Traumatized cat with diabetes

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MsCat

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Hi. My cat, Tiger, has just been diagnosed with diabetes. We have had him for about 1 1/2-years. He’s about 5 years old. Prior to us, he was living in an attic with another cat, Rocky, who we also adopted, a tortoise and an alligator. They only got fed when Rocky cried at the door, and they were never cleaned up after. We adopted Rocky first, and since Tiger was so sad at the shelter we adopted him, too. We had 3 other cats, one a diabetic, at the time. Rocky recently succumbed to kidney disease. We have to keep Tiger away from the other 3 as he has attacked them all, we think due to food issues, and one ended up with an abscess and needed surgery, which led to a skin issue. Tiger has his own room with everything he needs and spends a lot of time with my husband. I go in to feed him and play with him twice a day. Tiger had just gotten to the point where he could sleep with his head on my feet and didn’t flinch when we pet him, when he was diagnosed with diabetes. He is eating the food just fine but fights us on the insulin. He tries to bite and scratch me when I try to administer it. We started having my husband hold him, but that made it worse. Once the syringe is put away he is fine but starting to become suspicious of me. I feel terrible that he is not getting the insulin, but I also don’t want him to bite me. Has anyone faced this type of situation? Any suggestions on how to help him accept the insulin? I tried special treats while I tried to give him the shot, but now he won’t eat the treats at all and starts pawing at me when he sees the treats.
Thank you!
 
instead of holding in arms, try having husband hold his scruff tightly like a mama cat would do and slightly hold him upwards with only his feet touching ground/table/etc., that is what i have to do with the feral cat we took in a little over a year ago when i need to give him medications, only way i can control him without getting beat up..

you could wrap him up in a towel like my vet does and have hubby hold him that way, it would leave his scruff available for injections and if he still tries to bite you, than you can put a plastic cone on him. he may not like being somewhat rough handled but, its for his own good so you gotta do what you have to to get that insulin in him.

edit: 2 cats, tortoise and an ALLIGATOR in an attic!! what the heck kind of people were these poor kitties living with??
 
Food is a good motivator. You can try the same behaviors with food and no syringe. He will eventually associate the behaviors with the food rewards.

It is easy to get in the habit of just approaching the diabetic kittehs when they need treatment. I ensure that Leo gets attention all the time. That way he does not shy away when it is treatment time. In fact he now goes to the "special blanket" in the kitchen, where he gets a BG test. Then he immediately gets a treat and some brushing.

I wait until Leo is asking for food, during dose time. Then I get the food ready and the syringe ready. He gets dosed during the first 5 seconds of eating. He barely notices.
 
What food and snacks are you feeding.


Those poor babies... What they had to go through. How did they finally come to be up for adoption? Did the first people just finally tire of them? Did someone tell the humane society?
 
Sylvie said:
instead of holding in arms, try having husband hold his scruff tightly like a mama cat would do and slightly hold him upwards with only his feet touching ground/table/etc., that is what i have to do with the feral cat we took in a little over a year ago when i need to give him medications, only way i can control him without getting beat up..

you could wrap him up in a towel like my vet does and have hubby hold him that way, it would leave his scruff available for injections and if he still tries to bite you, than you can put a plastic cone on him. he may not like being somewhat rough handled but, its for his own good so you gotta do what you have to to get that insulin in him.

edit: 2 cats, tortoise and an ALLIGATOR in an attic!! what the heck kind of people were these poor kitties living with??
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Thank you. I will give those a try. They were living in an old lady’s house. Her son had been living in the attic with the animals-they were his. He moved out and left the animals. For some reason she wouldn’t let anyone take the animals even though she didn’t want them. After a couple of years of trying to get her to give them up a neighbor who volunteered for the cat shelter finally got her to get them out. Apparently they were a mess. I am hoping once we get him on regular insulin shots we can try re-introducing him to our other three.
 
JeffJ said:
Food is a good motivator. You can try the same behaviors with food and no syringe. He will eventually associate the behaviors with the food rewards.

It is easy to get in the habit of just approaching the diabetic kittehs when they need treatment. I ensure that Leo gets attention all the time. That way he does not shy away when it is treatment time. In fact he now goes to the "special blanket" in the kitchen, where he gets a BG test. Then he immediately gets a treat and some brushing.

I wait until Leo is asking for food, during dose time. Then I get the food ready and the syringe ready. He gets dosed during the first 5 seconds of eating. He barely notices.
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I was thinking about that last night. It’s not easy during the week because I work long days, but my husband spends a lot of time with him when he gets home. I really think I am going to have to get in there more.
 
JanetNJ said:
What food and snacks are you feeding.


Those poor babies... What they had to go through. How did they finally come to be up for adoption? Did the first people just finally tire of them? Did someone tell the humane society?
Click to expand...
Right now we are feeding him Hill’s prescription diet m/d both canned and dry. He has some digestive issues on top of the diabetes so we are working on finding out which food works best for him.
One of the neighbors worked on the owner until she would give them up. She didn’t want to take care of them but for some reason she didn’t want anyone else to have them. I guess she kept thinking her son would come and get them. It was very sad.
 
JanetNJ said:
Try a feliway plug in in his room.
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They have one at the vets office...Tessie runs straight for it and sits there calmly while head-butting it. Maybe it would help to put one near the area he gets his shot! Good luck working with him and just remember it's a process :)
 
What a sad situation. Tiger is basically semi-feral. He will need lots of attention and love to feel semi safe. I don't know if this is an option or something you would do, putting a full screen door up to the room he is in would allow him to see and hear everything in the house, yet keep boundaries for all the animals. Not the best decorating scenario but makes for great conversation when people ask.
 
MsCat said:
Right now we are feeding him Hill’s prescription diet m/d both canned and dry. He has some digestive issues on top of the diabetes so we are working on finding out which food works best for him.
One of the neighbors worked on the owner until she would give them up. She didn’t want to take care of them but for some reason she didn’t want anyone else to have them. I guess she kept thinking her son would come and get them. It was very sad.
Click to expand...
Do you leave the dry food out for him to nibble on? If so, you could try taking it away a few hours before test time so he gets nice and hungry. Maybe he'd be more open to a little pinch if his appetite was raring to go. Just an idea!
 
Megan and Tessie said:
Do you leave the dry food out for him to nibble on? If so, you could try taking it away a few hours before test time so he gets nice and hungry. Maybe he'd be more open to a little pinch if his appetite was raring to go. Just an idea!
Click to expand...

I doubt there is any testing at this point. He is to scared to even allow his shots most times. At least that's what is indicated in the post.
 
Maybe we'll get our cats together and go on Jerry Springer together. Dr. Phil?
I'd try the Feliway and then just see everything from Tiger's perspective. He has no reason to trust anyone and now you want to poke holes in him. It can be done with patience, love and hydrogen peroxide for yourself.
 
Another thing I've found that helps calm is music. Try playing some "healing music for cats" from YouTube
 
When I adopted Spot, she was an untreated diabetic cat. She was extremely scared and difficult to work with. Unfortunately, trying to wrap her in a towel to make a kitty burrito made it worse.

What I found that worked was handling her gently and giving insulin while she was eating. She was so busy eating, that she did not realize I gave her the shot. Initially, I did not test her, but once she got used to getting insulin and feeling better, I was able to test her also.

I suggest trying this in addition to using the Feliway. Feed him on a table or dresser so you do not have to bend over to try to give the shot. Instead of scruffing him, gently pet him while he is eating and get him used to lifting the skin on the back of his neck. It may take a few days, but once he is used to it, you can then give the insulin in the skin while you lift it.
 
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