So Discouraged

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Julie and Eleanor (GA)

Julie and Eleanor (GA)

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Eleanor is putting up a huge fight when I test. I'm following all the suggestions but she continues to go nuts. The rest of the time she runs from me. I don't know what to do. I don't really feel like I'm helping her when she is so stressed.
Sue and Oliver helped me get the spread sheet up, but I can't edit it, and I realized the info I entered before I posted it is gone. I have an eye problem and I'm dizzyfrom focusing my eyes so long on the computer and trying to get the correct amount of insulin into the syringes that are not marked correctly.
I'm sorry I'm whining. I was in tears after finally getting Eleanor's +6 test this morning, which was 295 after a PMPS of 306.
Everything together, but especially Eleanor's upset, is making me want to just give up.
I don't believe I'm transferring my own stress to her, I worked with cats for years and know how to handle them. I do a sort of relaxation thing with her beforehand and everything is great until I try to stick her.
 
Sorry that Eleanor isn't cooperative. Have no help to offer you, since I paw test.


We did have Moonie here before, who was unable to test for her momma. With the help of JoJo, they worked out an alternative way of testing, but that information was on the old board that crashed.
 
Julie

You might have to contact Sue again about the spreadsheet, she is very good. She helped me with Lilly`s many months ago otherwise I would have never gotten it up and running.
I also had a cat that was not the easiest to test, or give shots for that matter. I could never get a pill in her at all. I got very stressed too. She would run from me but did not bite or scratch thank god, she was just afraid. I would be upending the bed and every thing else, chasing her around the sofa.
I made a routine out of it and she did come around a bit but she still never liked it. Everyone said give her treats, well she would not eat treats as I tried to pill her like that once and she never forgot it. She thought every treat had a pill in it.
I do know what you are going through, but like someone here told me they were digging their cat out from underneath the sofa by the leg to give the cat their shot. We are doing this to save their life even though they don`t know at the time and don`t understand it thats what we have to do. So please try not to get upset, because the cats do pick up on it, I know my Lilly did. Others will be along shortly and they will give you some good advice I am sure. Take Care.

Terri
 
I want to start out with a big hug to you. I know all of this is hard & so overwhelming. In the very beginning for me I was a nervous wreck. I was depressed & cried all the time & feared leaving my house.

Some cats it takes time for them to get use to testing. Are you using a Lansing device? Are you warming the ear every time? Healthy treats & lots of love go along way. Do you have a certain testing spot you & Eleanor go to?

You might need to burrito her for testing.

I know others will be along to help you more.

Don't give up! You can do this....Promise! :thumbup

Jenn & Baxter
 
Thank you! I really appreciate your words of encouragement. I don't want Eleanor to feel like I've suddenly just started hurting her. I mean, I know that's what she thinks because she can't understand that I have a reason for it! I have to pull her out from under the bed, struggle with her then I jab her ear. She has to wonder why I'm suddenly being so mean.
She won't eat the treats I offer, she runs away as fast as she can and when I shove a treat under the bed, she runs.
I don't know what to do.
 
Both of my diabetics were adopted as diabetics so when we first started to do the whole ear testing dance they had zero reason to trust me, heck they didn't even know me. So while I still had to get those much needed tests in I tried to make it so everytime they came to me at the testing spot it didn't automatically mean they were going to be tested. At first I only tested the min. I could to safely give insulin..the preshots and the +6, but we would go to the test spot often almost like everyday was going to be a curve day. Every couple of hours I would scoop them up, take them to the testing spot while using a tigger word for them...With Maxwell it was Ears and with Musette it was Pokies...Now Maxwell was never an issue as he went into remission very quickly, but Musette was and is a whole different story.

So with Musette our day went like this...Musette Pokies time! pick up kitty, place on testing spot, hand over treat, go through the routine, set out meter let her sniff it, give treat, warm ear, give treat, click lancing device near her head give treat. When it was an absolutely must for a test then if I had to I would restrain her to get it done, but otherwise we just went through the motions without actually poking her...every baby step along the way she got a treat. Now 6 months later not only does she run to her testing spot when I tell her it is Pokies Time, she will come and get me or be waiting for me if I'm running late on a test.

It also took finding a treat that she absolutely loved that was also healthy for her to have...if she is being especially difficult any given day I know all I have to do is pull out the Cream Cheese...for her that is better than a box of fine french chocolates. Normally her treat is either raw or boiled chicken breast but on those days that she is in full tortie-tude out comes the cream cheese and all is forgotten about how much she really isn't interested in being tested..

Maxwell on the other hand while he likes his food treats, there is nothing better in the world as far as he is concerned as a good brushing. The treat doesn't have to be food, it can be a special toy that they only get to play with during tests or as in Maxwell's case a long brushing session before and after that ear poke.

You and Eleanor will find what works for you both. Just don't give up, testing can literally save her life while she is on insulin.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
I'll try going through the motions without actually testing. I've been testing her on the bed, but now she won't get on the bed on her own at all. Her AMPS test, I took her to a different room which distracted her enough that I was able to get the test done before she realized what was happening.
 
I'm going to tell you a funny story about testing and hope it makes you smile.....

You see when I started testing Maxwell I had a little pink baby blanket that I would always test him on...Now Maxwell has been in remission for over a year now so only gets tested about twice a month.

Well the other day I was digging out some heavier sweaters in the drawer where I put his testing blanket and didn't realize that his blanket had fallen on the floor...That night I noticed he was laying on the floor by my dresser, but didn't come to bed like he normally did when I got in bed. I called him, he meowed at me but still didn't get up.

I paniced thinking maybe he had hurt himself, so I get out of bed to go check on him, that is when I see a tiny bit of pink sticking out from under him...It was his testing blanket...he was waiting to be tested :o So I get out his meter, stick in the strip test him, give him some love along with his brushing, the minute he heard his meter beep, he leapt up, ran and jumped on the bed...Now he was ready to go to sleep, but he knew that blanket meant a test and he wasn't going to move until that happened and mommy picked up that blanket... :lol:

They learn, they get use to the routine, but you just have to take it in baby steps....and as strange as it sounds talk to her, explain exactly what is going to happen and why. Try to picture in your mind the steps and the whys while you tell her all about it. She may not understand the words, but she will pick up on the emotion in your voice and by telling her you will be reinforcing the steps in your own mind as well.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & the Fur Gang
 
hey there, just saw that you are in Phoenix. there's a few other longtime fdmb guys and gals here in your area. would you be interested in seeing if any of them can come help you figure out anything? sometimes seeing someone else do it will help or give you ideas? just say the word and i can send them messages and point them here :-)
 
That's such a sweet story about Maxwell!
I will try talking to Eleanor more and picturing it too. I've explained to her, but I think I need to do it differently than I've done. I'm used to working with my hyperthyroid 17 year old tortie and the only way to get any cooperation out of her is to be offhand. Your saying this has made me think with Eleanor I need to be more focused. thank you.
Cindy, Eleanor is so nervous around people, I don't think this would work, but is a good idea and I will keep it in mind and let you know! Thank you!
 
Casey's the same way - she doesn't like anybody messing with her ears, so I had to learn what would distract her.

Of course, it was food. Now I give her a little snack (watered-down FF) and while she's busy lapping up the treat I poke her ear and take the blood. She doesn't even notice what I'm doing! Works like a charm.
 
Did we mention neosporin with pain relief ointment?
if not ...
Apply a small dab on the ear to be tested several minutes in advance.
Wipe off.
Test.
Use a tissue or cotton ball to apply direct pressure to the spot tested to reduce bleeding and droplet flinging.
The ointment will reduce the annoyance factor, help the blood bead up, and help healing.

Always treat with a low carb treat, whether or not you have been successful.

Play sessions before and after testing may reduce stress and improve/maintain your bond.
 
We've all been there... I always say it straight to everyone else... in the beginning, testing can be hell. But you have to be persistent, for the sake of her health and your own peace of mind. It gets easier. Scooter was diagnosed about 2 and a half months after I got him, so he didn't have a lot of time to get accustomed to me. I used to have to drag him out from under my bed, strangle him in a towel, and sit on him all while he howled and drooled all over the place. Sometimes my SO had to pin him down while I tested. I had to poke him until his ears were bruised and swollen just to get a single test. It was a nightmare. I wanted to give up. I cried a lot over it - I felt like I was just making everything worse and ruining my relationship with my cat.

If you watched me test Scooter today you would never know we went through that. It's amazing how much they change when they realize it isn't so bad. I say "poke time" and Scooter prances to the kitchen, lays down on the floor on top of the green towel, and waits for me to put him in my lap for testing. And he sits there patiently, purring away the whole time.... while I warm his ear up I also give him face and chin massages with the warm rice sock. He LOVES that. And the best part is, he doesn't want to leave my lap when we're done. He likes it so much that sometimes he will lay on the kitchen floor and squawk at me until I test him. Even my SO can test him in less than 3 minutes.

I really do think they know they feel better since all the pokey things started, and they start to associate the pokes with feeling better. You have to find what Eleanor likes, be it food, treats, brushes, playtime, and so on. Scooter loves food. A spoonful of Friskies is like a treat to him. Positive reinforcement really works wonders.

IMG_3190.jpg


Here's Ben and Scooter. Look how relaxed he is.

It will get easier.... don't give up. :-D
 
Hi Julie!

Big hugs for you. You are doing GREAT. I know how scared you must be for your kitty! In my humble opinion, at numbers like 300, she's in no immediate danger. Eventually you will be able to find something that works and in the meantime, be conservative with the insulin if you can't test, and liberal with the love and treats. I give Bonita Tuna Flakes as treats. They are a flaky substance like fish food only bigger. No way to hide a pill in them so you might be able to lure her with those. My cats go nuts for them and I often find the container on the floor when I get home like they've been trying to get the lid off of it.

I can't imagine having to go through this with an uncooperative cat, it was hard enough with Scout who is sweet and trusting and... not the sharpest crayon in the box of 64. My heart goes out to you! Hopefully if you get her on a lowcarb all wet food diet, her need for insulin will decrease or she will go into full remission. (Fingers and paws crossed!)

Lori
 
Thanks you guys. I will keep at it. I think when Eleanor starts to feel better, it will help. You know I have an old (17) tortie who has never been able to tolerate having her ears touched, well, actually she doesn't like to be touched, period. But she was always particularly nasty about her ears. She became hyperthyroid, the pills made her sick so I decided to give the transdermal gel a try. It has to be applied to the ears. The first couple weeks were terrible, then the medication kicked in and she started feeling better. I know she knew it was related to me messing with her ears because she quit complaining and now waits for me to apply the gel. Just as some of you have said your diabetic kitties wait for their ear poke.
Of course, the difference to me is with my other cat, even though she carried on like I was killing her, I knew the gel was not hurting. With Eleanor, judging from when I get my finger with the lancet, it hurts! Eleanor has always been very sensitive to pain.
 
Julie, it does hurt on our fingers but apparently the edge of the ears on cats are not as sensitive. Cats can play on our fears and she may be playing you. Trust me, if it hurt, none of us would be able to test.
 
Your finger is different from an ear, your finger has lots of little nerve endings there since it is designed to be able to feel when you touch things, and one of the reasons the blind can read braille, fingertips are sensitive....however the ear isn't nearly so sensitive. Are your ears pierced? If so, remember how little it hurt to have them pierced? kind of the same thing with a kitty's ear, plus you aren't going all the way through their ear like they did when they pierced your ears, we are just breaking the skin enough to make it bleed a little bit. Now while I have gone all the way through Musette's ear I try hard not to.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
Just noticed you're in Phoenix. If you need help with anything, just let me know. If you want me to come over and watch you test, maybe I'll have some tips to make it easier. I'm smack dab in central Phx at 16th St and Camelback.
 
I cried a lot in the beginning. It does get better! I second the suggestion of visualizing a happy test experience. I really think they can "see" what we picture. I also explained to Atticus what we were doing and why. And before I even started to test him, I would massage his ear and click the lancing device near his ear, give him a treat, and be done. I think sometimes they hate the clicking.
One thing I do now is make sure I go to him and give him pets when it's not testing time. That way he knows that I'm not only seeking him out to poke him.
Remember to breathe. Have a cup of tea. Take a hot bath. It will get easier.
 
I am sure your cat knows you are trying to help. She will forgive you. Akbah and I fought tooth and nail over tests, and now he jumps up onto the testing couch. I cried thinking he wouldn't love me anymore. But my husband said, he knows you're trying to help. And he did. :YMSIGH:
 
I've been warming Darby's ears with a heated up sock end containing some rice. Heat in microwave for 10-15 seconds but test on your wrist or your own ear. He seems to like the warmth and the blood comes a lot easier. This kind of suggests things are going well at my house, but not true. Darby my 8 year old polydactyl ( extra toes on both front paws ) is not regulated - now on 5.5 units of Levimir x 2 with readings all over the place. He was stable for about a week. He was on medication - twice - for a bladder infection and today was at the vet so that a urine sample could be taken right from the bladder to have a culture done. Even though there has been blood in the urine ( and also today ) there is no evidence of bacteria. I don't even want to guess what that could mean.
 
Hi Julie,

Like MommaofMuse, I also have special words and a special place I use with Racci. If we are just testing, I say "It's time to test your ears". Otherwise I say " It's time for medicine". We test on a big ottoman that sits in front of the big chair but we also sit there to watch tv and she likes to nap there and get brushed there, even eat & drink there when she's not feeling well & I'm coaxing her. I just keep it covered with a throw so it's safe. This way the spot has nothing bad attached to it.

We all had to learn at one time and all our cats had to get used to it. While some where easier than others, none of them loved it immediately but most do now. I also talk to Racci thru the whole thing. We have a routine. I bring her a drink of water & treats, tho she really doesn't care about treats, what she likes is all the attention & feeling special by having water and food brought over and being fussed over. She also loves cream cheese, btw. I give a drink first and lay everything out for her and let her inspect as much as she wants. She usually drinks her water & has a treat while waiting for me to get all ready. I give a treat as needed to keep her still. If I hurt her more than usual, I tell her how sorry I am and she knows what I'm saying and answers me pouting and gets more water and treats. She gets to eat her meal as I'm getting her shot and her asthma meds ready and eats right thru the shot. I wait until she's done for the asthma medicine since it's an inhaler and then she gets methyl b12 and miralax about an hour later, both of which she hates so I don't wa nt them associated with the others.

We brush after she falls asleep on the ottoman. She's easier to groom half asleep since she has such long thick fur and doesn't like it much. lol.

I think the important thing is to try to make it a friendly procedure as much as you can. I would only test 3x for now. am, +6 and pm, also as mommaofmuse did. That's what I did in the very beginning too. Unless of course you have reason like him being too low.

Melanie
 
Though every cat is different, I will add that it usually does get better.

Towards the end of the first week of testing Smokey, her ears were sensitive I am sure. She'd take one look at us holding the meter and run for under the bed. Many testing times would result in her under the bed and me laying beside it crying telling her we needed to do it to make her better and make sure she was safe. After a couple of weeks, her ears adjusted and she learned to come running when it was test or insulin time.

At some point early on she sat on a Ziploc bag in the living room that had catnip in it and decided that was where mommy was going to test. We spent that first time through this with that stupid Ziploc laying on the living room floor. I'd just have to say "let's go get a poke Smoke" and she'd run for her Ziploc. My husband would pat the counter and she'd jump up there and sit down purring. At first when we quit giving insulin, she'd lay on her Ziploc and refuse to get up and go eat supper until I went over and tested her anyway and pretended to give her insulin. Then she'd jump up and go to the kitten for supper.

She purrs through the testing and if we haven't tested in a while she comes to us and starts yelling. Some days she gets annoyed with us of course, she's a cat. But she hasn't hid from us since those first couple of weeks and it is more of an "I don't want to" than its hurting issue these days.
 
Thanks for the encouragement! It's good to know so many of you have been through this, although I'm sorry for both you and your kitties. It's hard to have your cat running and hiding from you, then when it appears you are causing them pain, it's just very upsetting.
Eleanor is doing a bit better today, instead of testing her on the bed as I was doing - the bed is her happy place so I thought that would be best, I'm testing her in different rooms. I catch her, put the Neosporin with Pain Relief on her ear,then walk around with her, warming her ear and talking to her, I made up a little song about her hokey pokey ear, which she seems to enjoy, then I walk into a room where I have her testing stuff waiting, sit down with her on my lap and test, she cries and jumps a bit at the poke but is still distracted looking around the room. And we're done!
 
That is terrific! It sounds like you have found a great approach to use with Eleanor. I'm so glad she is getting used to her ear pokes. Also I wanted to comment that she is a beautiful kitty. :-D
 
Great news that it's getting a little better!

I don't know if this will help, but since just my approach to Grey (GA) in the beginning was being associated with what she likened to ear maiming, I decided I would sometimes hold/lay with her like I was going to do an ear test but instead gave her a treat and petted her. I also tried to switch it up a bit, laying with her different lengths of time, and even going from ear to paw if the ears were getting sore. I ended up being able to consistently get blood from the ear with practice, and without having to physically hold her. Matter of fact, she got so relaxed about it that when she got CRF, I administered her subQ fluids by myself the 3rd time ever giving them to her. My vet was shocked, but as I explained to him, "regular ear poking from home testing makes an easier patient overall." He couldn't help but to agree, she was truly one of his favorite patients because of her easy-to-handle nature. But boy do I remember the days of crying while my cat ran from me...it's THE worst feeling in the world. Now it shocks me to see how my new young ones act over a vaccination. I honestly sat there with my jaw dropped over their behavior with the vet and he laughed, "Yeah...I told you Grey was a really great patient! This is the stuff I see out of cats every day, even my own!" ;-)
 
it was probably me that terri was remembering - i told her i used to pull punkin out by one leg hoping i didn't dislocate it. we went through a week or so of that nightmare, then i started burritoing him. did that for about 2 weeks - wrap him tight in a beach towel. he gave up and it turned into nothing. i think once he knew we did it no matter what he did, he accepted it and it removed a lot of stress for both of us. now he comes and begs to be tested because he wants to be fed.

one thought, try giving the treat first before you poke. bring her to the spot, hold her on your lap, give her the treat - make sure you put the treat down for her to pick up. when you pill it's going straight from your hand to their mouth, so if you put it down perhaps that would change the experience for her. then poke her when she's eating or done eating.

btw, outdoor cats often have torn-up ears. i don't think there are a lot of nerves in their ears or the cats simply wouldn't ever come to be tested. it can't hurt as much as we imagine. hold onto that thought - you are saving her life by doing this. that knowledge has given me conviction to do what needs to be done.

sounds like things are already improving! wahoo! it will keep getting easier!
 
I'm glad it was easier tonight Julie! It will keep getting easier. I always bring water, treats, food with me and we have a routine of water in front of her, than a treat in front of her, then her test and as many treats one at a time as needed to keep her patient while I warm her ear, test, when she knows she has to stay still and I remind her, then food. She absolutely will not let me change the routine. If I give her something out of turn she refuses it! :lol: She reminds me when its time if I forget her too!

You'll see how much easier it gets once you work out a routine with her.

Melanie & Racci
 
Glad to hear things are improving!

I saw someone post about using the lancet and putting the blood on your fingernail and THEN testing it. I kind of disregarded it as I don't have long nails, however, Grayson has sometimes gotten to be real wiggly at test time. I used a nail today and let go of him. Fortunately I had enough blood, and it turned out to work quite well! It probably helps that Grayson didn't seem to like the feel of the test strip if it touched his ear.

Hope everything continues to improve! Good luck!
 
Julie and Eleanor said:
I made up a little song about her hokey pokey ear, which she seems to enjoy, then I walk into a room where I have her testing stuff waiting, sit down with her on my lap and test,
Click to expand...

This is so awesome!
 
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