Sweet spot dried up?

[Tina Pavloff]

I am having trouble getting blood from Bob's ears to do glucose testing? Does this happen after so much testing? He's been running lower numbers so I want to test before giving insulin but am having a hard time getting blood from both ears. Help! Thank you!

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hi,

You may find it worthwhile to try areas outside of the normal place where you get blood.
Sometimes I find I get blood more easily from just below the very tip of the ear.
And sometimes I get more blood if I move in a bit further, away from the very edge of the ear.
Be prepared to experiment a little.

Something else I've found is that, from time to time, I can get a little complacent and lazy, and my testing technique gets a little bit 'off'. When this happens the most common mistake I've made is to not put pressure on the underside of the ear while I'm pricking the outside. The lancet needs something to 'resist' otherwise it can push the ear away rather than prick it. (I'm not suggesting that you have got 'complacent and lazy', but it never hurts to revisit our technique from time to time. )

I've been testing my cat for a long time now (over 9 years) and in his case the blood supply to the edge of the ear has shifted quite a bit over time. It's just a matter of following it...

I'm sure others here will have ideas for you also.

Good luck!

Eliz

 

[Jeanne & Dottie]

Check to see if he's dehydrated. A dry sweet spot was the first thing I noticed when Dottie was receiving insulin. It's a good way to confirm dehydration, especially if your kitty doesn't have very loose skin.

I am always amazed at Dottie's skin tone..but then her skin is very snug. Scruffing her has always been next to impossible. And it's hard to stretch out her skin to see if it snaps back or not..because it's so closely fit to her body.

A little fluid won't hurt. Not a lot..just enough to see..and if within a couple of hours the ears run blood again, you'll know what was going on.