Testing advice needed

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bri4937

bri4937

Member Since 2014
Phoenix now refuses to let me test her. Her poor little ears hurt. When I touch them she cries then when I try to poke them she yells and growls and swats at me. I don't know what to do. She was finally showing some progress and now?? I think I am doing it right. I am taking a Lancer and poking between the vein and the outer edge of the ear. I try to poke enough to get blood, but I don't penatrate the ear. I don't know what to do. Does anyone have any advise or dealt with this?
 
I'm not sure I've welcomed you and Phoenix yet to LL. I'm sorry she's having a hard time with the testing.

I'm not sure what hints you've been given but the basics are warming the ear with a rice sock or warm cloth in a bag and using neosporin ointment with pain relief after every poke and then a little extra at night after the last poke to let it set in a bit.

Here are some more Testing and Shooting Tips.

Also...when she's high, give her a break. The other thing I do is I bought a pkg of baby washcloths. When I test, I get one wet in cool/cold water and as soon as I am done poking, I hold the cold, damp cloth on the poke spot with pressure. Then I put on the neosporin. The cold cloth helps with keeping the ear from bruising.
 
...also....treats, treats, treats! If you're not already doing it, give Phoenix a treat every time you test or attempt to test, even if you're not successful in getting blood. She'll quickly begin to associate testing with treats!
 
Thank you both for the advise. I have tried all of these methods and we were getting through it until I did a lot of tests in one day. Now her ears are really sore. I applied pressure with a tissue after each poke and have been putting neosporin on several times a day. Even if I pet her and touch her ear she cries. The treats are the only reason she isn't running off when I try to test. She has always been a very loving and trusting cat.
 
I also poke on the very outside edge of the ear, not between the vein and the edge. Does that make sense? Are you using a larger gauge lancet now like 28 or 29 until her ears start bleeding easier.
 
The testing and shooting tips mention using homeopathic ledum.

You can purchase Ledum 30C homeopathic remedy at any health food store. Dissolve one tablet in a small bottle of pure water and then apply one or two drops to each ear every day. Ledum is great for puncture wounds.​
 
We are testing using Pedro's pad and it works really well for us. With the Alphatrak2 needing less blood than our precious glucometer I use the spring loaded lancet that came with the glucometer, set on '4' it pierces the rough skin of the pad and a gentle squeeze gives enough blood to test.

My cat let's me hold him like a baby in my arms and he purrs happily while I test him, he rarely flinches when I do it. I rotate between the paws/pads, 4 to pick from!! ^_^ x
 
If you're doing the lancing freehand you could try using the lancing device instead. By hand couldn't be as quick and clean as the lancing device so I'm thinking that would have to be gentler on very sensitive ears and heal faster.
 
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