When to give insulin shots for cats
Caring for Your Diabetic Cat Part 3 - How to give an insulin injection
keep your cat's insulin in the
refrigerator
sometimes insulin settles along the
bottom of the bottle forming a layer of
white crystals these crystals must be re
suspended before drawing up the insulin
dose roll the bottle back and forth
between the palms of your hands until
all the crystals disappear never shake
the bottle however as this may create
foam making it hard to draw up an
accurate dose disinfect the top of the
bottle with alcohol using a cotton ball
allow the alcohol to air dry while you
remove the protective caps from the
needle to maintain sterility do not
allow anything to come into contact with
the needle before giving the injection
invert the bottle and insert the needle
into the rubber top pull back the
plunger and draw the desired amount of
insulin into the syringe if you withdraw
too much simply inject some of the
insulin back into the bottle avoid air
bubbles in the barrel of the syringe
even small bubbles will affect the
accuracy of your dosage if you see any
bubbles gently tap the side of the
syringe to drive them to the top and
inject them back into the bottle confirm
that you have the proper amount of
insulin in the syringe
remember insulin is extremely potent so
you must give the exact amount of
insulin prescribed to your cat it's a
good idea to feed your cat before giving
the injection this serves two purposes
associating the injection with feeding
makes your cat more cooperative and if
your cat eats first he is less likely to
experience hypoglycemia or low blood
sugar there are many ways to restrain
your cat for an insulin injection you
can use a table top the corner of the
room or you can work with your cat in
your lap with practice you can usually
give injections on your own but when
you're first starting out you may find
it easier to have a helper if you've
never done anything like that before I
would say having somebody near you maybe
who has so that you can feel a little
more confident in it the first few times
the first three times I had somebody
with me every
which was really great have your help
replace your cat on the table with his
head facing forward have them grasp each
front limb at the elbows and pull the
cat close to their body gently pinch the
skin and pull upward to create a skin
tint insert the needle down into the
10th avoid sticking the needle across
the skin 10th as it can inadvertently go
in one side and out the other push the
needle all the way up to the hub this
will get the insulin into the pocket
just beneath the skin where it will be
absorbed properly pull back on the
plunger and look for blood in the
syringe blood indicates that a blood
vessel has been penetrated this is not
serious withdraw the needle and try
again in another location if you don't
see any blood press the plunger and give
the insulin needles and syringes are not
reusable however medical waste must
never be thrown into your regular
garbage collect them in a container like
a coffee can and take them to your
veterinarian for safe disposal
since insulin injections are given daily
you should rotate the injection site
this will help to minimize inflammatory
reactions which can lead to poor insulin
absorption the best place to give
injections is over the side of the chest
and abdomen insulin injections are well
tolerated by most cats and with a little
practice you and your cat will soon
settle into the new routine
