Things You'll Need
- Lancets
- Lancet device
- Diabetic testing strips
- Human diabetic testing meter
- Insulin
- Syringes
- Cat treats
- Warm washcloth
Instructions
How to Give a Cat an Injection
Establish a routine. The cat needs to receive the injections around the same time each day.
Prepare for the injection. Measure out the right amount of insulin into the syringe, according to the cat's prescription. Use a clean needle every time.
Get down to your cat's level or bring him up to your level. If your cat is on the floor, either get down on the floor with her or pick her up and put her in your lap. Do not loom over your cat because he may find this threatening. Pet your cat or give her a little treat before the injection.
Firmly pinch your cat's skin between your thumb and index finger with your fingers about an inch apart. Most people pinch the skin between the cat's shoulders or up high on the neck, but you can also give the injection in the hips. Don't inject the insulin into the scruff of the neck because blood supply there is poor. Rotate the places you give insulin injections to avoid your cat developing a knot of tissue, which also has a poor blood supply.
Hold the syringe almost parallel with your cat's spine. Stick the needle right under your cat's skin; insulin shots are meant to be given subcutaneously.
Once you have the needle under your cat's skin, push the plunger of the needle so that the medicine goes into your cat's body.
Give your cat a small treat and lots of praise and affection.
How to Test a Cat's Blood Sugar
Buy a human diabetic testing meter. These meters usually come with lancets, lancet device, and testing strips, but if the one you buy doesn't, you will need to purchase these items separately.
Set the depth of the lancet device. Most lancet devices allow you to set how far the lancet or needle penetrates the skin to get a blood sample. A shallow setting should be fine for taking your cat's blood sugar.
Warm your cat's ear. Put a washcloth in the microwave for about 15 seconds or put hot water on it. Sit with your cat in a place with good lighting and wrap the washcloth around your cat's ear. Make sure the washcloth is sufficiently warm, but not so hot that your cat will find it uncomfortable. Your cat's ear needs to be very warm in order for blood to be drawn out of it easily.
Look for the vein in the ear. You will need to stick your cat between the vein and the outer edge of the ear, preferably in the upper half of the ear.
Put a small dab of Vaseline on the cat's ear where you are going to stick him or her. Doing this will help the blood bead up instead of just spreading into the cat's ear fur. Rub in gently the Vaseline.
Put a test strip into the meter and turn it on.
Prick the ear. Put the lancet device against your cat's ear between the vein and the outer edge of the ear and press the device's button to pierce the ear.
If blood does not well up right away, stroke your cat's ear once or twice to get it going. If you still do not get blood, you will need to prick your cat's ear again.
Hold the tip of the test strip to the base of the blood drop on the ear to "sip" up the blood. Make sure the strip is full.
Put the meter down and apply pressure to the prick site for 15 seconds with a cotton ball. If your cat's ear is still bleeding after 15 seconds, continue to apply pressure to the ear until bleeding has stopped.
Give your cat a small treat, praise him and give him affection.