Recurrent Fur Shots

Okay, so I’m really, really stressed right now, and I feel like I’ll never get good at Lola’s shots. I do her shots by injecting with a U40 syringe into a skin tent which I can only manage on her right shoulder because I’m right-handed. Lately, about 1 in 10 shots are fur shots; she jumps and squirms away. As a result, I don’t know if I can trust my spreadsheet (see in signature), which has some variability that makes dosing adjustment difficult.

Do you guys have any tips? I guess I could try wrapping her up in a towel, but I’m not sure how that would work because I’d be covering the injection site. Not sure what I’m doing wrong, but I’m very frustrated and feel like I’m failing at this.

 

We all go through periods of "lost shot mojo". I have an easy cat but some significant challenges using my very weak hands and this is what I do:

• kitty flat on floor between my outstretched legs, head pointing away from me
• I'm a lefty so I use my right hand to reach across his back to pull up loose skin along his left side somewhere between the middle of his side and the area near his left knee
• I pull the loose skin up tautly and feel with my left index finger for a distinct depression (the "tent door"). If I don't feel one I let the skin go and pull it up again because I know that injection without going into that depression is ouchy for him
• once I feel that clear depression I pick up the syringe and insert the needle (29 gauge, 1/2" needle) almost straight into the lower part of the tent door and push the plunger. A good tent with a distinct door = painless, successful shot.

At the beginning I was shooting into the scruff region and it was often ouchy for him. If Lola has loose skin along her sides try that area. Sometimes I have to sit Teasel flat and literally "rearrange" his skin to get it into proper setup for injecting before I get a good grab to make the tent. Sometimes just pulling up on the fur gives me a better tent than grasping skin too.

 

Ugh. I'm like the queen of fur shots with my super wiggly kitty, so I can relate. It is awful. The best things I've figured out is that I give him a bunch of freeze dried chicken crushed up on a little plate so he has to lick it off instead of grabbing it and running away. Then while he's eating the treats I can get the shot done with a few extra seconds to be careful. The other thing is to stop if he gets wiggly, take a breath for both of us, and then try again. Just trying not to rush it until I'm sure that I've got it int he right space. Oh, and also, since my cat has really thick under fur I've often thought that I had it in when really it just went through his fur, so now I make sure to part the fur all the way to the skin so I can actually see it enter the skin. For a little while I shaved a patch of fur down so I could be certain since I was doing way too many fur shots. I also angle the needle straight down more now. I used to try to shoot it kind of horizontal into the tent, now I part the fur and pull up, then inject with the needle more perpendicular. The gap in the skin is big enough and the needle short enough that I'm in no danger of hitting muscle, but am better now about not shooting into and then out of the skin. I hope something in there might help. It is really frustrating, but it does get better.

 

It's good to read advice from different people with different kitties. My guy is good but my hands are crap. Djamila's hands work but Sam is a challenge.

 

The damn trouble, though, isn’t getting the needle into Lola - I can do that fine. The problem is that often, as soon as it’s in, she starts wriggling and jumps away before I can press the plunger. I used to try hitting the plunger in hopes that the shot would go in just before she escaped, but realized that was fruitless, so now I just leave the shot in the syringe and try again (edit: with a new syringe, of course). Some mornings she required four attempts.

I’ve tried snacks, but as I feed her before the shot, she’s really not interested in those. I’ve tried catnip too. What I do now is have her on my lap as I sit cross-legged on my sofa with her head facing the back of the sofa. That at least makes it harder for her to jump away. But how do I get her to not be so wriggly? It seems like the injection angle, tent, etc., don’t vary between shots, but her wriggliness really does. As I said, some days I have to try 4 times in a row to get it, and other days I get it first time with no fuss at all.

If only they made kitty Xanax. :/

 

@Djamila might have more tips because her Sam is a wiggle worm/escape artist. I'm, lucky to have a calm, cooperative kitty.

 

Another thing to consider is your kitty's pattern of relaxing. Most kitties have some sort of post-eating ritual. One of mine eats/grooms/naps. The other eats/plays/grooms/naps. So maybe delay the shot until the end of grooming time, just before she goes to sleep. She may be less wiggly at that point. Or plan a play session just before test/feed/shoot, so she's more relaxed and has some of the wiggles out before you try to inject. Or get the syringe ready, and then take a few minutes for chin scratches, cuddles, and kisses before picking up the syringe to inject. Cats don't wiggle 24/7. Most of the time they are relaxed, so careful observation of your cat's natural rhythm, and then using that to your advantage may help.

Also making sure that you are very very calm at injection time. Cats get wiggly either when they need to play or when they are anxious, so being careful not to communicate any need to be anxious helps to settle them down. That is part of my earlier suggestion to take a break if it's not going well so you both have a minute to calm down before trying again.

There is always a way to make it work, it's just a matter of unlocking your cat's mysteries and finding that way. A few other things that have helped either my cat, or cats I've read about here: reciting poetry, singing a song quietly, listening to music, putting the cat in front of a nature show on TV, giving the cat a favorite stuffed animal to cuddle, placing a pot of cat grass in front of him/her, placing the cat on a favorite windowsill so they are busy watching the bird feeder, and on and on.

They do make kitty calming meds, so if it really feels insurmountable, a conversation with the vet might be helpful. There are also feliway plug-ins that work for some cats, as well as Rescue Remedy and as you already mentioned, catnip - just make sure she is eating the catnip and not just smelling the catnip. They each impact the brain differently and eating catnip calms them while smelling it amps them up.

This video is also interesting. It shows how to use food to train a cat to take injections. One of mine isn't at all food motivated, but I've used the same technique, but using his brush instead of a plate of food since he is super motivated by being brushed:



Sam has come a long way in staying calm for his injections. And I've made progress in reading him better, so I know when he's off and I'm going to need to shift his mood before I can successfully inject. And also in reading myself better, so I know if I'm in a hurry or otherwise communicating anxiety to him and can step back and settle myself before I try to inject. Some days just are harder than others, and on those days I need to slow down and make sure we are both calm and ready before I even try.

Just hang in there - you'll figure out the combination of things that work best, and as those become a habit, it really will get easier.

 

This is great, Djamila!