Injection painful for cat

[vladimirg]

Hello everyone,

Apologies for first post being just a question, but I'm quite at a loss. We have 10-year-old cat who was diagnosed with diabetes 2 weeks ago. At first he responded to injections just fine. Right now, however, while he doesn't run away from syringes or from "tenting" his skin, the actual injection - the needle punctuating the skin - is either painful of frightening to him, and he begins hissing and acting aggressively, so we can't give him the shot. What can be done? Another question: our vet instructed us to give the shot behind the scruff. I understand that it's not considered the optimum anymore. What places are best for shots, then? And are there any pictorials/video guides for giving shots in those places (all existing guides I saw use the scruff)?

EDIT: I should say that he's agitated in general, and his personality is not very friendly (he likes being petted only for a short while, at which points he starts biting and scratching).

Thanks!

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hello, and welcome to FDMB!

As to where to give shots, there are mixed views on this.
Many people do inject into the scruff. But some prefer to give shots into loose skin on other parts of the body (ie the flank). I've read somewhere that insulin absorption can be adversely affected by injecting into the scruff, but I've been doing it for six and a half years now and so far I have had no problems with that. I do vary the site of the shot though, alternating sides, and moving forward or backward, so as not to shoot in exactly the same place every time.

And I do occasionally give shots further down the cat's body and into the loose skin on the flank because I've found that - in our case - the insulin starts to work faster if I give shots closer to the abdomen. (I don't know if that is also the case with other cats.) But I do that if my cat's blood glucose is higher than usual and I want to bring it down a tad quicker.

I'm sure there is a photo on this site that shows where you can inject insulin, but I don't know where that is! Someone else will though! ;-) And I expect there are also some YouTube videos...

As to the actual shot being upsetting for your cat... Hmmm.... A couple of things come to mind.
First off, are you definitely pulling the skin up enough and injecting into the 'space' under the skin? I'm just wondering if you are going too deep?
Are you using each syringe only once? (Giving a shot blunts the needle and so would be more uncomfortable for the cat if used again.)
Is it possible that you are pushing the syringe in too slowly? It needs to be a quick, smooth movement.
Have you tried giving the cat a shot while he is eating some favourite food? That's what I do. ;-)
Very cold insulin can apparently cause a stinging sensation. You could try rolling the filled syringe in your fingers for a few moments to take the chill off. (And I understand that Lantus insulin can also sometimes cause a stinging sensation).

I'm sure other folks will have their own suggestions.

Eliz

 

[vladimirg]

Hey Eliz, thanks for the reply!

Regarding pulling the skin - I think I do. But I'll pay more attention to it next time.
We don't reuse syringes or needles.
It is possible I'm pushing the needle too slowly, but going faster I'm afraid I won't know if I punctured the skin or not.
I'll try giving the shot while he's eating.
The insulin is not cold - we keep it in room temperature (it's Humulin N, and the label says to keep below 30C after opening).

 

[Cupcake]

Hello and welcome!

This is for Your information about injecting sites: http://www.bd.com/ca/diabetes/english/page.aspx?cat=14501&id=14874
The first two things that came to my mind were the reuse of syringes and / or cold insulin.
There also might be psychological reasons. Maybe it's not a pain itself? Maybe it is a stress that your dear fluffy feels? Try to take it as easy as You can, try to play with Your cat before an injection and last but not least - don't forget treats!!! Every time You shoot, give your friend a treat (low carb) before and after an injection.

 

[BJM]

Welcome to FDMB.

I'm sorry to see your vet gave you Humulin. Its old school, so it means your vet isn't up to date. It lasts about 6-8 hours in the cat, so you may not get effective control after 4-6 hours. There are several other insulins which last longer in the cat and have a more gentle action on the glucose, rather than dropping it quickly and wearing off quickly the way Humulin does. They are ProZinc, Levemir, and Lantus.

Are you home testing the blood glucose? We strongly encourage that, for the safety of your cat. An inexpensive meter, test strips, and 26-27 gauge lancets are all that is needed to do this. One inexpensive meter is the Glucocard 01 available from our shopping partner ADW (link at top of page) or a branded version of it, the ReliOn Confirm from WalMart (also a shopping partner with link at top of page)