Sub-Q Fluids

Status
Not open for further replies.
JeanW

JeanW

Member Since 2017
Do you give fluids? I've been reading about giving sub-q fluids at home and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the information and things to consider.

What kind of fluids do you use? How often do you give them? Do you have someone to help you? And how did you learn what to do? What does the vet think about you doing this at home?

Please share.:bighug::bighug:
 
I have fluids to my cat Zimmy who had ckd. Add long as your cat is pretty chill it's easy.


This is my fave video about giving sub q's.

 
I give lactated ringers 100ml every few days to Phoebe. It's intimidating at first but if you get the large bore needles 18g or 19g, it goes alot faster. It's just the matter of doing it. It goes just under the skin. A bubble will appear if you got it right. Takes about 3-4 mins with the fast flow. I fill the sink with hot water and lay the bag just in it to warm the fluids up. Pinch the skin really well make that tent and stick the needle almost parrellel to the body. Just enough to cover the bevel or hole in the needle. I can do them by myself but hubby holds the bag up for gravity. But alot of people just hook it on the door on a wire coat hanger. The higher it is the faster the flow. I also run the fluid that is heated thru the tubing before I insert needle under skin. Because the fluids in the tubing will be colder than actually in the bag once warmed. I have forgotten to do that and Phoebe doesn't appreciate the colder fluid. Keep the tip as sterile as possible. If I touch the tip of tubing by accident I wipe with alcohol pad, before I put new needle on. It really is easy once you get the hang of it. It is scary first time, but they feel so much better for it.
 
No much help here since I'm just learning about subqs I just gave subqs for the first time to one of my civies and is scary to say the least. So sending you :bighug::bighug::bighug:

In my case I'm using lactated ringers, 100ml daily, supposedly to tell the truth it's been some amount the 3 times I've done it, 100 ml is my target hopefully one of this days I actually manage to get them in, I've been doing it on my own, the first time I tried using a hanger that I placed on a bookself but given the complications and that my cat didn't liked the location, I've just bought one of those poles for IV's and we will try that.

There's also Dr. Lisa's suggestion of doing it with a syringe with an extension that looks promising but I still have to be able to get the supplies ( not so easy to get them down here I bought some terumo needles in thriving pets and I just found out that I need an special permit and that to import one box of 100 needles worth 12 dolars I have to pay about 450 dolars and that permit is only good once )

My vet is kind of humoring me because subqs is not really the course of action where we live and he actually accepted because my sister had a very good result doing it with her dog she was actually his very first customer to do it and I'm the first on a cat fortunately he has been kind of open on a few issues specially after he saw how we handled Babu's diabetes (after we discuss the issues a few times of course )
 
Last edited:
I give Spot 100ml of lactated ringers solution per day as needed. I hang the bag on a coat hanger from a curtain rod, then position Spot between my hip and the arm of the couch. It only takes about 5 minutes and he doesn’t really complain much. I give him lots of scratches while holding the needle in place. It is very intimidating at first, but does get easier!
 
JeanW said:
And how did you learn what to do? What does the vet think about you doing this at home?
Click to expand...
Administering fluids can benefit cats with a variety of medical conditions. Most commonly, home fluid therapy is recommended for cats with kidney disease or chronic renal failure (CRF). Your vet/vet tech can teach you to to give fluids at home if they feel it will benefit your cat's condition. Talk to your vet. Clear it with your vet. Find out if administering fluids will help or hurt your cat's condition. Don't just start it on your own.

That said, are Pretty Girl's BG numbers any better than the 300+ to 600+ range seen on her spreadsheet a couple weeks ago? Recommendations were made to systematically increase the dose to pull her numbers down in your last thread on August 10th. How are things going? Are you seeing some movement yet? I think she'll feel a whole lot better if you can get her BG numbers down. We can help you with that. :)
 
My Rico has been getting SQ fluids since 11 years old at the very early stage of CKD-my vet believes in starting at the first sign of it although others disagree. That being said he is now 20 years old with good kidney values-slightly elevated but not much-and I am hoping his next BW they will be back down to normal range.
I started Drevon ant 16 he is now 19 and after the BW when he was 16 which were slightly high they have come back down.I also supplement with fish oil which is very good for KI disease (omega 3 especially)
Once you get the hang of it it will be 2nd nature.
 
Yes, we give Grandpa up to 100 ccs of lactated ringers a few times a week. We also add .5 cc of B-12 via the Y-junction of the tubing once a week.
 
Does anybody know if you can add potassium like you add the B-12 via the Y junction?

I know is a lot because lactated already has potassium but my civie has hyperaldosteronism so I need to supplement her with potassium and is become a little bit hard to add it to the food
 
@Veronica & Babu-chiri Do Not add Potassium to Sub Q fluids! #1 it burns like hell and will cause tissue damage. #2 Potassium infused into a vein must go very slowly (hours) or you can kill someone. It can disrupt heart function if infused rapidly. Causes arrhythmias and can stop the heart. #3 You can not infuse Potassium under the skin.
 
Harley Baby & Michele said:
@Veronica & Babu-chiri Do Not add Potassium to Sub Q fluids! #1 it burns like hell and will cause tissue damage. #2 Potassium infused into a vein must go very slowly (hours) or you can kill someone. It can disrupt heart function if infused rapidly. Causes arrhythmias and can stop the heart. #3 You can not infuse Potassium under the skin.
Click to expand...

Thank You very much for your fast answer, and the warning I really appreciate it, I'm very new to this whole subqs and I would certainly not try giving anything into a vein
 
Harley Baby & Michele said:
Do Not add Potassium to Sub Q fluids! #1 it burns like hell and will cause tissue damage. #2 Potassium infused into a vein must go very slowly (hours) or you can kill someone. It can disrupt heart function if infused rapidly. Causes arrhythmias and can stop the heart. #3 You can not infuse Potassium under the skin.
Click to expand...
This says you can safely give potassium in subQ fluids but it does burn. I has to be a specific form of potassium.
https://www.felinecrf.org/potassium.htm
 
I give Lactated Ringers. Vet has prescribed it for all of my kitties as they became seniors with any level of kidney disease. I buy the bags of fluids from the vet or online vet and an “IV set” that attaches to the bottle of fluids and to the needle at the other end. The tubing is called IV, but we use it for subcutaneous delivery of the fluids. I buy my own needles, as the vet has the smaller size and it just takes too long for the fluids to go through. My rabbit vet is the one that started me using 16 gauge needles. While the initial puncture probably hurts more, the cats love that it doesn’t take long and tolerate it very well. My vet has me set the tubing into the hot water, not the whole bag, to preserve the bag at a cool temperature to keep it fresher. The fluids warm just fine as they pass through the tubing to the kitty, (or rabbit).
Benefits:
*Wet can food alone doesn’t quite keep up with the amount of fluid the kidney need, when a cat has any level of kidney disease. Kidneys that are not functioning up to par try to flush out more toxins by using more fluid. Giving them fluids help keep up with the fluids lost due to kidney disease and excessive urination from high blood sugar
*Keeping kitty hydrated, makes it MUCH easier to get the drop of blood needed for a blood glucose sample!
*A well hydrated kitty has more urine flowing through the kidney and bladder, which means the urine is less concentrated. When it is less concentrated, it is less irritating and is especially helpful for kitties who have urinary tract inflammation.
*Keeping more fluids running through the kidneys and bladder helps flush them and may help prevent the buildup of crystals and blockage or the urinary tract, a very painful condition.
*Dehydration, even mild, can decrease appetite. Decreased appetite can be a problem when kitty has to eat the right amout at the right time and you don’t have all day to wait.
*Dehydration can skew and blood tests.
*A well hydrated kitty is more comfortable, has a better skin condition, and heals better.
My cat has had kidney disease for a few years. It has not progressed. Vet believes the subQ fluids are the reason.
 
Last edited:
Jill & Alex (GA) said:
Administering fluids can benefit cats with a variety of medical conditions. Most commonly, home fluid therapy is recommended for cats with kidney disease or chronic renal failure (CRF). Your vet/vet tech can teach you to to give fluids at home if they feel it will benefit your cat's condition. Talk to your vet. Clear it with your vet. Find out if administering fluids will help or hurt your cat's condition. Don't just start it on your own.

That said, are Pretty Girl's BG numbers any better than the 300+ to 600+ range seen on her spreadsheet a couple weeks ago? Recommendations were made to systematically increase the dose to pull her numbers down in your last thread on August 10th. How are things going? Are you seeing some movement yet? I think she'll feel a whole lot better if you can get her BG numbers down. We can help you with that. :)
Click to expand...
@Jill & Alex (GA) sorry, I just saw this. I've been away from the board for a variety of reasons - mostly due to computer problems and because I was out of town for 8 days.

Thank you, no, I would not just randomly start sub-q fluids without clearing it with the vet. It scares me in any case.

Here is what's happening now. Yes, recommendations were given to systematically increase the dose but I didn't do that because I found she was bouncing - see my thread.
 
JeanW said:
Here is what's happening now. Yes, recommendations were given to systematically increase the dose but I didn't do that because I found she was bouncing - see my thread.
Click to expand...
Decreasing the dose to do a "rebound" check rarely, if ever, works with long acting insulins.
Happy to see you getting the help you need!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top