Injections

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terriy

terriy

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I hope someone can give me some input on giving the injections. I have only been giving them since December so I dont have a lot of expereince. I read that the injections dont work as well when they are given in the scruff of the neck and I also read that you should not give them in the same place every time. My vet showed me the areas on the kitty that were ok to inject and I have been trying to rotate them. Here is the problem - as long as I stay up close to the neck it does not seem to hurt her but everytime I give her one towards the back she acts like it really hurts. Today for the first time she actually ran away and I was still in the process of injecting her and she did not get the full injection. I hope that someone can give me tips on the injections so that I can make them as painless for her and myself as possible?
nailbite_smile
 
terriy said:
I read that the injections dont work as well when they are given in the scruff of the neck and I also read that you should not give them in the same place every time. My vet showed me the areas on the kitty that were ok to inject and I have been trying to rotate them. Here is the problem - as long as I stay up close to the neck it does not seem to hurt her but everytime I give her one towards the back she acts like it really hurts.
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Terri -

I try to change them up as well. Fortunately, Grayson had a mat of hair on his hip that I had to cut off... this left a nice place to put a needle and see that it went in. Unfortunately, it seemed to be more aggravating to him than convenient to me. Likewise, I've questioned if the shots haven't been fur shots on several occasions when on the scruff... so yesterday, I did the unthinkable and trimmed some fur off there. Again, helped me w/ the needle.

My vet told me pretty much anywhere I could tent the skin, I could give the shot. Clearly the skin is thicker (or at least there's more of it to pull when tenting) in the scruff. Most of the time Grayson doesn't mind it, but sometimes he gets really fussy. I read something on giving shots the other day - it said to have the chiseled point of the needle facing upwards. Maybe that will make it less painful?

Good luck!
 
terriy said:
I hope someone can give me some input on giving the injections. I have only been giving them since December so I dont have a lot of expereince. I read that the injections dont work as well when they are given in the scruff of the neck and I also read that you should not give them in the same place every time. My vet showed me the areas on the kitty that were ok to inject and I have been trying to rotate them. Here is the problem - as long as I stay up close to the neck it does not seem to hurt her but everytime I give her one towards the back she acts like it really hurts. Today for the first time she actually ran away and I was still in the process of injecting her and she did not get the full injection. I hope that someone can give me tips on the injections so that I can make them as painless for her and myself as possible?
nailbite_smile
Click to expand...
There is no problem at all to stick to the scruff shots.
One of my cats would KILL me for giving any flank shots, and my other cat does not even like being touched along his sides!
You can easily stick to the scruff and avoid shooting in the exact same spot.
 
You can work the scruff towards the tail a bit as far back as you can get good skin to grab.
I sometimes face him head on and shoot to the side of the scruff gripping it front to back rather than side to side. The scruff has four sides depending how you face it and grab it.

I always put a little plate of tuna fish juice in front of them when I shoot. It distracts them enough for you to take your time.

Are you using the 5/16 x 31 gauge u100 syringe? I get them from Walgreens for $18.00 with 1/2 unit markings.

good luck!
 
Inserting the needle bevel side up will help minmize any pain :smile: The bevel should face up as you insert it into the skin.
 
Warming the insulin by holding the syringe in your hand couple of seconds before the injection might make it less painful for your cat.

After each shot, observe if you aren't holding the syringe or inserting the needle differently when you are giving him a shot that did not make him react.

Between the "shoulder" and the neck was fine with my veterinarian and my cat!
 
Thanks for all the input. One thing thats been wrong is that I have put the bevil side down and not up. I will change that today. :idea:
 
For smaller doses, you may want to convert to the U100 syringes. 1/2 unit on them = .2 units of Prozinc or other U40 insulin. I find them to be much more accurate. For larger doses, it's probably not an issue.
 
We always shot on the flank for mocha .. tried once in the scruff and she let us know right then and there that would NOT be acceptable! Usually kept to the same side and roughly the same area .. two shots a day for nearly two years ..
 
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