HUGE blood dot...should I be concerned?

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Kristina & Charlie :)

Member Since 2013
Hey gang quick question:
I normally warm his ear with a cloth bean bag for about 20 seconds and then poke him.
For the past Ooooh day and a half, when I poke him, a GIANT blood dot forms. Tonight there was so much blood I was concerned. I kinda freaked out. I don't believe I hit the vein. But if I did is that bad??? I try to aim for the sweet spot- between the vein and edge of ear. I guess I could have... I just hurried up and slapped a gob of Neosporin on him.
He didn't seem to care that much, but he did flick his ear to create a tiny murder scene on his at tree...
Thoughts???
 
It's not a huge deal if you did hit the vein, but with a big drop, that's what it sounds like happened. When that happens, try to just put the strip on the edge of the drop and let it "sip" up the strip. You don't want to "flood" the strip if possible, because sometimes that will give you an odd number on the meter. When I did that, the number was usually higher. Or I got an error on the meter.
 
I've had this same issue lately too... I used to warm my cats ear for a bit before I poked him. I still had a hard time getting enough blood. Lately I haven't even been warming it and every time I poke his ear I get huge drops of blood right away. I was also wondering why!
 
I think that most people see that the more you test, the easier you get blood. Either you get a lot better at it, or the capillary network gets more extensive, or some combination of things. We usually refer to it as "the cat's ears learn to bleed better".
 
Yeah- I also had issues the first time I really hit that vein. Bleeds a lot. I started keeping a paper towel by the shoot site, but now rarely need it. But yes, hitting that vein the first time seems like a scene out of a Friday the 13th movie.

Believe me, all your Sugar Cat really wants is the treats afterwards. You're not hurting him/her. But keep that paper towel handy....
 
That happens all of the time with Ricky. Once you fill the strip, put a little pressure on where you poked to stop the bleeding. This also helps to keep your cat from shaking his head. If you don't, your walls will look like a scene from CSI. It is amazing how one little drop can splatter when a cat shakes his head. :lol:
 
Spitzer would shake his ear until I got smart and started applying direct pressure to tamp off the bleeding. After hitting a vein, with one good shake, it looked like an abattoir.
 
Tiggy gets big drops when his ears are hot (naturally) whether i hit the vein or not. I just sip up a little and press to seal the wound with a cotton bud and its fine. no harm done.
 
Yeah, I've noticed I don't need to warm his ear anymore, which is nice because that's less time I have to tell him to hold still. No more murder scenes around the house!!
:-D
 
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