Three weeks now and it is not getting any easier to deal with Zoot!.I have tried using a lancing device and going freehand, using 26, 28 and 31 gauge lancets, warming the sock to get blood flow. No luck. Poor Zoot!'s ears are masses of pink blood spots. Each time he requires multiple pricks to just try to get enough blood. He is so upset, and the anxiety over this process has not gone away; it has only worsened for him and for Marty and me. Today he bit me and scratched me - that is not his personality at all. I don't understand how you manage to do it to your cats multiple times a day. I honestly don't know what else to do.
This is not to discourage you... but rather to encourage you ! It was a real fight at the beginning, Ti-Mousse was hiding everywhere, he was afraid of me, I was sooo sad and I kept thinking, I'll never be able, it won't work for me because he's different (he had frozen ears so they are very hard) but it did work! It took me MONTHS to get the testing routine run smoothly!! Now, we are at a point that if he's sleeping and I have to test, I just do it; he opens an eye and goes back to sleep!! Unbelievable, but it's true! What really helped me: - Trying not to be stressed or nervous; he'll feel it and be afraid of what's coming! Someone even suggested me to sing to release stress, or deep breathing ! - At the beginning the tests were always done on the kitchen island so he knew what was coming and not happy to be there! I started to test where he was; didn't work all the times but sometimes it did, so we both felt better about the poking! He finally accepted all this AND he chose himself where he wanted the testing to be done! Now when he sees me with the testing kit and I tell him "come for your test", he goes lie down on the door mat and waits for it to be done! I never thought it would be possible but it is! What worked for me also: 28 gauge (not too small, not too big) freehand lancets (you see and can choose where you poke) ears have to be WARM.. without that blood won't flow! (for me the washcloth worked better than the sock); massage the ear; there are spots that bleed a little better than others, often close to the edge; try to notice where; with a cotton pad, apply pressure to both sides of the ear for 20-30 seconds to stop bleeding and prevent bruises AB with pain relief cream after! and TREATS If it worked for Ti-Mousse, it will work for your little Zoot! Be patient and you'll be very happy in a few months!
I has two tests over this whole time that I got first try and that was by freehand. I only try freehand at this point. Even when his ears are hot, unless we accidentally get a vein, we do not get enough blood to register a reading. I cannot guess how many times we hit a vein, but now he yelps and pulls away with every poke. I have tried to do it where he is resting, and have had no luck that way. I honestly have given up. I will keep trying but my heart is not in this and I am just broken. I appreciate the info on this board and all, but I don't just want sympathy, and everything you mentioned except the washcloth is what I do. I am lost and sad and tired. I just tried again at 11:15 exactly like you suggest, and while I got blood, he is terribly agitated and the blood monitor didn't register a reading. I am not going to prick him more than once any more. If it doesn't happen on the first try, then I will skip it. After one prick we are all anxious, anyway. Thanks anyhow.
Any chance of getting a Freestyle Libre meter from your vet for Zoot? It's something he wears and you can check his BG just by waving a reader over it. Phoebe Squeak didn't like it, but others have had success. You can do a search on this message board to learn more if you are interested.
If you're using the lancing device, is it possible that you don't have it set to poke deeply enough? The advantage of freehand is that if you poke once and don't draw blood, poking close by may allow two little drops to merge into one bigger drop. If the two drops are too far apart, you can always scrape the droplets onto your fingernail and use the blood from there.
While you take a break from testing, you can try just touching and rubbing his ears while he gets a good treat. That might be a way to get everyone more relaxed about it. I understand how you feel. My cat is cooperative and I still really hate poking him. It’s clear now, though, that he’s really focused on getting the treats, and barely notices the poke. I also poke twice in the same spot. I saw a YouTube video with this method and it works with less stress for all. The worst is rubbing, poking, rubbing, poking while he’s struggling. In the end, I don’t always test if I think my cat is safe. We all go our own way.
I know you don't want sympathy, but I too was so frustrated when I first started testing, and was horrified as I wiped blood splatter off my bathroom mirror from Jack shaking his head when I finally got some blood! Then I decided that we would get through this, and get through it together. I started to pick Jack up, and cuddle, and ask him what his number was going to be. I would then place him on my bathroom counter, cuddle a bit more, let him smell the meter and the lancet, then pet him a bit more. He would eventually calm down and let me go after his ears. I would do the same with shooting Jack...letting him smell what was going to happen. I too could not get enough blood after one prick...sometimes it took me over five and I was just freaking. But then I just started talking to Jack telling him I was sorry that it was taking so many and I found that would calm me down! After a while, I found that I could get more blood from the lower side of his ears, than up close to the tips...just wondering if cats have different "sweet spots" than what is advised. Then after a while, I would just say let's do this in one Jack, just one....sometimes it worked, sometimes not. Just sharing my story as I had a similar experience and definitely feel your frustration.
Yeah, we have set the lancing device to anything between 4-7 (7 being highest), and it was not drawing enough blood for the meter. On someone's advice, we switched to the Relion meter this morning and were able to get a reading on our first attempt. That makes us hopeful. Also, we tried your suggestion of poking a second time right near the original and that gave us enough blood. I don't know that the fingernail thing will work but last night and this AM both reading were easier. Thanks!
I started to rub his ears every hour or two this AM, and he really accepts it (especially if I scratch his neck along with the ear rubbing! Good point on the two pokes - he absolutely HATES my rubbing the ears to get more blood. Also, we switched to the Relion Micro meter that requires less blood and that helped this morning as well!
Oh man, how I relate - especially to the 5+ pricks - it is just killing. So as I mentioned above, I switched to the Relion meter that requires less blood and that worked well. I also took a fleece and wrapped it around him and help it firmly but not super tight, and that made it easier to handle him and talk to him and he was less anxious overall. Hoping this latest plan will work to get him acclimated and reduce the family stress! Thanks.
So glad that it's going a little easier for you all! I had a lot of trouble getting enough blood from Felix in the early days, and the fingernail trick helped a lot. I just hated it when I'd finally get a drop, and then he'd shake his head and it would be gone! It did eventually become much quicker and easier.
