New Member - Sabu

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Kathleen Tyrrell

Kathleen Tyrrell

Member Since 2019
I am having a hard time getting a blood sample for a blood sugar level for Sabu. He does not bleed. He is wonderful about the process, I give him a small no-carb treat after each attempt. Tonight I pricked him seven times and could not get a single drop of blood from his ear edge. What can I do? I tried the warm compress (a small cotton cloth soaked and wrung gently and in a zip lock baggie to prevent blood dilution) but just a smear. I would be so grateful for suggestions please. Thank you. There has been no insulin administered yet b/c I need the bs level, he just went 100% wet food yesterday. We are having the Dr. out on friday but want to get his treatment started asap - the Dr will demonstrate how to do the blood sample on Friday.
 
Kathleen Tyrrell said:
I am having a hard time getting a blood sample for a blood sugar level for Sabu. He does not bleed. He is wonderful about the process, I give him a small no-carb treat after each attempt. Tonight I pricked him seven times and could not get a single drop of blood from his ear edge. What can I do? I tried the warm compress (a small cotton cloth soaked and wrung gently and in a zip lock baggie to prevent blood dilution) but just a smear. I would be so grateful for suggestions please. Thank you. There has been no insulin administered yet b/c I need the bs level, he just went 100% wet food yesterday. We are having the Dr. out on friday but want to get his treatment started asap - the Dr will demonstrate how to do the blood sample on Friday.
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I had to switch to a rice sock cause the wet cloth stopped working for us.
The neosporin actually kept giving us error messages so I stoppedd that too.

The thing that worked for us was a rice sock, and when it hasn't been too too chilly here we've been able to get away with just rubbing his ear between our fingers gently but for as long as it takes to warm it up.

Some people use a little plastic bottle filled with warm water, like a prescription bottle but I think that leaks if you hold it wrong. I've considered trying those little travel bottles like empty purell bottles or something.

Sometimes I put the cotton ball under his ear and just rub the top because it feels weird to rub the ear between my fingers sometimes.

Also, for some reason I started doing a straight on poke that wasn't working either, when I realized it and switched back to a 45 degree angle that helped a lot too.

Hang in there.
 
Hi Kathleen and Sabu
What is the size of the lancet you are using to prick the ear with? A 26 or28 gauge is better for beginners as it gives you a bigger poke. Also try massaging the ear up towards the tip so you can get the blood flowing. The rice sock is a good idea as Jay suggested. It can take several days for the ears to learn to bleed so keep persevering and you will get there.
 
I use the rice pack as well. I had made a bunch for my local cat organization and happened to have one left. It's just an old sock filled with rice and sewn shut. I bought cute cat fabric and sewed a "slip cover". My packs were almost 2 cups of rice but leave extra room so it's not completely packed. I microwave the "sock" for 40 seconds and then shake it up. Only once have I had to prick an ear more than 3 times but kitty decided to be a complete wiggle worm.

Also, try getting a flash light and looking at her ear with the light (or sun if it's bright out) behind the ear so you can see the vein. There's one that runs up and down the edge of the ear.

*Edited to add* . My rice socks are that big because they were specifically used after the vet did neuterings.. smaller will definitely work better.
 
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Glad to hear it's getting better for you! If M'row's ears are cold, I can just forget about getting any blood. No microwave here, so I just rub the ear a bit where I'm going to bleed. True: somehow the ears do "learn" to bleed. There are many UTube videos to watch, too. Good job, keep at it!
 
I would echo the warming suggestions offered here.

I think dark fur can be tough to learn on.
Our guy has black fur on his ears and I had a heck of a time trying to test on the backs. Going in from the front/inner part of the ear, if he'll let you, has either wonders for us in actually being able to see what's going on to make sure I'm poking in the right spot and actually seeing the blood instead of losing it in fur!
 
Amina&M'row said:
Glad to hear it's getting better for you! If M'row's ears are cold, I can just forget about getting any blood. No microwave here, so I just rub the ear a bit where I'm going to bleed. True: somehow the ears do "learn" to bleed. There are many UTube videos to watch, too. Good job, keep at it!
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Excellent, so interesting and so grateful for people generous with this knowledge - Thank you.
 
MamaMug said:
I would echo the warming suggestions offered here.

I think dark fur can be tough to learn on.
Our guy has black fur on his ears and I had a heck of a time trying to test on the backs. Going in from the front/inner part of the ear, if he'll let you, has either wonders for us in actually being able to see what's going on to make sure I'm poking in the right spot and actually seeing the blood instead of losing it in fur!
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Things are going very well now, our Sabu has been an angel about this so far, we are very lucky kitty parents.
 
Kathleen Tyrrell said:
Things are going very well now, our Sabu has been an angel about this so far, we are very lucky kitty parents.
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Good job, Sabu!

Our civvy has black fur and I was going to test him one day as a comparison and also just to make sure he's not running high so I can nip it in the bud if need be...

But I was shocked how different his ear was! I couldn't see anything!

Good job !
 
Jasper Blue and Jay said:
Good job, Sabu!

Our civvy has black fur and I was going to test him one day as a comparison and also just to make sure he's not running high so I can nip it in the bud if need be...

But I was shocked how different his ear was! I couldn't see anything!

Good job !
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Thank you, it was no small measure of comfort I took from our group, you have all been like family in this short but intense journey.
 
My vet shaved my kitty.... She didn't ask and was a little generous with the target area. But considering how long her hair is I can't be mad. Her twin sister is pretty lucky.... She almost got the needle this morning.
 

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Btwinny said:
My vet shaved my kitty.... She didn't ask and was a little generous with the target area. But considering how long her hair is I can't be mad. Her twin sister is pretty lucky.... She almost got the needle this morning.
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I'm wondering if they made the area so generous to allow for multiple sites for injections - I have heard it is a good idea to rotate injection areas to avoid pain and/or infection???
 
Btwinny said:
Do you give him the shots there?
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Yes that's why they did the shave. The Doctor told me it's easy to mistakenly shoot the insulin into the fur by accident and not even know it, causing a missed dose of insulin nobody knows about otherwise. The Doctor said this way when we tent his skin we can see exactly where to do the injection.
 
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