Tenting Techniques

[davidscat]

I’ve had an extreme difficult time doing injections myself, and until recently I’ve been taking Snowy to the vet where I’d TRY to inject and if/when I couldn’t inject the vet-tech would get the job done. Somehow, I made a breakthrough and I’ve been doing injections mostly by myself for about 2 weeks, but not without setbacks. Last night when I injected, I got a cry from Snowy and a tiny red spot at the injection site. This morning I tried to inject but couldn’t insert the needle to penetrate the skin, so after five poking Snowy five times I gave up and called a friend in to do it. I know a cat’s skin is tough but I believe I was attempting to inserting with enough force.

I think I’m doing something wrong and I’ll lose what little confidence I had with these setbacks which makes further injections difficult. I wonder if I’m tenting correctly and injecting at the right spot. No videos I’ve watched give a closeup view. I put my fingers and thumb on either side of Snow’s back, about an inch or two behind the shoulder blades, then grasp/pull up to form the tent, then insert the needle into the tent. Maybe I’m grasping too hard and pulling up muscle, I don’t know. Any good videos or ideas?

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

You are using a new needle each time, right? They get dull very fast.

Had to go searching a bit but finally found a description of the wrist roll method.

You might try using the "wrist roll" method instead of the "tent" when shooting. You grab some fur between your thumb and forefinger and then "roll" your wrist to gently pull until you see a "break" in the fur. Shoot into that break at about a 45 degree angle. It's kind of hard to describe but here's a picture that should help

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

TESTING AND SHOOTING TIPS


Here are some other sites to give the insulin

 

[davidscat]

You are using a new needle each time, right? They get dull very fast.

Had to go searching a bit but finally found a description of the wrist roll method.



View attachment 64513

I'm using a new needle, in fact I tried two different syringes just to see if one was dull but with the same result.
Due to my tremor I'm not sure I can do the wrist roll method.

 

[davidscat]

When I did last night's shot everything was text book. Not sure where I go wrong on the bad days. I'm still new at this and my confidence is still low.

 

[Hendrick Cuddleclaw]

so one thing the vet showed me, not sure if you're doing this but first I make the little tent then take a finger and push it into the tent in the area where I'll be poking the needle, so the tent becomes like a little cave

then, trying to get the needle so it's not at an angle (as parallel with the spine as I can), I inject towards the bottom of that tent but not all the way at the bottom. That was what worked for us.

Glad to hear your last attempt went smoothly!

 

[davidscat]

so one thing the vet showed me, not sure if you're doing this but first I make the little tent then take a finger and push it into the tent in the area where I'll be poking the needle, so the tent becomes like a little cave

then, trying to get the needle so it's not at an angle (as parallel with the spine as I can), I inject towards the bottom of that tent but not all the way at the bottom. That was what worked for us.

Glad to hear your last attempt went smoothly!

Great tips, I'll give 'em a try. Thank you!

 

[Scott & Buster]

Hi @davidscat, did the recommendation Hendrick sent help?

I am fairly new to this as well, and don't have the most confidence, however I found 2 things that helped me - angled injections and making sure the tent is taught. For me, if I try to go in parallel to the spine I break through the other side and end up with a fur shot and the cat gets no insulin. The 45-ish degree angle really helped with that. For me, the looser the skin, the harder it is to get a finer gauged needles in. If I pull up on the skin until there is just the tiniest resistance it's taught enough get the needle into - I have actually bent the needle with the looser tents.

Hope this helps.

 

[davidscat]

Hi @davidscat, did the recommendation Hendrick sent help?

I am fairly new to this as well, and don't have the most confidence, however I found 2 things that helped me - angled injections and making sure the tent is taught. For me, if I try to go in parallel to the spine I break through the other side and end up with a fur shot and the cat gets no insulin. The 45-ish degree angle really helped with that. For me, the looser the skin, the harder it is to get a finer gauged needles in. If I pull up on the skin until there is just the tiniest resistance it's taught enough get the needle into - I have actually bent the needle with the looser tents.

Hope this helps.

I agree that looser skin causes big problems and on more than one occasion has prevented me from getting the needle in. Hendrick's suggestion didn't help me but it's a good idea. I have a tremor which limits my tenting options; e.g., I just can't do some tents such as Red & Rover's wrist roll. I shoot parallel to the spine and that works - when I do it correctly.

I took Snowy to the vet yesterday for the sole purpose of discussing my injection technique, fears, and do a few practice shots using saline. The vet suggested that I pull the tent back, away from the needle and toward the cat's head, to make the tent taunter, and that worked amazingly well. Let me add that the vet spent almost an hour with me, using her lunch break, and didn't charge me a dime. I'm forever grateful to the vet and her staff.

Unfortunately, for this morning's shoot I was quite anxious, making the tremor worse, so I couldn't shoot. After I chilled out a bit I tried again with success, but now I'm over two hours behind my intended schedule. If things keep going like this I won't be giving the evening injections until midnight.