Testing frustrations

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smunifun

Member Since 2013
My 11 year old fat male Himalyan was diagnosed last week with a blood sugar of 340 at the vets. This sweet wonderful cat is a rescued cat and is adament about not being held or restrained. I have had him 8 years and he has never sat in my lap or allowed me to hold him without violent reactions. I am diabetic so I have no problem with the shots ( 2 units in the morning and 2 units at night) but I cannot find a way to test him since I live alone. I finally got someone to come and help me but we were unable to get sufficient blood out of either his ear or his paw. I followed the Youtube videos but no success. Any suggestions?
 
Here are some tips that might help? But I think you either need to go with burrito and fighting, or slow and steady stroking of the ears while he relaxes wherever he is until he gets used to it and then poky and treats!! I dont restrain my Tiggy as he would lose his mind. I wait till he is all nice and sleepy and go up and stroke his ears then quick poky before he notices.. more strokes/treat.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13c_CPZVKz27fD_6aVbsguadJKvjSrSAkD7flgPPhEag/pub

You can do that to the ear or paw pads.
 
Also this isnt a 911.. can you remove the icon? 911 implies there is an emergency or danger of death and I don't think/ hope that isnt the case!
 
First, take a deep breath and realize it gets easier, especially with the ear testing. The first couple of weeks are a *****! I remember crying a few times even. But, after some time, the ears start developing more capillaries and learn to "bleed better."

Here's a link to a great page with some testing tips. Don't worry; it will happen!

ETA: Wendy with the speedy typing beats me to the punch. :lol:
 
WARM WARM Ears! Use warmed rice sock, warm washcloth in baggie, pill bottle with warm water, however you choose but cool or cold ears don't bleed well at all. Keep working at it and don't forget - TREATS! Whether you get blood or not, TREATS! 3 tries and rest for a while...and BREATHE! Then do a little dance, you're one step closer to success!!!

ChaChaCha!
 
I am still working on testing successfully. It means a great deal to have heard from you who responded. Thank you.
 
Let us know how it goes and where you might be encountering difficulties. We've all been there and we've all experienced difficulties in one way or another, so if one of us doesn't know, someone else is always able to chime in with an answer. :-D One the great things about having a community like this one is the shared experiences. :YMHUG:
 
While you're working on the blood glucose testing, see my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some other assessments which will help you monitor him.

The urine ketone test will identify if there are ketones accumulating since the last time the cat urinated. High levels of ketones are a medical emergency as they may be from diabetic ketoacidosis.

Breath check - if the breath smells fruity, or like nail polish remover, this may be a sign of ketones too. Again, this is a medical emergency.

The urine glucose is inexact and shows if glucose was spilling into the urine since the last time the cat urinated. It does this when the blood glucose is over about 240. This shows you don't have control of the diabetes.
 
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