Feeling A Bit Nervous

PushPurrCatPaws

PushPurrCatPaws

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It will be okay: this too shall pass and you'll learn and get the hang of it.
You are a great cat mom!
 
Antonio65

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Olympia7 said:
Well, I failed...I'm going to have to take her in to the vet so she can show me again, last thing I want to do is stress my cat out over this, so I may have to take her in to have it done till I feel more comfortable...
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Can/will you exactly explain what you have failed?
We could try to give you a hand.
 
Antonio65

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When my poor and sweet Lola was still with me and I had to go away for some days, I had a girl to do the cat-sitting. Though she was a veterinary student, she never had the chance to perform such procedure, so I showed her once and then I prepared and printed a tutorial with a series of photos and handed it to her.
She was delighted to have such a guide and was glad to have done something that she hadn't learned yet at the university.

Ask your vet if using large syringes rather than hanging a sack and let it drip is better.
Undoubtedly it is faster, in about 4 minutes it is all done.
 
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Olympia7

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Antonio65 said:
Can/will you exactly explain what you have failed?
We could try to give you a hand.
Click to expand...
I didn't have the right person helping me for one and I didn't see the fluid dripping at all, so I took the needle out, by that time hubby was freaking out a bit so it made me uneasy, didn't want to stress Simone, so I'm taking her back to the vet tomorrow so she can show me again and I can write the steps down!!
 
di and bob

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You didn't fail, you just haven't got the hang of it yet. Don't just observer the vet doing it, I recommend the vet observing you do the procedure, then you'll have that initial scariness and uncertainty over with. I was shaking so hard with my first injection I had to come up from behind, so they couldn't see me! Now I have given hundreds. Remember too, it IS slightly uncomfortable for the cat to receive these fluids under the skin, it doesn't hurt, it just is different for them. Also a cat is scared into almost paralysis at the vets office and allows a lot more to be done to them then they do at home. I am always amazed when the vet administers a pill to my cat that just sits there calmly, the same cat that turns into a whirling, amazingly strong, scratching, screaming, greased pig at home when I try to do it! so be ready for a lot more resistance at home. You'll get there!
 
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Olympia7

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di and bob said:
You didn't fail, you just haven't got the hang of it yet. Don't just observer the vet doing it, I recommend the vet observing you do the procedure, then you'll have that initial scariness and uncertainty over with. I was shaking so hard with my first injection I had to come up from behind, so they couldn't see me! Now I have given hundreds. Remember too, it IS slightly uncomfortable for the cat to receive these fluids under the skin, it doesn't hurt, it just is different for them. Also a cat is scared into almost paralysis at the vets office and allows a lot more to be done to them then they do at home. I am always amazed when the vet administers a pill to my cat that just sits there calmly, the same cat that turns into a whirling, amazingly strong, scratching, screaming, greased pig at home when I try to do it! so be ready for a lot more resistance at home. You'll get there!
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Thank you, I will ask them to watch me do it, and tell me when I'm doing something wrong, that sounds alot better, then I can get a better feel for it there!!
 
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Olympia7

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Antonio65 said:
When my poor and sweet Lola was still with me and I had to go away for some days, I had a girl to do the cat-sitting. Though she was a veterinary student, she never had the chance to perform such procedure, so I showed her once and then I prepared and printed a tutorial with a series of photos and handed it to her.
She was delighted to have such a guide and was glad to have done something that she hadn't learned yet at the university.

Ask your vet if using large syringes rather than hanging a sack and let it drip is better.
Undoubtedly it is faster, in about 4 minutes it is all done.
Click to expand...
I had no idea you could do it that way, thank you, I will ask her!!
 
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I gave my Sunny SubQ fluids for a week before the end, and I was absolutely terrified, so I want to share some pointers.

I think it's Tanya's website that has a video of SubQ administration. Even though my vet (she comes to the house) showed me how, I found it helpful to watch the video several times, too.

I also 'practiced' inserting the needle with a piece of meat (you can use an orange, too), and that was helpful because for me that was the toughest part.

THEN I practiced without the cat. I am alone, so I wanted to be sure I could manage all the steps involved.

He was incredibly compliant, so please know that you won't hurt the cat, and he will feel much better with the fluids.
I used my kitchen table, and I put my dishpan there, lined with a towel. The cat had more security that way.

Finally, don't heat the fluid in a microwave--they heat unevenly, and you can get 'hot spots.' I started with immersing the bag in hot water, but it was messy, and I found that wrapping it in my heating pad worked much better.
 
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Olympia7

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happilyretired said:
I gave my Sunny SubQ fluids for a week before the end, and I was absolutely terrified, so I want to share some pointers.

I think it's Tanya's website that has a video of SubQ administration. Even though my vet (she comes to the house) showed me how, I found it helpful to watch the video several times, too.

I also 'practiced' inserting the needle with a piece of meat (you can use an orange, too), and that was helpful because for me that was the toughest part.

THEN I practiced without the cat. I am alone, so I wanted to be sure I could manage all the steps involved.

He was incredibly compliant, so please know that you won't hurt the cat, and he will feel much better with the fluids.
I used my kitchen table, and I put my dishpan there, lined with a towel. The cat had more security that way.

Finally, don't heat the fluid in a microwave--they heat unevenly, and you can get 'hot spots.' I started with immersing the bag in hot water, but it was messy, and I found that wrapping it in my heating pad worked much better.
Click to expand...
Thank you, that's good advice, I was having trouble taking the needle off the line, I didn't want to force it, I tried to turn it to remove it like I saw in a video, but was afraid I would break it!!
 
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Olympia7

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Ok, so after all the good advice and support you all gave me, I watched some videos and actually found a really good one with a woman giving her cat the fluids at home, and it was much easier to understand, so I decided to give it another go, and I did it...OMG I can't believe it, I found the perfect spot to administer the fluids and Simone behaved!!! :biggrin: Thank you all for your time and patience, I really do appreciate it!!
 
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