The jig is up!

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Caitlin M

Caitlin M

Member Since 2017
Good morning! As my title states-the jig is up on Pita thinking he's just being loved. As some of you already know, last night was difficult and I could not for the life of me get a reading before bed. Ok, move on. I woke up this am, got everything prepared and brought him over. Started by petting, rubbing his face, heating his ear. He refused to sit down or get comfortable in any way and kept trying to escape. Immediately upon applying ointment, he began growling. I poked and massaged but nothing came through-I did make sure to use the sweet spot! He ran away so I gave him a minute then went back and pet, picked him and brought him in. I decided to do it on the floor and had a towel draped over him/tented him with my legs. Still growling and unhappy.
BUT- lo and behold- a droplet! I turned on the meter and the reading was 335 (close to yesterday # around the same time). I'm glad he didn't shake his shake and that the ointment helped it bead-I've never been so happy to see blood! At this point however, I just feel horrible because he's growling and being vocal right from the beginning and is wriggling/trying to escape almost immediately. Is it okay to be sitting/tenting on him and using a towel to cover his body? It's definitely more threatening than the first couple times, but he knows what's about to happen. I am going to get treats or a good dry food this evening to start giving him immediately after each test (or after each attempt if he keeps running away?) so hopefully as time goes on he accepts the whole thing and he'll be able with a small treat. Thanks all!
 
I give my cat a small bowl of freeze dried chicken treats mixed with a little water. He gobbles them down on the kitchen counter as I test him. You don't even need special treats or dry food (high carbs) you can mix a little of his wet food in some water.
 
You have the right idea. Positive reinforcement. Give a special treat after each test (successful or not). Best if this treat is ONLY given for testing/injections. Freeze-dried chicken is great and low-carb. My cat will start purring when she sees me bring out the testing kit because she knows she gets a treat after. Now she's in remission and only gets tested once a week, but she still purrs before we even start because she knows she's getting a treat.
Give it time and be consistent with the treats. Get the treat out and ready before the poke (don't let him see it) so you can give it immediately after. I studied behavioral science... it really should work if you are consistent with the treats (as long as he likes the treat!). Pairing the treat with praise and chin rubs helps too.
Be patient. He has already learned to associate this as negative experience, so he has to un-learn that and re-learn that it's happy-fun-treat-time.
 
Try desensitization, several times a day, take him to the testing spot and rub his ear, give a treat and let him go. Gradually add more and more of your prestick routine with the treat but without the stick. Also be sure you are relaxed. If you're expecting him to be cranky you'll tense up and he'll feel it. Take a deep breath, and try singing.
 
Great advice here! The more you can stay calm and reduce any sort of restrictive measures and do multiple dry runs with treats, the better.
 
Treats will definitely help! Coda and I just finally got used to BG tests and what I think made a world of difference is having a designated testing place (aka the couch chair for coda). I sit him across my lap with a pillow & armrest behind and in front of him ( just enough to close of some space, not smothering) because he also likes to flee/ jump/ back out. For him, he seems to relax more with this method than when I was on the floor over him. This also helped with insulin injections.. hang in there! It gets easier!
 
Sharon14 said:
Try desensitization, several times a day, take him to the testing spot and rub his ear, give a treat and let him go. Also be sure you are relaxed. If you're expecting him to be cranky you'll tense up and he'll feel it. Take a deep breath, and try singing.
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That is perfect advice. I do Noah in the same basket he lies in all day. Now he does not think basket = pain. Now if he's out of the basket I gently thump the basket and he gets in, how lucky is that?
 
One more idea. Our first sugar cat Nigel was 1 of 9 cats in the house so there were a lot of distractions and cats always want to see what's going on. I finally got Nigel up on the dining room table on a big towel. Now he's got traction, he's on something soft and comfy, he's above all the other cats and we were at eye level under good light. Same as Noah I would pull out a chair, thump the table and Nigel would jump up 9 times out of 10. Keep the faith Caitlin, we've all been there, making the impossible possible.
 
Thank you all SO much. I hadn't had time to read all your responses until now, but it is all such great advice and encouragement. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to come on here and feel confident in seeking help.
I went out and bought a small bag of the EVO Turkey and Chicken dry food. I think instead of testing him tonight like I had originally hoped, I'll bring him to the spot, rub his ears and give him 1 or 2 pieces. Tomorrow is his first shot of PZI though so I believe I need to test him before I feed him/shoot?! His am numbers have been in the low 300's-is this an acceptable number to shoot him at? Also, per some advice, I will start with 1 unit (how long should I stay with the 1?). Since it's his first day with Insulin, should I test him more than once before his pm feed?His demeanor really does seem to have changed since I took out the dry food! He hasn't been to the water bowl as much just seems to be a bit peppier, so I'm already amazed at the advice from this site.
 
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Caitlin M said:
so I believe I need to test him before I feed him/shoot?!
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Yes, that's the sequence to follow.

Caitlin M said:
His am numbers have been in the low 300's-is this an acceptable number to shoot him at?
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Yes, this is a shootable range.

Caitlin M said:
Also, per some advice, I will start with 1 unit (how long should I stay with the 1?).
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It depends on his response to this dose. He might be erratic in his response for a while in the beginning because they can take a while to adjust to being given insulin. Just add all your data to the SS as soon as you can and post here for advice.

Caitlin M said:
Since it's his first day with Insulin, should I test him more than once before his pm feed?
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If you're up to it, a test at +3 and another at +6 would be useful. The +3 will show you if the insulin has begun to lower his BG and the +6 will give you an idea of how low it takes him.
 
Sharon14 said:
Take a deep breath, and try singing.
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The singing helped me (although twinkle twinkle will lose its charm)!
I forget who uses the bottle warmer for the ear, but does anyone know what kind it is? I'd like to try it out instead of the sock. It took me a good 20 minutes of singing, petting, rubbing ears and giving a treat this morning but I finally got a reading- bit later than I wanted but that's OK. 254 is his lowest reading yet! First shot also given so I'll test in a bit again.
 
Great that you got the test! It will get easier. Their ears actually learn to bleed as they grow more capillaries from the poking. I've never used the bottle to warm the ear, but I think I've heard they use a pill bottle. Anything small like that and with a no leak top. Keep singing!:smuggrin:
 
Caitlin, have you been up all night singing to Pita? Posting at 4:51AM? You're off to a great start, not what you imagined when you joined is it, a bunch of strangers on the internet who actually care. Now try this:
Hush, little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird don't sing, Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring turns brass, Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass.
And if that looking glass is broke, Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat. And if that billy goat won't pull, Mama's gonna buy you a cart and a bull. And if that cart and bull turn over, Mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover.
And if that dog named Rover won't bark, Mama's gonna buy you a horse and a cart.
A bunch of us got together overnight and wrote that song just for you.
 
Sharon14 said:
I've never used the bottle to warm the ear, but I think I've heard they use a pill bottle. Anything small like that and with a no leak top.
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Does the plastic not melt?! I'll look into it more.
Noah & me said:
Caitlin, have you been up all night singing to Pita? Posting at 4:51AM?
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I usually leave for the day at 5, so I know I have to keep the same T,F,S schedule on the weekends as well
 
I'm not sure how hot the water has to be to make the bottle warm enough to be useful, but Hot water won't melt it.
 
Sharon14 said:
I'm not sure how hot the water has to be to make the bottle warm enough to be useful, but Hot water won't melt it.
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Oh, so maybe I don't heat the water IN the bottle. I pour it in after? Lol that might make more sense.
Noah & me said:
Now try this:
Hush, little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird.
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Lol the best part of that is I actually sang it out loud to myself as I read it :)
 
My wife knows all the words to "The Love Boat" but I just ate.
You could try a bottled water bottle with a face cloth around it, the end result is the same although the size is a bit clumsy. We all enjoy experimenting on our kitties. N2CATS (no 2 cats are the same) I should copyright that.
 
Well I just did my +3 and it read 183. Treats are helping and I can rub his ear and touch with no problem- it's as soon as he knows how I hold his ear to poke that he starts becoming vocal! Such a smarty it's annoying. But we're getting there regardless and he is in love with the treats!
I'm not sure this is even related, but does anyone else's baby have horrible dandruff?! It's the middle of winter here and heat is usually on, so I know that the environment affects it also.
 
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Lewis is like any other cat, put him in a bathtub and you'll lose an eye but he LOVES getting a bath with warm and wet paper towels. After he gets brushed he almost looks loveable. (He steals food from the other cats)
 
Someone on this forum told me that if I gave Elliott a treat after performing a BG, he would "like" to have it done..REALLY? I did not believe her. We bought those bags of boneless chicken breasts and kept them cooked in frig. After giving him little pieces of the chicken over a few weeks, he would go to sit on the counter awaiting the BG test, We were shocked. Now, that he is in remission, we ignored at first but later became confused at to why he gets on the counter top and stares at us. Frank goes over now, fiddles around with the meter present, squeezes his ear and pretends to do a BG..and gives him chicken if we have it. He, then, goes about his business...I am thankful for all of these FDMB experts...AMAZING !!!
 
Caitlin M said:
Does the plastic not melt?! I'll look into it more.

I usually leave for the day at 5, so I know I have to keep the same T,F,S schedule on the weekends as well
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A small bottle with a tight cap can be filled with very warm tap water. It needs to be hot but touchable.
 
I'm sure you know this this but as I told (husband) Frank, repeatedly..There is almost no blood in the tip of the ear so Rub from above the crease on/near the head toward the ear tip repeatedly and blood will arrive.
 
Dandruff? I don't see dandruff but when I comb Trouble (non-diabetc brother) with what some might call a baby comb or flea comb to remove excess hair, near his tail or lower back area, a thick white hunk of dead skin appears on the comb. Elliott had very thick hair before the D.M. Now, it looks fine but when combing, it is very very thin compared to before.,,no dead skin on comb.
 
ELLIOTT & Fran Munschauer said:
Someone on this forum told me that if I gave Elliott a treat after performing a BG, he would "like" to have it done..REALLY?
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I'm glad I'm not the only skeptical one! I know ECID, but a few weeks would made me so happy!
ELLIOTT & Fran Munschauer said:
I'm sure you know this this but as I told (husband) Frank, repeatedly..
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I knew this, but now it makes much more sense for trying to get blood to come up. Thank you!
 
I just did his PMPS and it was 206, so I fed and gave him 1 unit. Hope that's all correct for now! I will try to test before bed/ at +6, just to see what the number is/ make up for missing the am +6. Still hating me when he knows what I'm about to do, but ears are bleeding a bit better and he's loving his treats. He struggles and runs away after I poke, so I let him go, then get him a minute later and there's a good drop of blood. I usually put ointment on before the poke so I'm guessing that's how it stays. Otherwise, I'd be pinning him down, growling, while I roll his ear and wait for it to appear. Oy.
 
Caitlin M said:
I just did his PMPS and it was 206, so I fed and gave him 1 unit. Hope that's all correct for now! I will try to test before bed/ at +6, just to see what the number is/ make up for missing the am +6. Still hating me when he knows what I'm about to do, but ears are bleeding a bit better and he's loving his treats. He struggles and runs away after I poke, so I let him go, then get him a minute later and there's a good drop of blood. I usually put ointment on before the poke so I'm guessing that's how it stays. Otherwise, I'd be pinning him down, growling, while I roll his ear and wait for it to appear. Oy.
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Great work on your first day of giving insulin. The pokes will get easier over time and his ears will bleed better as more capillaries develop. You need to give yourself a special treat now - wine? chocolate? potato chips? all three? ;)
 
How do you all keep an eye on weight? Just eyeball it or should I hold him and weigh myself? Probably not the most accurate I know, but it works (I think?)
 
Caitlin M said:
How do you all keep an eye on weight? Just eyeball it or should I hold him and weigh myself? Probably not the most accurate I know, but it works (I think?)
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That works but I bought a digital baby scale to monitor Teasel and his brother (who needed to lose some weight).
 
267 AMPS! Started waking me up at 3am to be fed, with his usual meowing in my face and trying to knock stuff over. Hate when he does it but always impresses me with how close he gets to when I wake up. Day 2 of PZI. This may be a mistake, but I have been looking at other postings to try to learn, and I think some people would think my numbers are too high for the 1 unit? I just want to make sure that my AMPS/PMPS '#s look OK to be giving him the 1u, and then that my (day 1) + #'s look to be going the correct way. I know it'll all make sense eventually. Thanks!
 
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Good morning Caitlin! Sorry no one was around to answer your question. Why don't you come to the Prozinc Forum where you can get specific dosing advice.
 
Yes, do go to the ProZinc forum. It's a small, friendly group. I spend a lot of time there still even though Teasel is on Lantus now. As far as your dose goes, it's too early to judge whether it's too low or not. Think of this as a "get to know ProZinc" phase. Collect a lot of data in your SS and post for advice on the PZ forum. Once you know Pita's responses better you can change the dose more readily.
 
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