Advice for checking blood sugar

Hello Everyone,

My 12 year old cat is a newly diagnosed diabetic. He's been on lantis for about 3 weeks now. I bought a glucose machine (did go for the cat/dog specific machine.) Today he was having a really hard time getting his insulin checked and got really stressed--biting and trying to run away. The only way I've been able to successfully check (without stressing him out) is when he is sleeping, but this isn't at the times that correlate when he needs to have it taken. When I do check his bs while he's sleeping, the bs is in a good range. But when I'm trying to do it right before he eats, he's too awake and not up for the task. Any advice on getting a cat through these bs checks?

Also, I've having a hard time with the pen to draw blood. Even on the largest setting it's not working. I've checked the needle and making sure I put the needle in all the way, and it still doesn't even poke out. It makes the clicking sounds that it's being released...so I think this is part of the problem, that I'm having to manually poke him and pooking too soft or too hard.

Thanks much!

Liz and Mozart

 

Lots of treats and praise. And patience since it may take some cats awhile to get used to being tested.

You don't see the lancet work when you use the lancet device. When you press the trigger/button on the device, the lancet quickly comes out and pricks the skin in like a millisecond. The click noise lets you know that the device worked. Try the lancet device on yourself (with a new lancet of course) to be sure that it does work.

If your lancet device has a clear cap, use that so you can better see where you are pricking.

Warm the ear up really well before using the lancet device. You can make a "rice sock". I think there are instructions on how to make one here: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287

Some people prefer to freehand the lancet without the device.

 

One idea is to use the burrito method. You put a towel down on the couch next to the arm. Plop the cat down on the towel and wrap him up until only his head is showing. You can lightly press his body into the arm of the couch to hold him there. Be sure to give lots of praise and treats afterward.

If you really are having trouble, people with difficult cats swear by the clothespin trick: http://www.felinecrf.org/giving_sub-qs_ ... _peg_trick

Hope one of those helps.

 

I can vouch for the burrito method... Odie is so used to it now that even though he complains when I wrap him (and we usually have a slow/leisurely chase around the apartment before he lets me catch him to wrap him up), I hardly have to hold him snug at all (now) once he's wrapped, he just knows to lay there until I loosen the towel and tell him we're done.

I don't use the "couch" method though. This is what I do (if you can picture it)
- while he's standing on the floor in front of me, I put one hand under his chest so that he can't really walk away, use the other hand to drape the towel over him so that it's about evenly spread on both sides.
- I scoop him up so that he's on his back in my arms
- Get the edge of the towel that's nearest me (between me and him) and hold it between my teeth so that it's tight (I need both hands for the next step)
- I then tilt/roll Odie forward, away from my just a little, so that I can get the other end of the towel wrapped around him and tucked under his shoulder
- Then wrap the end that was in my mouth around to finish the burrito.
- He then looks quite cute, with just his little head sticking out.

I can then sit down, lay him on his side across my lap, facing me, body tucked under one of my arms, and still have both hands free to do the pricking and testing.

I also use a flashlight under his ear (laying his ear flat against it), so that I can see exactly where the vein is and where to prick. I prick by hand with just the lancet (rather than using the pricking device). Don't be afraid of pricking too hard. Once you've finished the test, squeeze the ear with a kleenex for 20 seconds or so and it should stop most of the bruising.

(ok, well the first few weeks, he's going to have bruised ears... it's okay. he'll forgive you, and getting the test done is more important. It'll get easier and less likely to bruise once you get the hang of it and both of you are less stressed)

Trying to not be stressed yourself helps (yeah i know easier said than done at first)... gently talk to him, tell him he's a good boy, kind of try to keep his attention while you're doing it. I also find it easier to do when there are fewer distractions (if there is someone else across the room, for example, he tries to twist and see what's going on).

 

My "burrito" method is far easier than any of these. I "sit" on them. I kneel with my knees on either side of the cat, and hold him with my legs. I cross my feet behind me, so that if he scoots back, he's trapped there. I make sure my knees are nice and tight, but not squeezing him.

Then I kiss his head, grab an ear, and poke close to the edge of it. Everything is ready when I kneel down, so...voila. He's gotten so used to being poked he doesn't need to be sat on much, but it's definitely the way it works in my house...

I also use this method to pill the cat.

good luck!

Best-
Michele

 

my vet actually taught me to NOT stick the lancet ALL the way down into the lancing device. she taught me to put it in just deep enough that if you rub your finger across the top of the cap, you feel the needle. then set the spring & test kitty

also, i assume you are holding something behind the ear for backpressure? like a cottonball or rice sock? if not, then when the lancet hits the ear, it just pushes the ear away instead of piercing it a little.

 

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I am really nervous when checking his bs so that doesn't help him. I've always freehand the lancet since I haven't gotten the pen to work. The first time I did it, I poked him too hard after several times of not poking him hard enough. There was blood everywhere. It was horrible and I was traumatized more than him. So that's why I wished I could get the pen to work. I will try it on myself to make sure it's working.

I haven't been using a cotton ball or anything behind his ear so I will definitely do that next time to help. I know it'll get easier but I'm so concerned with his levels so high from stress and don't want to give him too much insulin that sends his bs too low. That's my biggest fear. He's on 3 units right now.

I also was thinking after posting how I gave him his am insulin 30 minutes late this am because I'm pushing it back for when I go on vacation Thursday to accommodate the babysitter coming at a different time. So maybe that's why his reading was high later on. I also started him on new food yesterday recommended by the vet. So while I'm thinking of all this, maybe there is too many variables going on right now. Either way, he was too stressed to begin with. He's not a biter, and he's becoming one lately. Which makes me scared that his bs may be getting low, but I'm not getting an accurate reading.

Thank you all for your suggestions and support. This has been so hard from the beginning and just when it was going well, we both became very stressed from this bs checking.

Thank you again,
Liz and Mozart

 

You'll find that different parts of the ear bleed more or less... some parts hardly bleed at all and it's hard to get a drop, while others just flow out.
After a little while, you'll learn which are the "best" areas for you guys. I also find that one ear bleeds more than the other for some reason - it might be the angle I prick from on that side or something, but it's always more difficult to get on one side.

As for holding something behind his ear, I find that something solid is easier (hence the flashlight does double-duty there) because it gives you something hard to prick against... anything flat that is about the right size to lie his ear against works. I'm not sure how a cottonball helps, but I haven't tried.

 

here, i found a couple old videos i made a few years back that will illustrate what i mentioned about the lancet device and then in the second one, how a cottonball helps (or makeup pad, rice sock, etc....)

http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q270 ... 0_0827.flv

http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q270 ... 0_0826.flv

 

Hi Liz, welcome...Max was a nightmare to test at first and I really wasn't sure how I was going to do this. A few things that helped me:

- Breathe....deeply and slowly, as it calms you down, and he can sense your stress too
- Use rice sock, this made a huge difference, spend time massaging his ears to warm them up. Warm ears means the blood flows out quicker, Especially when you are not used to testing more blood is easier than less blood
- The ears do learn to bleed overtime, I thought they were kidding, but thisis true, it does get easier
- I use the lancet freehand, gives me a better sense of control than using the pen. If you use it freehand poke at a 45 degree angle and not staight up and down
- When you had blood all over the place, you might have poked the vein and not the sweetspot. It happens. Either freehand or with the pen you will eventually find the best place to poke along the sweetspot that gives you the right amount of blood. You will have to experiment. Max bleeds better a little further down the ear and not so high up on the sweetspot where the ear is thinner.
- Be calm and talk gently to him while you are busy, persistance and consistancy works, and don't forget to treat and praise a lot
Good Luck