Testing site

[Theboys]

My boy, Attis, was diagnosed with diabetes recently. He is handling insulin administering very well and due to reading here, I have switched him from Purina pro DM to Tiki cat, so thank you.

my real challenge is taking blood for his glucose reading. He hates it, I hate doing it but it is important.

Does anyone have any tips? I have to take the sample alone so please take that into consideration.
Attis would desperately appreciate me getting better at this.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
It will take a few days for you both to get the hang of hometesting so don’t be discouraged with any failures. Everyone fails in the beginning.
Have a read through this link and ano the links that are contained within it.

HOMETESTING HINTS SND LINKS
Always give a treat every time you test whether you are successful or not. Attis won’t know if you are successful or not, but he will learn that tests mean treats.
Here is how I used to test in the beginning when I was on my own.
I would get everything ready to go. I checked out how long I had once I pushed the strip into the meter so I knew how long I had before it timed out. I had the treat or small amount of low carb food or broth ready on a plate. I put everything down in the floor and then I knelt down and sat back on heels and put Sheba between my knees facing the same way as me so that if she backed away, she would back into me. And I just put one hand gently on her chest under her neck and with the other hand put the plate in front of her and then as she started to eat, I quickly pushed to test strip in, and then pricked the ear and got the blood.
If the ear needs warming first or milking ( to get the blood into the area) do that first before giving the treat.
I failed several times before I started to have success. In the end if I was testing during the cycle, sometimes I just had to go up to Sheba where she was lying and just test her. She didn’t even look for a treat on those occasions or even acknowledge I was there. You can do this!
I would recommend you set up a spreadsheet and your signature so we can help you
Here is the Link
Help up help you

 

[Theboys]

Thank you so much! I’m going to try again

I have been trying his ear which hasn’t worked but I’ll try your method.

His paw is going fairly well but he has caught on to my movements. I feel bad because I try a couple of times then it gets too stressful for both of us so I stop and I give him treats.

I’ve seen people use Vaseline to help with blood droplets, have you used that before? Also does the needle size matter? I believe the lancet needle is the same size as the insulin which is u40. To be clear, I’m just using the needle portion as I found the lancet not that great as it never drew any blood or punctured. Do you use a lancet device or just the needle?

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Do you use a lancet device or just the needle

I used the device. Some people just use the lancet. You can change the depth of the device. Have you done that? There should be a dial on the side of the device.
The size of the lancet should be size 26 or 28.
I never used a needle but others have. I found using the device best for me.
Yes you an use vaseline on the ear to help the blood bead up. Just a little bit.
Get a torch and shine it behind the ear so you can see the vein that runs around the edge of the ear. You need to aim to get between the vein and the edge of the ear. Make sure you warm the ear and milk it towards the top before you try and get the blood.
As the ears get more and more pokes, they build up capillaries and it will get easier.
Keep trying. You will get there.

 

[JanetNJ]

My boy, Attis, was diagnosed with diabetes recently. He is handling insulin administering very well and due to reading here, I have switched him from Purina pro DM to Tiki cat, so thank you.

my real challenge is taking blood for his glucose reading. He hates it, I hate doing it but it is important.

Does anyone have any tips? I have to take the sample alone so please take that into consideration.
Attis would desperately appreciate me getting better at this.

I have a video in my signature showing how I tested my cat CC. Run the ear prior to get the blood moving and warm up the ear.