? Sore at injection site

[Carey & Kopie]

Has anyone had a sore or hot spot form on the back of the cat’s neck at the injection spot?

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I'm sorry but no, it looks raw, are you you shooting in the exact same spot every time. Poor Kitty, it looks painful

 

[Carey & Kopie]

Not the exact same place. We’ve been doing shots for over 2 years and I’ve never had this happen. I know that dogs can get hot spots that look like this so I was wondering if cats get them too or if it’s from the insulin.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Not the exact same place. We’ve been doing shots for over 2 years and I’ve never had this happen. I know that dogs can get hot spots that look like this so I was wondering if cats get them too or if it’s from the insulin.

I wish I could help, maybe call your vet and see what he has to say, I hope it starts to get better

 

[Carey & Kopie]

Thank you. I’m going to give it a couple days to see if it gets better. He REALLY hates going in the carrier and going to the vet. He gets so upset and stressed that he pees and poops all over the carrier! If it’s not better by Monday then I’ll call them. It doesn’t seem to bother him right now.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Thank you. I’m going to give it a couple days to see if it gets better. He REALLY hates going in the carrier and going to the vet. He gets so upset and stressed that he pees and poops all over the carrier! If it’s not better by Monday then I’ll call them. It doesn’t seem to bother him right now.

Let me know what happens

 

[Margie and Jackson]

Thank you. I’m going to give it a couple days to see if it gets better. He REALLY hates going in the carrier and going to the vet. He gets so upset and stressed that he pees and poops all over the carrier! If it’s not better by Monday then I’ll call them. It doesn’t seem to bother him right now.

This doesn’t answer your question about the sore spot, but did you know that the scruff is not a very good place to inject insulin? It doesn’t absorb well, and tends to form scar tissue that further inhibits absorption. This happened to my sister’s diabetic cat. Vets instruct to inject there because it protects you from being bit. If you’re cat wont bite you, you can shoot in a lot of places, I usually do his flank when he lays on his side. There are diagrams about injections in the section about feline health info. There might be more about sores forming, too.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

I cannot really tell what the spot looks like from the photo, but I think it may be similar to a spot that appeared on the top of one of Willow's front paws. I never saw her chewing on the paw or anything out of the ordinary. I did not know what to do - and vet visits are so stressful, so I feel you on that - I was gently cleaning it with a warm, wet rag and applying a little Tritop each day (had it left from a previous issue). It would sometimes see it and think it was getting better, but other times, it looked bad again. Then, she also started getting bumps on her neck. At first, I thought maybe she had been itchy and was scratching herself, but I was never seeing her scratch excessively, and there were several of the bumps. So, I took her to the vet who said these things all appeared to be an allergic response. She said the little bumps can come out from within (vs being a scratch scab like I had thought). Willow has had issues with allergies for many, many years, sometimes, I think she is allergic to air . These symptoms were completely new though. The vet said allergies can present in many ways, and that sometimes, even when a cat is taking an antihistamine (Willow takes Zyrtec daily), they can have a particularly bad allergy period where the allergy responses exceed the antihistamine's ability to control them. So, she suggested Temaril P which is an antihistamine (trimeprazine) and corticosteroid (prednisolone). I am paranoid about steroids, but she said the dose was so small that I should not be concerned about it. Also, I felt we were at a point where she needed it, and the rewards would outweigh the risks. The dosing was tapered; if I remember correctly, it started with 1/2 tablet twice a day for 4 days, then dropped to 1/4 tablet twice a day for four days, then to one 1/4 tablet a day for 4 days, then 1/4 tablet every other day for 4 final doses...something like that. Anyway, I started seeing improvement in the first couple of days. The round of Temaril P did it... the bumps went away, and the spot on her paw did as well, you could see/feel the soft little hair coming back in.

Does he have any history of allergies? Is that spot the only spot where anything is out of the ordinary on him? This may not be the problem in his case, but it's just another possibility to consider. If it was injection site related, wouldn't it most likely be occurring at multiple spots, assuming you do vary where you give the shot?

 

[Carey & Kopie]

The spot is almost gone. Pretty sure it was a hot spot. I started giving the injection in other spots and saw his numbers come down. I didn’t realize that I needed to inject in other spots. The vet told me back of the neck. Anyway, he’s having a hard time with other places. He has cried out a couple of times. This of course makes me afraid to keep trying other spots. This morning he cried so I stopped and pulled the needle out without injecting the insulin. I tried again and gave a fur shot, ugh!

 

[Margie and Jackson]

I’m sorry Kopie is feeling his shots more. Jackson seems to have no pain, or very little pain when I shoot him as he lays on his side, just like the avatar. If I shoot midway between back and stomach, in the loose skin there. Good luck finding a new spot. Shoulders are more sensitive on Jackson. It might be different for Kopie.

 

[CandyH & Catcat]

they may cry or growl -- Catcat still does -- but I interpret it more as a "don't mess with me, that pinches" rather than feeling severe pain -- remember that cats often hit each other with claws extended, and that's MUCH more painful than the quick prick with a syringe -- actually I think Catcat is protesting the "tenting" of his skin more than the actual injection

sing to him, tell him it's necessary for health, ruffle his fur before the shot and again after it, try the tent-and-roll technique (after pulling the skin up, roll your hand towards his head) -- good luck