Ouch!

[Renegaderem+Dainty]

I gave Dainty her shot tonight and somehow I must have done something that made it really painful because she meowed and ran away. Nervous about having to give it to her again tomorrow morning. Any ideas on where I went wrong?

 

[Gina & Yittle (GA)]

Perhaps too slow? It hurts more if you don't make a rather decisive and quick jab.

Or, you could just have bumped a nerve ending - it happens sometimes to me when I get acupuncture, the needle just zings a nerve and I yelp and she pulls the needle out. It usually stops hurting within a minute or two. Just make sure that you're calm when you try in the morning - act like nothing happened, act like you're sure it will go just perfectly. She'll be calmer if you are calm.

 

[Renegaderem+Dainty]

Dainty squirms when I give her the injection so I think you're probably right on with the hitting a nerve. I just hope that she lets me attempt again, she has a terrible habit of holding grudges.

 

[Melissa&Paul-Kyle]

you could try offering a snack to distract her....something you don't normally feed that is low carb, of course....I have a fractious fairy fart here ( civvie) that associates the food I give her with the medication she dislikes.

It has been 4 years since I buried amoxi in her 9-lives and to this day she won't eat 9-lives! ( talk about holding a grudge!) So when I medicate her, I don't use her food in case she detects the meds and then refuses the food bc of it.

Another thing is using short needles. Not sure which one you are using but short needles of a smaller gauge are often helpful. I use 31 gauge for my sugarsnack...short needle.

Hope something helps!

 

[BJM]

31 gauge is diameter of needle, not length.

Most insulin syringes are 1/2 inch or 5/16 inch long.
The latter is shorter so if your kitty is thin, that'd be the length to pick

Be sure to make a tent of the skin and enter into the space in the center of the tent.

ie if tent is like this: < enter like this: ---

The slope of the injection splits the angle formed by the tent.

 

[Just-As-Appy]

My kitty was suspicious at first, so I sat him on my lap and gave him a nice body rub. Then when I put him down at his food bowl, I rubbed his scruff/shoulder area, lifted and shot. My theory is that the nerves become a little desensitized or maybe he was just more relaxed and blissful. Of course, it works well with a cat who adores attention of any sort. If she is not like this, it might make her more annoyed.

 

[Renegaderem+Dainty]

Thanks for advice all! The needle is really tiny, 29 gauge. I think I was angling the needle more downwards than I should have, making it more likely that I would hit something. Tonight I only got a little meep out of her. I gave her a little tuna (her favs) as a bribe and that seemed to distract her enough for me to do it quickly and directly.