Injections Have Become a Struggle

We've reached the end of our second week of Lantus injections, 1,5u daily, testing 3 times daily. The past few days have become a battle to test and give him his injection, yesterday he struggled and fought back so much he was scratching at my husbands face the instant the needle even touched his skin so he missed his dose. Called the vet for some advice yesterday to see what I could do and got all I figured I would, not a whole lot. We're trying a couple days off from testing since we always tested, injected, and fed breakfast each day. On top of that we need to step it up to 1.5u and 1u daily once our vet heard his usual reading up until now.

Today, I haven't shaken that bad in a long time just trying to give him the 1.5u! Tried just holding him but ended up putting him in a shirt so no one got hurt. It was such a big change for him being tolerable about the whole thing to being so aggressive about it. After his first dose today he actually stomped the ground with his front feet which I had never seen before :shock: He's quite lovey the rest of the day and cuddles at night. I just wish I knew what we're doing so wrong that he's behaving this way. We give him treats, or lately we try to. Tried changing the area today instead of the usual place to give the injection. He's become quite a bit more demanding of his breakfast and I'm wondering if we need to feed him beforehand.

I don't know what to do!

 

My kitty is pretty easy going, easy to pill and pretty easy to give his insulin and test. Read gullible. I usually do it while he is eating, you could try doing it quick while he eats.

 

I've tried a couple of times, he's stopped each time I start. For the injections as soon as I start to tent the skin he starts growling pretty badly, it makes me wonder if his skin is really sensitive. He doesn't really take very good care of his long fur, his previous owners shaved him because it would clump so badly.

 

Is he matted anywhere? I've got a civvie who mat if you just look at her. I'm frequently using a mat cutter to comb out the hair and trim it at the same time so it is less likely to mat.

Also, you might try 15-20 minutes of active play earlier in the day to tire him out a bit and maybe help him be calmer.

 

He has several mats, sadly. I only ever see him groom his legs, tail, and rear end. He hates it if we ever try to brush him or try to trim out a matted section so last time we had to shave a whole section of his back as his previous family did. I'll definitely try some play-time beforehand. I've become quite scared of him when it's time to do injections now, I'm trying not to be since he can supposedly draw off of that.

 

When it comes to testing, what I do is sit close to the arm of the couch. I put my cat in between me and the arm of the couch, with his butt up against the back of the couch, and gently lean against him, putting the slightest bit of pressure to tell him "hey, just sit here a minute." Maybe you could have your husband hold him by his chest, so he doesn't try to scratch. Make sure your cat can't see your husband though, because most cats hate being hovered over, let alone by two people.

Where do you inject? Flank, scruff?

 

What we've done is put him on my husbands lap facing away from him while I get the test and do the injection. Typically he's only had to just hold onto his chest but not he turns around and goes for my husbands face to be let go. For the injection site it's been just what my vet has shown us: grabbing the scruff behind his shoulders and injecting into that tent. They shaved the area so we could get comfortable with it.

 

Hi, I have had some moments with my Oreo.

He would give me a big meow just before injecting him and try to get away. I would lose my nerve and poked him a couple times before I got it. He would move and the needle would come out. I felt terrible and I was very stressed.
I started rotating the job with my husband and that gave me a break and I felt more confident.
My husband gives Oreo what he calls a cat massage. He taught him, before he was diabetic, to flop on his side when he says "on the ground" and then he massages him up and down his back. Then he gives him his shot. He wouldn't even skip a purr.
I did it while Oreo was sitting down on his front legs, but I didn't distract him. When I let him flop it really helped and then I gave him a freeze dried chicken treat.
It got easier. Maybe when he cuddles at night massage him up and if he likes it you can try it before the shot to relax him.
Last of all I told myself, "ok let's do this!". "I can do this!" I think they are aware of your confidence. I just had it in my head that Oreo was getting his shot and that was that.

 

I started out shooting in the flank and my cat didn't like that too well, that's why I was asking.

It just might be that he's figured out this isn't something you're going to do every once in a while and he's not happy about it. It could also be that he feels a little bit better being on insulin, and has more energy and in turn, has more energy to retaliate.

Giving treats really seems to help my cat. I give him a teeny piece of freeze dried shrimp before the test, and he gets one after, as I'm putting pressure on his ear to stop the bleeding. He gets treats every single test. If your cat is a lap cat, try petting him for several minutes on your husband's lap, in the area you give your injection. That way, he won't be associating that are only with shots.

I realized early on when I was pulling up the skin that I was actually pinching him. The vet tech that showed me how to tent the skin only used her thumb and index finger, so that's what I was doing. Now, I grab his scruff with my thumb and three fingers and pull up a bunch of skin, then I let a finger go (and thus, a little bit of skin) when I've got a good tent. It seems like pulling up a bunch of skin as opposed to just a little is more comfortable for him.

This really does take some getting used to, but don't give up. The very best thing you can do for your cat is to keep testing him.

I do think cats can sense when we're anxious or nervous and that does make them nervous. I know it's hard, but I really do think it would help if you're able to relax before testing and shooting.

 

I don't know whether or not you've seen this, but here are more tips for testing:

https://sites.google.com/site/michelangeloprofilefdmb/feline-diabetes/ear-testing-psychology

 

Well, we just did his evening injection and it went a bit easier than this morning. He wasn't interested in the freeze dried treats that we already have. Tried coaxing him onto my hubby's lab with other treats he likes but he wasn't going for that either. He ended up in a shirt again like this morning so he wasn't so scary to hold onto, we sat a few minutes to let him calm down while loving on him but he was still growling a tad. Didn't sound too happy once the needle went into the tent but he seemed to know that once it was out he was all done. Gave him a couple more treats from both of us then he went back to eating some dinner. He wouldn't let me grab the shoulder scruff while he ate before sitting him down on his own. One step at a time!

 

One step at a time! Just keep working with him. He'll get used to it before you know it. :smile:

 

I feed my cat twice a day right now so when he eats he is so hyper in the food he doesn't even notice. I rub and scratch his back a little so he thinks I am just petting. I then make a tent with his skin and pull it up and give him his shot.

How are you sticking the needle in? not straight in so that it goes in muscle? I pull his skin out pretty good so that I can almost put it in horizontal. The cat will hate it if it goes in the muscle or rib or something. Where are you giving the shot?

this guy has some good ideas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghPKUlPKa2Y

 

I've tried while he eats a few times, and each time I start to just even pet him let alone tent the skin behind his shoulders he stops eating. I try to go at 45 degrees as our vet told us. I don't go straight down or fully horizontal to his body.

The only thing I can think of is if he felt it go into muscle the day before he started getting aggressive towards us, or he really didn't like to have his ears tested. Which I've gotten better at so it hasn't gone all the way through the ear in a while.