Giving Blackie A Break

From testing her constantly today. She's going to get PS tests only today, and I'll see how her ears feel/look tomorrow. She's been tested every day, and last night I felt her ears and they were unusually warm to the touch. The rest of the crew's ears aren't nearly that warm. The area where I poke her on the sweet spot for the BG tests isn't swelled, but I did notice that the vein in the left ear is a bit swelled. I normally poke the left ear because I'm right handed. The right ear looks good; no swelling of the vein, but still warmer than normal, too. Most of the time, she has a cold, wet nose. I understand wholeheartedly that I'm supposed to give her BG tests, though, and I'm glad that I'm doing that as it saved her life last Tuesday. She perks up and meows for treats, especially when I open the fridge door.

Anyone else been through this with their babies? What do you normally do in this case?

 

Angela,

Have you tried neosporin on his ears? That usually helps. Also, if you hold the spot for a few seconds after poking, that will help minimize bruising. It does seem like their ears "get used" to the pokes and become less easily bruised.

But you both have been working hard. I certainly think you can just do preshots for a day- as long as he hasn't been moving up and down and has been fairly stable..

 

Yes, I hold the spot for a few seconds to minimize bruising, and I've also used Neosporin, too. Poor baby. I know she doesn't like getting poked, but it's necessary. At least her treat container placed in plain view helps. LOL

I try NOT to go through the ear, but she flinches and meows everytime I poke her, and I end up going through some of the time. I am trying to be gentle when doing the tests. Unfortuantely, my hands aren't big enough to hold her entire head to keep it stable, and forget about putting her in a towel to make into a kitty burrito. She'll fight. Been there, done that. LOL

I've posted her PS this morning on her spreadsheet. Tomorrow's another day.

 

This is going to sound a little strange, but I found with my cat Misty(GA) when her BGs were high her ears were hot, when her BGs were low her ears were cooler.

There was a discussion about this, maybe two years ago on the old health board, I doubt I could ever find it, but a couple of people found the same thing, however not many.

I test Tucker's ear all the way up the side, my favorite spot is right above the triangle flap on the bottom, but I change the spot from top to bottom so no one spot gets all the testing.

 

Her curve yesterday looked good, and looked more gentle than the day before, too. She could use a break, and deserves it.

 

One last idea. Are you sure putting something behind the ear when you poke? A folded kleenix, the rice sack. We like a small makeup sponge.

 

Yes, I use a cotton ball behind the ear when I poke. I like it as it's small for me, and it's soft for her, and if I go through, I can quickly stop the blood from going down into her ear, etc. Plus, they're small enough to fold over the ear to help stop blood flow after poking.