FatBoy complaining about the 19th gauge needle...
Waterbump on cat...I decided to stop being too sissy and do the SubQ for FatBoy myself. It takes about 20 minutes to wait for the cab and reach the clinic and then less than 5 minutes for the nurse to do the SubQ. Then I would have to wait for about 15 minutes for another cab home. All in all it would be close to a 45 to 50 minute affair.
So this evening, I "pluck[ed] up my courage" and went for it. Once he got inside the cage, he complained a little and we had to soothe him for a bit but once the needle was set, he sat and rested in the carrier until the whole thing was over. We chose quiet spot but not private enough I guess as a passer-by got very curious and peered at us very closely. I guess he was very curious as to what was happening. I could envisage other people peering at us and children too. We must ty to find a more secluded spot, which is not easy, as I have nightmares about kids poking him with needles!
It took us less than 5 minutes for the whole thing to be over. It took him much longer to finish dinner. All in all, this would mean we could do the SubQ more frequently, which was what the doctor orderedin the first place.
So this evening, I "pluck[ed] up my courage" and went for it. Once he got inside the cage, he complained a little and we had to soothe him for a bit but once the needle was set, he sat and rested in the carrier until the whole thing was over. We chose quiet spot but not private enough I guess as a passer-by got very curious and peered at us very closely. I guess he was very curious as to what was happening. I could envisage other people peering at us and children too. We must ty to find a more secluded spot, which is not easy, as I have nightmares about kids poking him with needles!
It took us less than 5 minutes for the whole thing to be over. It took him much longer to finish dinner. All in all, this would mean we could do the SubQ more frequently, which was what the doctor orderedin the first place.
Well done, San! And great for FatBoy too!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! :D
ReplyDeleteGood for FatBoy!
Yes, it is good to find a more secluded place, else kids might be poking needles into him.
Great job, San !! Do you massage the bump gently so fluid is absorbed faster (not that it is necessary).
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty good idea to subQ him in a carrier. Immobilise him in a way. Great idea.
ReplyDeleteJust an idea here. Given that he lives in the estate and would probably be wondering around in drains etc, it might be good to sterialise the poke-d area first with an alcohol swipe to kill whatever germs there may be around the vicinity. The needle hole will take some time to heal and may get infected by germs.
Just wondering, after eating, cat likes to lick - tongue is source of a million germs ;)
ReplyDeleteI use alcohol swipes too but noticed some vet technicians do not do so.
I wld like to share a rare case of Sub-Q infection. Dr L recognised it at once. Given antibiotics and hot compress, 17 yr old cat recovered completely in 1-2 days. As my helper was Sub-Qing 5 cats (she has done it for 7 yrs for multiple cats), she forgot just once to change needle (thought she had done it already). Next day, cat had very painful lump underneath (gravity)- not site of Sub-Q & refused to eat or be touched.
Don't want to frighten you San but you shd recognise the symptom.
Infection is rare if all precautions are taken.
We use alcohol swipes for megat and FatBoy. Twice, once before the needle and once after the needle. I would change needles for every time I inject him, even if I have to try twice- that would be two needles. The vet recommended that we change the IV line after the 500 ml is over and that is what we have always done- one IV line for one bag. So everytime I go to the hospital I would get 30 bags of fluids + 30 Iv lines. The pharmacists are always puzzled. This reminds me I need to get 13 more IV lines as CGH ran out of them the last time.
ReplyDelete