Testing help needed

My kitty Puckett was diagnosed last week with diabetes. His BG was 500 ... and he was extremely stressed while at the vet's office. This kitty is 11 years old ... weighs 10.14 lbs ... and is a very skittish kitty. I've owned him all his life and he's never been a lap cat. The vet has started him on PZI (compounded at a local pharmacy) ... 1 unit (U-100) twice a day. The vet said not to test until he's been on the insulin for a couple of weeks. I'm a former vet tech plus a non-insulin dependent diabetic myself so testing isn't rocket science for me. Plus I'm a pet sitter at the moment and have a couple of clients that have diabetic kitties that I've tested. But Puckett is by far the most challenging cat to test. I'm able to give him the insulin injections with minimal fuss because I'm used to doing it. But I've been trying to get him to sit in my lap or put him up on the counter just to get him used to things before starting to test and he just totally freaks out. Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can get this kitty relaxed enough so I can do home testing without ending up looking like I've done battle with a cougar?

Marci (and Puckett)

 

i had never touched my little girl prior to her diagnosis. it took about a month of trying different treats to get her to cooperate. ultimately i found some freeze dried salmon & cod at petsmart that she only gets at test/shot time so she behaves pretty well now and doesn't try to get away from me most of the time.

i also half scruff her with my left hand. i scruff her and then reach up with my pointer finger and thumb and grab her ear. the scruffing part helps keep her still too.

 

Maybe try to do the test where you find him, so you don't have to move him? Hopefully someone else with better ideas will be along. I know a little snack will relax my kitty, but that's not very helpful if you're trying to test bg.

 

Hi Marci,

When I first started testing Layla, I would sit with her beside me on the sofa, with her flush against the arm of the sofa. To me, this was easier than putting her on my lap or on a table/counter. I guess I had her trapped between my leg and the sofa a bit, but it freed my hand's to do what I needed to in order to test. I can test her in any location now, but in the beginning it was an adjustment.

Best,
Pam & Layla

 

All great suggestions but guess I should give a bit more info about our kitty household. I have 9 kitties altogether but 3 of them are bedroom kitties as they have IBD issues and can't eat what the others eat. That leaves Puckett in the group of 6 in the main part of the house. He's intimidated by several of the other cats and as I said is very skittish. He hasn't been in the living room in a long time and tends to sleep in a cardboard box on the floor of the family room. If I gets treats out it means having several kitties pushing and shoving to get at the treats and usually Puckett leaves at that point. I'm not a youngster and have back problems go getting down on the floor is difficult plus the lighting in the family room isn't the best unless you're sitting on the loveseat. In an ideal world I'd put him on the counter so that I could be close enough to his ear to actually see what I was doing but putting him on the counter gets him really uptight. Maybe I should put him up there a couple times a day with a treat and just give him some attention and see if he'd relax?

Interestingly he's only been on the insulin since last Friday night (yeah, I was frantic and didn't sleep much because I was worried about hypoglycemia)and he's already acting like he feels better. I wasn't expecting him to show much improvement that quickly but he's drinking less water and just seems more chipper. He's on a schedule of 7:30 AM and 7:30 PM. The only times I could figure out that would work with my pet sitting schedule.

Marci and Puckett and the rest of the Camp Happy Cat gang

 

hmmmmmm.....i think there are others with similar situations. i want to say the bathroom became their "spot". if you could do the bathroom counter maybe spend some time in there with him, door closed, treats, extra lovin's, etc.....and then work in the testing?? be careful though, make sure the lid is down on the toilet. some kitties like to knock your testing supplies into the toilet.

i have 16 kitties, only 6 in the main part of the house. used to be 8 but we sadly lost two last year. 3 of them wanted treats too so i actually made them all part of the routine too. i would dole out a treat to each kitty, on the floor, and while they munched i gave the diabetic hers on the couch and did the test. then doled out another round of treats to everyone and gave the shot.

 

When I give treats I do the same thing. I have one aggressive kitty and if she's distracted, all is well and I can get to the cat I want. I can't believe I forgot to mention this, but have you heard of Feliway? I know when my diffuser is empty because that day, seriously, day, spats start at the water bowl. I also use the spray inside the car and in the cat carriers to calm the cat on the way to the vet. The packaging will say "for scent marking/urine" stuff, but I swear, it's valium for kitties.

 

Kira:

I've tried Feliway and it didn't do a think for any of my kitties. I bought diffusers for several rooms to make sure it covered the amount of space I have but it didn't stop the aggression. Oh, well, my cats have never done anything by the book. They're excuse would probably be that I didn't provide enough books for everyone to have their own

Marci and Puckett (and the rest of the Camp Happy Cat gang)

 

Cindy:

Woohoo ... I think we're on the way to a solution. I cleaned off a nice place on the counter where there's very good light. I picked up Pucket (who wasn't very happy) and set him on the counter and just stroked him and snuggled with him and rubbed on his ears. He started out really freaked but slowly started to relax. When he finally got to the point where he wasn't all tensed up I set him back on the floor. He looked at me as if to say "hmmm ... that wasn't so bad". So I will continue to do this several times a day and give him his absolute favorite treat, chicken baby food, and by the time my vet wants me to start testing him I should have him relaxed enough to do it without a big fight. Yay!!!!

Marci and Puckett (and the rest of the Camp Happy Cat gang)

 

I swear... we're living parallel lives! :lol:

Feliway works wonders for us too.

For the OP: I test Soccer on the floor of the kitchen... My routine is to get the food ready and then test him. Everyone waits where they will be fed... As soon as I'm done with him, I get rushed for the food bowls.

 

It sure sounds like we are, doesn't it? I hope Soccer's #s keep heading in the right direction!

 

fantastic news Marci!

i really do believe they are trainable somewhat. just takes a lot of time and patience and eventually they learn a routine

 

i really do believe they are trainable somewhat. just takes a lot of time and patience and eventually they learn a routine[/quote]

Well, tonight's injection didn't go quite as smoothly. He saw the syringe and decided he wasn't interested. But I manage to get a hold of him and give him the injection (much to his disappointment). Then later when I was giving one of the other kitties their pills I had the baby food out and Puckett wanted some so I picked him up and put him on the counter where he sulked and didn't want to eat the baby food. But soon the lure of the baby food won out and soon he was licking it off my finger. I put him back down on the floor and gave him a little bit more as well as giving Trucker (my pill guy) some and Puckett's brother, Mooch, a little. I'm just going to keep putting him up on the counter several times a day and give him some baby food or other treat and hopefully he'll gradually become more comfortable up there and not fight it when I start testing him.