Seriously Stressed Out...

Good grief, it's just not going well for us with Victor's testing. We have been getting blood easier since we started warming his ear first, but Victor himself is the issue now. At this point he's gotten more difficult than he was at the beginning, and it's making me dread doing his tests cause I know he's going to put up a fight. He will not hold still, doesn't even like me putting the cotton pad against his ear and will jerk his head away every time, he constantly swats at my hands and tries to grab at them or my arm with his claws, and has even started trying to bite us, particularly when I do manage to prick him. He doesn't really like being picked up and held either, so I'm hesitant to try the technique of wrapping him in a towel, but we just might have to.

He only seemed to get this bad with the testing after his most recent vet visit, so I was thinking maybe they're a little too rough or aggressive when testing him there...I don't know. Maybe he's just one of those uncommon cats who doesn't tolerate it well and we're just gonna have to deal with it the best we can.

I would welcome any other advice or suggestions, as my mom and I are both just so upset and discouraged by it all

 

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this and sorry I don't have any suggestions to offer you. Does he like having his ears scratched, being brushed or receiving affection at all? You might try just rubbing and scratching his ears, putting the cotton pad against them and then giving a treat. Do this at a time other than test time to help him adjust to being handled. You may be right about his experience at the vet. My previous vet always had his techs hold Bama down to take blood, give shots and examine him while my current vet and techs treat Bama with gentleness, going about everything they do very slowly, talking to him and stroking him. Makes all the difference in the world.

 

Yes he does like receiving affection, so this is something we could try out

 

What you may try is throughout the day, do your testing process without testing. Just go through the motions and then give him a treat. Even start with just getting him into his testing area, play with his ears, treat and release. Gradually work up in time and playing with the ears. Do it lots in a day, then when you get to the actual testing time see if it makes a difference.

You can also use feliway or something like that to spray his testing area. To help him relax a bit.

Does he like cat nip at all? Have an open container that he can sniff and be distracted while you are doing the testing.

 

I know it is stressful but honestly it will get better. I've been in tears over my old Ty's earholes .

Sometimes it can be that the pusscat picks up your anxious vibes and so reacts accordingly. I'd suggest a zen room but that's daft .
Really it is a case of keep trying and pricking the earhole and those tests will get easier.

Present yourself calmly to hoodwink your intention.
Yes. Warm the ear if the cat has the patience for it. Ty didn't really. There again I had a prior history of firmly kissying Tys ears just because so he likely though noes, not more of that ,no thank you.

A treat before and after or a bit of food during as a distraction and a reward.

You may need to try more than once using both ears , multiple little stabs and pricking your own fingers as you go. Will look messy but will help in the long run.
Remember. You can go around an hour off schedule really ( depending on insulin) so you have time to stop - calm - retry.

If he wants to get away from you , let him. Wait a little bit and start again.

Each cat has its own way of settling for an ear test. With Ty , he sat beside me whilst I got into the grip and stab position & believe me, he did not want any of this when we started. I got the hiss and scratch too.

You probably had all these thoughts before but hey.

Most important, keep posting the frustrations in here. It does help.

 

I know it’s hard to not show emotion but they can sense your nerves & anxiety. Try singing or humming while you’re testing. It helps to calm your nerves & therefore his. Someone mentioned this to me & it really helped. Good luck & hang in there.

 

This is pretty normal. Your cat has no idea what you're trying to do or what these strange instruments your poking and prodding him are. With time he'll understand this is a necessary process. The suggestions here are great. Get him used to the actions, the routine (cat's like routines) and reward him with copious treats for his cooperation. If you can get someone in the house to help you I'd try that too. Starting out it was easier to test my cat when someone else would hold and cuddle him. He became immediately passive and didn't mind the poking and handling

 

Yes. @Becky & Baby Girl Kitty . I agree. I used to sorta sing & hum Ty's special words to him .

 

I think you have gotten some very good advice hope it helps

Something else is you have to act like you are the boss ( and believe it as much as possible) and nothing scares you (no thinking of the 20 deadly instruments on his paws or pointy teeth at the moment of testing), and let him know you will not accept any of his nonsense, they do feed on our doubts and fears and take advantage of it

If everything fails you may need to use the towel at least for a while

 

Have you tried using the pad of his foot?

 

No, but since he hates just having his nails trimmed, I don't think using his paw pad would go any better.

 

@PussCatPrince - GA Indeed yes! Those special words & praises!

 

Keep working on the pleasant desensitization exercises as often as you can - to the testing station, play with his ears, gives treats, etc. and release. Make sure his ears are warm and your lancets are large enough gauge when you actually want to do a poke. It's important to be as calm and business-like as you can - quick and determined with the poke itself. If the lancet trigger device is hard for you to use, try free handing the poke. You can keep the lancet in the trigger case for better grip. Even if you feel nervous try not to telegraph it to Victor. Eventually it come more naturally to you.

This might help - or not: I sit on the bath mat in my bathroom, door closed so Teasel has nowhere to go and sit him facing away from me between my legs with knees raised to create "side walls". I roll a hand towel into a tube shape and wrap it front to back around his neck right under his chin to stabilize his head because he often does a last minute "twitch" of his head just as I'm about to poke. If I really need to contain him (rare because he's good) I cross my ankles to make a barrier in front of him. I'm not squeezing him at all with my legs, just containing him.

 

What did the vet say about his neuropathy? Has he started wet food yet?

 

One more thing remember that they just like us have less sensitivity in their ears that in other parts of their body so is not as painful as when you do it on your hand for example and always give him some reward

 

The vet said he does have neuropathy but hasn't told us anything about what to do for it so far, so we'll more than likely go ahead and get either the Zobaline or the methylcobalamin B12 from our pharmacy. We haven't gotten the wet food yet because we had an unexpected increase in our rent that took up the rest of the money we had this month, and I've been trying to decide what I should get with the last of the money my dad gave us: more test strips, the wet food, or the Zobaline/B12, since there won't be enough for it all. I have applied for help from DCIN, so hopefully we'll be approved for that.

 

Josie has neuropathy, too, but everything I’ve read and been told says that the number one thing to help that is to get the BG down, so I would think I would prioritize the wet food over the B12.

 

Remember to always reward him with low carb treats after testing, even when you are not successful.