Pumbaa
Very Active Member
This is for all of the newbies who are afraid to do home blood glucose testing, or who are having problems with their cats.
This isn't to pat myself on the back...this it to tell you all that if I can do it, you can do it!
On 4/2/12, I took Pumbaa to the vet because he had lost weight quickly, and kept losing weight even though he was eating non-stop, 24/7. During the initial information gathering stage with the vet tech, I was petting Pumbaa and trying to keep him calm, but he kept getting more and more agitated, before they ever tried to get near him with that anal thermometer or anything. He bit me. Hard. (I had to go to urgent care and get a tetanus booster as well as antibiotics. Also had to fill out an animal bite report, and deal with animal control and Pumbaa was on house arrest for 12 days...but that's another story for another time. *LOL*) They had to muzzle Pumbaa just to weigh him and draw blood and urine. Poor Pumbaa wasn't feeling good, and just did not like the sounds and scents at the vet.
On 4/8/12, after a week on only high-protein canned and raw foods, I was ready to start testing Pumbaa's Blood Glucose. The first time I tried this, my knees were shaking so hard I could barely hold Pumbaa on my lap! I had decided that at the kitchen/cat feeding table was the best place, as the kitchen is where I am keeping all of the supplies, the microwave is handy for heating the rice sock, and I was able to hold Pumbaa (not a lap cat, ever!) in my lap while putting high-protein treats on the table in front of him to distract him from the evil deeds I was going to do. I never did get a reading this first day. *LOL* Some of it was the blood not flowing in his ears yet, but some of it was also my stupidity, like being so excited to see a drop of blood I pushed the test strip in the meter and didn't wait for the okay to wick the blood. :roll:
On 4/11/12, I was able to test Pumbaa 3 times that day, and started him on Lantus at 6:15 pm.
For the next week and a half, I regularly bribed Pumbaa at testing time by putting Beach Cliff Sardines (packed in water, no salt added, $1.09 per tin with one tin lasting several days) in front of him. To Pumbaa, this was a high-quality bribe, and to him, this bribe was worth sitting on my lap at the kitchen/cat feeding table, and letting me do my thing. The treats were accompanied by petting and loving on the little guy. Yes, I threw away a lot of test strips because, as Pumbaa started feeling better, he went back into Mr. Wiggle Butt mode, and would wiggle just as I was trying to wick the blood correctly on the strip. Or because I screwed up. It's a learning curve for all of us.
Anyway, what I noticed yesterday and today (I ran a 2-hour curve today which means I've already tested Pumbaa eight times today as I type this), is that Pumbaa wasn't eating his high-value treats during the testing. So today, I stopped offering him treats during the testing, and instead just offered my love and attention and petting time, and he was good with this alone! As soon as I am done wicking the blood, he wants to get away, but he has been so patient during this curve testing today I am just amazed! This is the little guy who bit me 3 weeks ago!
Pavlov really nailed it for conditioning! Some people have reported that when their cats hear the BG meter turn on, they come running! It's all about turning this into a positive experience for them, from the beginning.
And don't worry if your knees are knocking the first couple of times. Mine were, too!
This isn't to pat myself on the back...this it to tell you all that if I can do it, you can do it!
On 4/2/12, I took Pumbaa to the vet because he had lost weight quickly, and kept losing weight even though he was eating non-stop, 24/7. During the initial information gathering stage with the vet tech, I was petting Pumbaa and trying to keep him calm, but he kept getting more and more agitated, before they ever tried to get near him with that anal thermometer or anything. He bit me. Hard. (I had to go to urgent care and get a tetanus booster as well as antibiotics. Also had to fill out an animal bite report, and deal with animal control and Pumbaa was on house arrest for 12 days...but that's another story for another time. *LOL*) They had to muzzle Pumbaa just to weigh him and draw blood and urine. Poor Pumbaa wasn't feeling good, and just did not like the sounds and scents at the vet.
On 4/8/12, after a week on only high-protein canned and raw foods, I was ready to start testing Pumbaa's Blood Glucose. The first time I tried this, my knees were shaking so hard I could barely hold Pumbaa on my lap! I had decided that at the kitchen/cat feeding table was the best place, as the kitchen is where I am keeping all of the supplies, the microwave is handy for heating the rice sock, and I was able to hold Pumbaa (not a lap cat, ever!) in my lap while putting high-protein treats on the table in front of him to distract him from the evil deeds I was going to do. I never did get a reading this first day. *LOL* Some of it was the blood not flowing in his ears yet, but some of it was also my stupidity, like being so excited to see a drop of blood I pushed the test strip in the meter and didn't wait for the okay to wick the blood. :roll:
On 4/11/12, I was able to test Pumbaa 3 times that day, and started him on Lantus at 6:15 pm.
For the next week and a half, I regularly bribed Pumbaa at testing time by putting Beach Cliff Sardines (packed in water, no salt added, $1.09 per tin with one tin lasting several days) in front of him. To Pumbaa, this was a high-quality bribe, and to him, this bribe was worth sitting on my lap at the kitchen/cat feeding table, and letting me do my thing. The treats were accompanied by petting and loving on the little guy. Yes, I threw away a lot of test strips because, as Pumbaa started feeling better, he went back into Mr. Wiggle Butt mode, and would wiggle just as I was trying to wick the blood correctly on the strip. Or because I screwed up. It's a learning curve for all of us.
Anyway, what I noticed yesterday and today (I ran a 2-hour curve today which means I've already tested Pumbaa eight times today as I type this), is that Pumbaa wasn't eating his high-value treats during the testing. So today, I stopped offering him treats during the testing, and instead just offered my love and attention and petting time, and he was good with this alone! As soon as I am done wicking the blood, he wants to get away, but he has been so patient during this curve testing today I am just amazed! This is the little guy who bit me 3 weeks ago!
Pavlov really nailed it for conditioning! Some people have reported that when their cats hear the BG meter turn on, they come running! It's all about turning this into a positive experience for them, from the beginning.
And don't worry if your knees are knocking the first couple of times. Mine were, too!
Thank you.