Shaky Beginnings

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Danelle

Danelle

Member Since 2016
Hi, My cat Leroy needs insulin. His poor body had endured many yrs of Depo steroid shots due to severe IBD and here we are. We are just starting and have hit many bumps in the road. I thought he was starting to accept the injection as he has been laying down and letting me do it without any problem but as of today (Day 12), he decided that he has had enough of it. I entice with treats and rubs but when I pinch any skin up, he vocalizes his unhappiness and won't stay still. Sigh. I am not sure where to go from here.
The vet has started him at 1 unit of Lantus every 12 hrs. There will be no chance of home testing. I am using short 5/16 needles 31 gauge, u100 syringes.
 
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Trying laying him on a towel and wrapping the free ends up around his front legs and the other free end wrapped around the back legs, leaving the injection site unwrapped. For some reason, wrapping a cat quiets them and they no longer fight. You might also consider a pheromone collar they also help to calm the cat.
 
Anitafrnhamer said:
Trying laying him on a towel and wrapping the free ends up around his front legs and the other free end wrapped around the back legs, leaving the injection site unwrapped. For some reason, wrapping a cat quiets them and they no longer fight. You might also consider a pheromone collar they also help to calm the cat.
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Thank you. I will try this. I appreciate your response as I am close to a nervous breakdown. This has been so stressful.
 
Sorry to hear how stressful things have been for you, Danelle. We're all here for you both and we'll do all we can to help.

:bighug::bighug::bighug:


Mogs
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Low carb treats may become your new best friend. I use Pure Bites freeze dried chicken (pure protein, no carbs; the dog size is less expensive per ounce) as a treat and all my cats love them. Give one after before testing/injection to reward coming to you. Give one afterwards to reinforce the behavior more. It really helps.
 
One of my other cats was getting very stressed from strange cats in the garden and licking himself bald. I can recommend Feliway plug in (I am in the UK so they may have a different name elsewhere) which is a pheromone liquid in a bottle that you plug into an electrical outlet which slowly releases over time and is great for calming the home environment. I also tried him with a pheromone collar, I got mine from Amazon and it really helped.
 
BJM said:
Low carb treats may become your new best friend. I use Pure Bites freeze dried chicken (pure protein, no carbs; the dog size is less expensive per ounce) as a treat and all my cats love them. Give one after before testing/injection to reward coming to you. Give one afterwards to reinforce the behavior more. It really helps.
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I tried the Purebites chicken and he had a bout of vomiting afterward. Not sure if it was related or not but I am scared to give any more of those treats. It is hard when your cat has more than one issue.
 
Try desensitizing Leroy to his injections. Multiple times throughout the day just pet, pinch the skin, pet, treat and walk away. Hopefully over a few days he will relax. Take a deep breath & make sure you are relaxed first. If you approach him with a nervous demeanor, he will be nervous too.
 
He was better today. I think his problem was that he just wasn't feeling well yesterday. Came home today and from the look of what I found on my floor and the hard pebbles in the litter box it appears that he had been constipated...or still is. Not sure where this is coming from.
 
Please pop over to Feline Constipation to learn more about managing this issue. It sometimes happens when you switch to low carb canned food, as all the fillers in high carb food have a fair bit of fiber, plus there is more urination in uncontrolled diabetes, so the cat may have difficulty drinking enough to keep up.
See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some ways to assess dehydration, plus other assessments you may find useful.
 
I am new to this as well and the first few times were fine, the vet had shaved the back of the neck so I could see the skin (she is quite fluffy so it made it easier) but after a few days she seemed to associate the pinching with being scruffed which she doesn't like and kept yelping. This is what works for me. Feed the cat, while the cat is feeding draw up her insulin and set it down ready. Once she is finished and quite relaxed and away from her bowl I give her a little stroke. I don't have to hold her. Pick up the syringe by the side of the barrel and pinch a bigger tent than the one the vet showed you, I have moved down a bit at the side between the neck and armpit and she seems to feel it less. At the very apex of the tent push the needle in firmly and confidently with a slight downwards angle and you feel the 'pop' as it goes through the skin. Once you are sure you are under the skin depress the plunger fully then pull the needle out quickly. She doesn't seem to mind this at all and we are both quite relaxed about it now. Hope this helps.
 
I have had my second cat now diagnosed with diabetes (the first in remission after 7 weeks of insulin). I find the easiest way of giving the insulin is while they're eating. Mine don't even seem to notice a I do it fairly quickly. I use 0.3ml/100u syringes with a 8mm needle attached
 
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