can share your process and technique with us, we can help you come up with more ideas.
 
Also you can insert the strip part way into the meter. Once you get the drop of blood sipped up then push the strip the rest of the way in.

Good luck and best wishes. You are this kitties angel.Thank you,
jeanne
 
Yes, I am going to try the warm sock tonight. I also gave both ears a good dose of Neosporin last night. Thanks for the tip about the upward angle. I am free-hand poking so that is good to know. I have been coming in at an angle from the edge inward. I try to hold the spot with cotton to eliminate bruising if he hasn't wormed himself out of my grip. All of this advice is sooooo helpful! I am grateful.
 
I really like the fingernail suggestion too. Holding a squirming cat's ear while trying to push a half inserted test strip in is proving difficult and yes, he gets a treat afterwards. I look forward to the day when he just relaxes. I know that I need to relax first though. Thanks again for all these suggestions.
 
I try to hold the spot with cotton to eliminate bruising if he hasn't wormed himself out of my grip.
Click to expand...
Another wiggle worm!! ;-)

I did a BG on my OTJ sugar hunk Wink this morning. After the poke and sip he does not want me to be still holding on to his ear for more than 5-10 seconds to help stem the bruising. He wants his treat NOW!!! :o :shock: :o So I give him his treat and then put pressure on the ear for another 10 seconds or so.

With the warm sock or by rubbing the ear, I am able to see the marginal vein actually raised up a little under good lighting. My eyesight really needs good light to see well these days. Once you see that raised marginal vein, you know the blood will flow better so time to poke.
 
you can try by giving him part of his treat when you get him in "the spot" so he is busy with that when you actually test him.

here is a pic of the upward angle I'm referring to:



And just for reference, here is a pic of the sweet spot - where you are aiming to poke:



Also, are you poking from the back of the ear to the front or the front (inside of ear) to back? You may want to poke from the opposite of what you are doing.

I always poke from the inside front of ear to the back (similar to putting in earrings). And found this to be easier. I know others who do it from the back (outside) of ear to front. Either way is fine, it's just figuring out which is easier for you.

Also do you have the cat facing you or away from you? I could test Maui either way, even sideways :) but she was always easy to test.

Are you standing or sitting when testing? Is the cat on a table, countertop, floor, sofa, chair?

All kinds of ways to test and get you and the cat positioned. The best part is when you train the cat to come when called or hear the treat bag or unzip of the meter bag - cause he knows treats are happening.

Maui's favorite treats is being brushed. And if I wouldn't brush her or would cheat her out of enough brushing time, she would refuse to move from the testing spot and would merow at me until I came back and did what she wanted. so she trained me well.
 
I was a tragedy with ear poking. Make sure you get 26G lancets. If you are free handing you have to get the speed of a lancet pen. Freehanding didn't work for me, but the click from the pen scares my cat. Also the beep from the monitor. I warm up a sweater in the dryer and wrap his back legs up, then I torture him with kisses and wrap the end of the sleeve around his ear while it's warm and make his ear warm.

Eventually it won't take much warming for the ear to give it up. Then you will just have to work around the ear evasion tactics. like the "duck under the bed" technique, and the "look how high up on this shelf I am" maneuver.
 
Wow! I am really learning a lot here. I like the idea of giving one treat at poke time and giving one while trying to hold the spot afterwards. I also think that maybe I am not poking fast enough. I will consider that tonight. I place him on a table top and stand over him. He is facing away so I can use my torso to secure him. I have not considered poking from the inside and his current bruising spots are lower on the ear so I may look for a new spot in a higher part of the ear instead. After reading all your suggestions, I really think my main problem is that the ear is not warm enough and I am not poking fast enough. I will plan a better test method tonight. Thanks!!!!
 
look at the picture in my above post - the ideal poking area is the sweet spot - give or take. If you are poking closer to the lobe than the top of the ear, that could be part of the problem.

Warm ears always tend to bleed better - also you may discover than one ear bleeds better than the other. Why - who knows and then you may find that the ear that bleeds better doesn't one day and you go with the opposite ear.

Yup - we are full of tips and tricks and things to try. Remember we all started out new and unsure too and learned along the way. You will too.
 
It took me awhile to get this down too. Don't worry you will get it. Go to youtube and look at videos on testing a cat's bg levels. Those really helped me. I also suggest the burrito.:)
 
It will all come together some day soon. Put on your patience pants and remember to keep doing the deep breathing to calm your self down too! :razz:
 
UPDATE: Success!!! Thanks to all the help I received from this board - I now have a rice sock, a calm kitty and successful test numbers. What a relief. He remained calm and just sat there staring at the treats lined up for him on the windowsill so I did not have to hold him as tightly. The warm sock really helped and now I can even hold the spot afterwards and apply Neosporin while he waits patiently for me to let go so he can reach the treats. I can't thank you enough for all your support and suggestions. I may purchase a ReliOn meter since it takes less amount of blood than the Freestyle.

Now I have to work on injections. I think I got a fur shot this morning. He is reacting when I pull his fur up. I may be injecting in the same spot so I am working on finding new spots and calming him down so he doesn't jerk. I watched several videos on testing and injecting yesterday that are helpful.
 
Yay! This is great! Knew it would come together for you and love that he is waiting patiently for you test and get his treats! Isn't it cool how quickly they learn to associate this with something yummy.

So what are the numbers you got?

Tell us how/where you are injecting, what size syringe you are using and long or short needle and I am sure we can provide guidance to help you do this successfully too.
 
Congratulations!!!!! :RAHCAT :RAHCAT :RAHCAT

Yeah! Double Yeah Yeah! On getting the rice sock in use and having those treats lined up waiting for your kitty post test. Pretty soon you can say 'Test Time' and he'll come running for the test because he knows there is a reward for being such a good boy.

There was a good post around on alternate places to give the injection with a link to a picture. Here it is:

Read this post by another member in Feline Health forum: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=94781 You just need to click on the blue underlined link and it will take you directly to this other post. There are some suggestions in there and Barb &Mr. Frog have a link to a diagram that shows where you can inject the insulin.

You may want to shave a small area on your cat where you inject. It can make it easier, especially with longer haired kitties. Also when you are first learning to inject, seeing just the skin helps.

My medium-hair length foster cat Wink had lost so much fur due to his diabetes that there were already multiple bald patches to choose from, no shaving required. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Would you be willing to add a little information to your user control panel, profile, edit signature so we would have a quick snapshot of information for you and your kitty? Your name, kitty's name and age, diagnosis date, insulin used, meter used, any other health issues or medications your cat is receiving, food being fed i.e. Friskies pates or Wellness low carb. This really helps those of us advising you.

Thanks.
 
Yes I saw the injecting picture and printed it out to take home. I also read through that forum which was helpful. I will work on his profile. Please understand that I only started fostering Snoball three days ago and all his equipment came from the rescue group. I will have to gather it all up and take it to the computer to work on his profile. It is not readily in my mind yet. He had been in another foster home for three weeks prior to my getting him and we may have found a forever home for him starting next month - if I can bare to let him go :sad:
 
tell us your technique and we may have ideas for improvement.

and well if you become a foster failure, then you will get to decide on his care without needing to get permission...... ;-)
 
Hillary & Maui said:
And just for reference, here is a pic of the sweet spot - where you are aiming to poke:
Click to expand...

I can sympathize. I did a curve over the weekend and his poor ears are all bruised up now.

One thing I will say is that the "sweet spot" picture threw me off for the first few days of testing. I finally took a flashlight to his ear and, in his ears at least, the vein is much further from the edge. So I moved where I was poking him and have had a lot more luck.
 
and we may have found a forever home for him starting next month - if I can bare to let him go :sad:
Click to expand...

Well, Wink is my foster kitty since 1/17/2013. If you think he is going back to the rescue society you are hugely mistaken. The only reason he maintains his foster status is so the rescue society will still pay for his vet care. I consider him my long term foster. :cool:

I have a second foster kitty, Delta, from the same rescue. She has been with me since 12/23/2011 and was supposed to be a hospice foster, not expected to live more than a few months due to renal lymphoma. Still alive and kicking and the rescue has said "Oh, must not have been renal lymphoma after all." She is not going anywhere either and is my second long term foster. :shock:
 
Mnyc said:
I consider him my long term foster.
Click to expand...

Thanks Deb

An application for Snoball came in on the second day I had him, which is good. If I could get him regulated, I too would want to keep him. I have the perfect home for sugar kitties because I do not allow dry food in the front door and am transitioning my cats (a long, slow, patience-testing process) to a Raw Food diet. Snoball loves the Raw food without any enticement. He will be so healthy once he is regulated. But if he is adopted then I could foster another sugar kitty.

I had only ever considered fostering before because I thought it would be too hard for me to give them up - even to a good home. This will be a good test.

It is nice to see that you feel the same way about yours. You have provided life-saving and long-term care and it looks like Wink and Delta are thriving.
 
A little more help....

Does the ReliOn meter require less blood than the OneTouch? The rescue people gave me a OneTouch but I would run out and purchase a ReliOn if it requires less blood.
 
The Relion Confirm takes 0.3 mL of blood. Test strips~ $0.36 each
The Relion Prime takes 0.5 mL of blood.Test strips ~$0.18 each

Which One Touch meter model do you have?
 
I called customer service and Angela told me it requires 5 microliter and then she said it needs 1 microliter. She then said you need a blood drop the size of a match head. That means, the 5 mL is probably correct.

I've been using the Relion Confirm for 3 months. I only need a blood drop about the size of the head of a straight pin. Very small.

Milking the ear, place fingers down low by cats head and gently push along the vein. This can often enlarge the size of your blood drop as you ar pushing the blood along the vein up to your poke spot.

One trick that I have learned to do, is to angle the strip at about a 45 degree angle. I have lousy eyesight with only vision in one eye so I had to figure out a way to touch the test strip to the blood drop without flooding the strip with too much blood. Flooding the strip can give you wonky numbers and sometimes an error code.

For those cats that shake their heads, try scooping the blood drop from the cat's ear onto your fingernail and test from your fingernail. My bathroom started to look like an abattoir with all the head shakes! ohmygod_smile
 
No present day meter/strip requires 5 ul.
I has an old Gluco that required a whopping 3 ul.
The old gold standard One Touch required 1 ul
Most of the ones now require 0.3, 0.5 or 0.6 ul.
 
I have the one touch ultra meter and yes it does require a lot of blood! I also have a bayer contour that takes such a tiny amount of blood (similar to the Relion) and when I started with the bayer, I was getting way too much blood on the strips and quickly realized that it only wants a drop compared to the huge puddle that OTU wants.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the OTU, but it can be frustrating to use especially if the ear decides not to gush during the test. I had more error strips because of not enough blood using the OTU then using the Bayer.

Oh and the OTU meter (at least the one I have) require you to code the strip to the meter. Whereas the Bayer and (I believe ) the Relion do not require coding. Which then make those much simpler to use, as you don't have to do that extra step.
 
Ok - that helps. I could not get a straight answer about how much blood the OneTouch meter needed. I think I will go ahead and invest in a ReliOn Micro or Prime. Thanks for the info.
 
Coding is not needed on the regular OTU anymore. The strips are all coded to 25 and you just put the strip in. As far as amount of blood needed, I have compared many meters over the years and I cannot see where the OTU needs any more blood than the other meters. I get a little drop up, same as I did for other meters, and it has always been enough for the OTU. Now, the OTU 2, or the Mini, I don't know.......I've been using the regular OTU for years, no bells or whistles, and I totally depend on it and trust it.
 
Hillary, mine are older than that :o I still have Baby's (GA) meter and Hope, Mishka and MC all have their own. Heck, I've been using Mishka's for over 10 + years all I do is put a new battery in when needed.
 
Yeah - my OTU does not need coding but I have had too many errors for not enough blood even after massaging the ear below the drop and this morning I hit the vein and got a big drop but certainly don't want to ever do that again. I think the smaller drop meter will be better for me. I am glad that those with OTUs have been able to get enough and not had problems. I get excited to get any blood and then frustrated when the meter errors.
 
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