Trying to make sure that my partner has BG testing existence as well as injection experience. He's a bit skittish with anything medical, as opposed to me who has some prior (human) caretaker experience. He had his first successful BG test tonight! An actually perfect prick, just the right amount of blood to test and not flowing like a spigot. I was so proud! When it came time for the shot he took initiative and loaded up. He had me check and it looked right so he went to inject just like we practiced with saline at the vets.... 'I don't think I got it'. The fur was wet near the projected injection site, and it doesn't look like he got a puncture. And NO, we did not try again. I love that the U-40 needles are so little that Gato hardly notices, but it does make it difficult to ensure you're getting a proper shot. Our vet recommended (and offered) to shave the area, I think we may give that a try. Any other tips? All is well that ends well, I suppose I would rather flub one than overdose. We'll see how morning BG looks. I don't know that we will be able to get another test in today.
Definitely shave a spot between the shoulder blades. It helps a lot. I also shave any long hairs around the ears too.
That's so great that he is willing to test and give shots! I think shaving the area is a great plan. I think other than that, just some practice will help. Fur shots are pretty common...even those of us with years of experience give them sometimes!
Shaving an area can be helpful for awhile. I used a patch on each shoulder for awhile so I could vary the shot location. In general the scruff doesn't absorb as well, so a little over from there would be good. There is also a technique where you grab a little hunk of fur and kind of pull up, roll it to expose a little skin, then inject in there. That works better than the "tent" method for cats with thick fur, or cats who are prone to wiggling. Then you can see that the needle is going into the skin, and not be tricked by the fur.
