Tigger stabilizing

[kate&tigger]

Tigger seems to be stabilizing down into the 200's on 1 unit of levemir every 12 hours. I am so pleased with his progress! He is eating half a can of low carb food twice a day and some extra human-grade tuna as treats. Its a joy to see him wash himself again and today he actually played a little with the young kitten, Inky, as they both batted a feather around. I haven't seen him do that in a year or so! I am thrilled! The only thing that mars the picture is that I know his ears are tender. He shakes his head from time to time as though they are sore and bothering him. My poor boy! I would stick my own fingers for him if I could rather than his ears! I haven't been using a lancet device as I could not get any blood so have just been free-handing it with the lancet. I am trying to perfect my technique so that I am not too rough on him... I used to stick babies' heels in the NICU so Its not my first rodeo as far as blood-letting goes.

 

[Vicky & Gandalf (GA) & Murrlin]

Hi Kate,
I am so glad to hear that Tigger is doing well and is feeling better! flip_cat

One tip on the testing - press your finger on the spot you stuck for a few seconds afterwards. This will prevent scabbing and bruising. You can use a cotton ball or piece of tissue to blot the blood at the same time. I also always wetted the spot immediately after sticking, then held the tissue on it for a few seconds. Press with fingers on both sides of the ear. I tested Gandalf's ears for over 6 years. On the day he died you would never know he'd had his ears stuck thousands of times. I also freehanded the lancets, no harm in doing it that way. I was always afraid the device would make a bigger wound, plus I could never see it because it went so fast.

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

That is great! It so nice when they start to feel better. And play! Yippie!

I free-handed the lancet ever since I tore Beau's ear with the device (!!! @-) !!!). He learned to anticipate the clicking and flicked his ear at the wrong moment. I like the control better freehand. I also pressed a folded piece of tissue around the edge of the ear and held it a few seconds every time. Neitherh of my guys had much brusing - and they do get more used to it as time goes on.

Also, and this was a big one for me, I found ONE kind of lancet that I felt worked a 100 times better than any other: the BD Ultra Fine II. It's 30 gauge. I tried a LOT of 30 gauge brands trying to find a cheaper one and none worked as well. ALL the others made Beau's ear feel like shoe leather I was trying to stab - and I had to stab harder and he yelped. With the BD ones, his ear (and Jeddie's) felt like butter and I could poke a lot more gently. I do two quick pokes just next to each other on Beau because his ears were thicker than Jeddie's. Not sure if you have that problem or not, but thought I'd mention it.

 

[Jessica & Boo Radley]

Two other little tips:

I always squeeze out just a drop of antibiotic + pain relief ointment on the counter where I'm testing. After I've collected the sample, I dab it on my finger, put it on the poke site and apply pressure for a few seconds.

I use Boo's upper dew claw vs. his ear (not the pads of his feet, but the one about 1/4 of the way up his arm). He doesn't even flinch and actually, after this much times....hands me his paw when I pull out the "treat cup"!

 

[hmjohnston]

It is so great to hear that Tigger is stabilizing!

And I free-hand that lancet too as Sneakers could not STAND to have that clicking by her head :lol: . After getting the sample I just lightly pinch the ear for 3-5 seconds to stop the bleeding.

I will let you know, when I have pet sitters come and test/shoot she is REALLY glad to have me back home :lol:

 

[Grayson & Lu]

Glad to hear Tigger is doing so well! I free-hand too, and showed one of my pet-sitters how to test yesterday. He & his wife came back while I was out last night, and Grayson cooperated perfectly! His right ear is a little shoe-leatherish... I may need to get some of the BD brand lancets. Never thought about the dew claw, but maybe he'd be more receptive to that... I'm sure he'd be thrilled if I left his ear alone!

Don't you love it when you learn something from other peoples' posts?!

Good boy Tigger!!!

 

[max&emmasmommie]

That's really wonderful. Good job.

(Emma had to have a heel prick to get blood for a jaundice test when she was very, very small. It was horrible, and she cried and cried. It took forever for them to get enough blood.)