? Kitty fights me at test time!

I'm finding it very difficult to check my cat's blood glucose. Most of the time he won't be still enough and really hates being held for the ear prick. I had to skip today's tests so far because he's got those claws and teeth out a lot now. How can I win here? He definitely needs his tests especially since his dose has increased recently. Do the cat wraps I've seen advertised help or is there something else to use for this situation? Frustrated and worried.

 

My demon child was the exact same way and testing was an anxiety inducing nightmare when I first started. What really helped me was getting her used to all the parts of testing first. I would rub her ears a few times a day and give her a treat afterwards. Then I started holding her how I do to test her for a few seconds with a treat afterwards, and so on until she was comfortable with the whole process. When I eventually started testing her, I would put some treats down first, test, then give her another treat afterwards, even if the test wasn’t successful. If I couldn’t get enough blood after a few pokes, I would just let her go and try again later. Another thing you can do is make sure you wash your hands before you test and once you get the blood droplet, you can scrape it onto your fingernail to test so you don’t have to hold him still as long

It took a few weeks, but it eventually she stopped acting like I was trying to kill her . It’s also important that you’re calm because they definitely feed off your stress! Some people sing to themselves, I say the steps out loud as I’m doing them which helps me to stay calm.

 

I had an idea that I should maybe try with my cat. When I give Teddy his insulin shots, I have to feed him while I'm doing it instead of waiting till after he's done. When it comes to food, he is distracted by NOTHING, I mean nothing! If I use this same principle when doing the blood test, how long will it take before the food affects the number? Once I put his food in front of him, he munches it down pretty fast, but I think I could do the test within 10 to 20 seconds if I can get him still enough. Would I get an inaccurate reading if I feed him while doing this?

 

That would be fine. Food takes about 15 min to hit the bloodstream.

 

I feel your pain ! Originally, my cat got so upset he started hiding from me throughout the day. I was terrified that not only was he going to get sicker, but that it would ruin our close relationship in the process. I can't do ear sticks- I've tried and it's not my zone. I craddle my guy in my lap, place a piece of Turkey on his belly and grab a rear paw pad while he's trying to eat the Turkey off his chest/belly.
It's pretty hilarious sometimes.
Honestly , once I stopped stressing myself out before even making attempts- he relaxed a bit.
You'll figure out what works for you. I'm guessing that over time we'll all have to change tactics a bit because cats are cats.

 

If feeding him will convince him to hold still enough for testing, by all means. Just remember that after you get it down pat you don't want to do it for pre-shot testing in case you need to stall feeding for a higher pre-shot.

Like Sarah said, try it a few times and have a "quit" number. When I was starting out if I couldn't get blood in the first two pokes I gave up until later. Kept me from getting frustrated and from the cat getting irritated. Also find your and your kitty's most comfortable position when testing. I'm left-handed and my girl's right ear bleeds easiest, so this was great for us with her just sitting on my lap. My right-handed friend however had to stick her under her knees in order to get the right hand position.

Another thing I do which I heard from another member is I lay out all the supplies in front of kitty before we start so she knows what's about to happen. My girl is very indifferent to testing, so she could care less.

 

You literally made me lol! At work!! Haha, just picturing this made my day.

 

I am wondering if poking the feet vs ear is any less painful? And does the bleeding stop as quick as the ear so that he doesn't go to the litter box with his fresh poke still open thus possibly infecting his toe/pad? Im having trouble too with testing as Oliver hides under the bed when he knows we are coming for him...…. He wont come for food or treats either so we are struggling but working on becoming more regular and better at his testing. Ill follow this thread.

 

I've wondered this as well but I have gotten SO MUCH BETTER at testing - like miles from where I was. And he handles the ear pricks *mostly* well. But I have wondered about the paw pokes.

 

I thought about the downfalls of poking the paws, but seeing how he is relatively healthy (not immunocompromised ) I didn't think a pin prick on the side of a toe would lead to an infection ...unless maybe an aminal was stuck with the same needle and maybe standing in waste/ urine too long... but I'm definitely not 100% sure. I just knew that my lancing his ear repeatedly - while he and I both cried - then wasting 2 or 3 strips each time was not going to be sustainable.
I use the rear paws only and mainly the sides of his toes. So far the only thing that bugs him is when I occasionally have to squeeze/ pump his feet more than once for an adequate sample. I try to wipe the foot off with a cool cloth when I'm done but so far I haven't noticed bleeding once we're done. ( he's liked to have his face wiped with a cool washcloth since he was a baby so I tend to have one around) .

It is definitely a question worth asking though so I'm glad we are talking about it!

 

Interesting to hear your experience of the paw pokes. I haven't tried it yet and I don't know if I ever will but thanks for sharing because I did wonder how this works. I too used to waste 2 or 3 strips and was so frustrated and I'm sure he hated me too. But I have since learned and ALMOST mastered the technique so I think I'll stick with the ears. Let me know if I can give you some tips if you want to try again!

 

I'll keep that in mind , Thanks !! He had just finished up some ear meds for his allergies when he was diagnosed too...so I think the ears were just off limits as it seemed he had met his with that area of his body. I think we will eventually have to revisit it...