Insulin shot -fur shot

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Carol Noverati, Oct 17, 2017.

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  1. Carol Noverati

    Carol Noverati Member

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    Sep 28, 2017
    How do you know for sure if you have given a fur shot? I'm sure I've done it right but sometimes his fur is slightly wet.
     
  2. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

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    Jul 6, 2017
    If the fur is wet in the shot area, you have given at least a partial fur shot. Since you cannot know for sure how much made it in him, you do not want to attempt to give any more insulin, just wait until his next dose.
     
  3. Carol Noverati

    Carol Noverati Member

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    Sep 28, 2017
    I don't understand how this happens. Is this a common occurance? I feel like I am injecting correctly.
     
  4. Sharon14

    Sharon14 Well-Known Member

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    Aug 16, 2015
    You can also sniff the injection site as insulin has a distinct smell. As for fur shots, we’ve all given them. Even now after 2 years I still occasionally give one. When I first started I had a patch shaved on my cat so I could see exactly where the needle went in, after a few times I could do it by feel.
    ETA forgot to add, be sure not to pull the needle out too quickly after injection to insure all insulin is injected.
     
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  5. Sylvie

    Sylvie Member

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    Sep 26, 2017
    i don't know for sure other than area being wet like Furbabies said, just know how to make sure i don't give my cat fur shots. i have a long hair cat with an undercoat that kinda matches his skin (especially to my bad eyes) so my vet told me to slightly pull plunger on syringe up after i stick needle into skin to make sure there is a slight resistance, if there is resistance, it won't be a fur shot.
     
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  6. Carol Noverati

    Carol Noverati Member

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    Sep 28, 2017
    Yes I did smell at first and didn't smell anything. Then a few seconds later when petting I noticed it wet?
     
  7. Carol Noverati

    Carol Noverati Member

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    Sep 28, 2017
    So stick, pull back the plunger and if there is resistance it's okay to push?
     
  8. Carol Noverati

    Carol Noverati Member

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    Sep 28, 2017
    Maybe that's it then. Because I'm sure I am injecting into the skin. I can feel it.
     
  9. Sylvie

    Sylvie Member

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    Sep 26, 2017
    yup, 'gently' pull back plunger is what i was told to do.
     
  10. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

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    If you slightly lift ('tent') the skin and stick the needle into the raised skin, but not all the way through to the other side, and make sure you push the plunger all the way down before you pull out, the whole dose should make it in. Fur shots usually happen because you do not actually have the point of the needle fully underneath the skin, or you pull out as you push the plunger rather than waiting until after, or the cat decides to pull away at just the right moment as you are injecting.
     
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  11. Carol Noverati

    Carol Noverati Member

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    Thank you! Has to be because I'm pulling out to quickly. Ugh! Frustrated. I get so nervous that I'm not gonna do it right and put him in jeopardy.
     
  12. Carol Noverati

    Carol Noverati Member

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    Thanks! I'll give it a try.
     
  13. Noah & me (GA)

    Noah & me (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Dec 3, 2016
    Don't pull out too quickly because you think you're inflicting pain with the needle in. Once it's in, as long as neither one of you is squirming around, that tiny bit of pain is over. It took me a long time to get over waving the "dagger" around. I don't have any video of our first cat running down the hallway with a syringe hanging out of him. It's happened to all of us.
    :eek: :arghh: :bighug:
     
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  14. Carol Noverati

    Carol Noverati Member

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    Sep 28, 2017
    Thank you for the encouragement! I am stressed with this situation. He already was hospitalized two weeks after being diagnosed because of ketones. $3000.00 hospital. This is something I can't afford to do again.
     
  15. Sharon14

    Sharon14 Well-Known Member

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    Aug 16, 2015
    I understand your stress! One thing you can do, if you’re not already, is get some ketone test strips and test Felix’s urine. That way if he were to develop ketones again, you’d catch it early and head it off before it gets so bad.
     
  16. Carol Noverati

    Carol Noverati Member

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    Sep 28, 2017
    Yes I thought of it but I would have to catch his urine and I'm not home to do that. I don't know how practical that will be for me.
     
  17. Sharon14

    Sharon14 Well-Known Member

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    They also make a ketone meter that tests blood. You use it just like the glucose meter.
     
  18. Noah & me (GA)

    Noah & me (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Dec 3, 2016
    $3K, sounds smaller when you write it that way. The cat's asleep and you're staring at the ceiling all night.
     
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