April 07, 2021 New member. Any tips I’m giving insulin to a difficult cat to give insulin to.

Hi I’m PatriciaB. My cat Arrow 8 year-old neutered male was just diagnosed with diabetes one week ago. I am new to all of this. He does not like to be picked up. He doesn’t really like to be grabbed a hold of like even to pull up the skin to give an injection. And with my being so nervous. This is almost overwhelming. I am sure that I will make it through this. I am just in hopes of hearing some tips.

 

Hi Patricia and welcome to the best place you never wanted to be. I know how overwhelming it can be, but you can trust that it gets easier. I was a wreck with giving the shots, with testing, with everything! Now it's second nature to both me and the cat, and we have a routine that we've settled into that works really well. You can do it too.

Can you tell us what kind of insulin you're giving your cat, the dose, and the kind of syringes you're using? I use really thin 31 gauge ones, and that helps because the cat will feel it less when it goes in.

A lot of us here also shoot insulin into the cat at mealtime while it has got its head in the food bowl so they don't really notice. I put the food down into my cat's feeder, she starts chowing down, I tent her fur and shoot. Usually she doesn't even pick up her head.

99% of this is the attitude you bring to whatever you are doing, so the more nervous you are, the cat will feel it. Sometimes singing a lullaby helps. I helped me a lot at the beginning to calm down.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please ask away. We've all been where you are now and can help.