Giving Vitamin B12 Shots

[r-kins]

My cat has IBS, so now he's on a single protein diet with a B12 shot every other week. I thought we had everything settled, except every time I give him his shot he JUMPS. I've been doing it while he eats since he stays still.

He's fine until I actually push the plunger on the syringe. Tent the skin, insert the needle, change my hand position, all fine. Then I actually push the plunger in and he jumps and howls. So needless to say, I'm going to stop doing it while he eats since it's damaging his trust towards me and eating should be a safe time. However, he's a biter, scruffing him doesn't work (and I live alone so I couldn't do that anyway).

Does anyone have any tips on giving shots? Anyone had a cat that reacts to B12 like this? I've given a cat insulin before and they didn't react to that at all. I'm inclined to think that his reaction is to the actual fluid being inserted and not the needle.

(B12 is at room temperature.)

 

[Antonio65]

As far as I know B12 stings a little in the cat's skin, so this would explain why your cat jumps.
You're right when you say to avoid the meal time to administer the shots, you could make your cat think that the meal area is unsafe.

Since it's a shot every second week, and he's not very cooperative, would you consider a cat muzzle? It shouldn't stress him too much and you don't have to use it everyday to the point he doesn't trust you anymore.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I think that the cat muzzle might work for you. At least you won't have to worry about a bite. And yes, B-12 does sting a bit. I've had lots of those shots, and I imagine it stings cats as well as humans. Since you are giving sub-cu shots, and need that tent, I'm not sure if a cat burrito would work, but it is worth a shot. I believe that you could pull back the top of the neck of the burrito enough to make your tent.

 

[r-kins]

Antonio65 Mamanyt1953

Would the muzzle scare him at all? It seems like they're calming but this is my first time even thinking of using a muzzle.

 

[Antonio65]

The muzzle shouldn't scare him much. It covers his eyes, so it should calm him a bit, and keeps his mouth shut, so no bites on your hands.
It's a matter of few seconds, you give him the shots and remove the muzzle. It's all done

 

[LTS3]

He's fine until I actually push the plunger on the syringe. Tent the skin, insert the needle, change my hand position, all fine. Then I actually push the plunger in and he jumps and howls.

Why are you changing hand position before pressing the plunger? I give my IBD cat B12 injections and tent the skin with my left hand and use my right hand to insert the needle and press the plunger. No hand changing needed at all.

 

[r-kins]

Why are you changing hand position before pressing the plunger? I give my IBD cat B12 injections and tent the skin with my left hand and use my right hand to insert the needle and press the plunger. No hand changing needed at all.

The way I was taught was to put the syringe in is by holding the shaft with all fingers to make sure it was parallel to the body, then switching my hand to "injection" positioning. I don't think that the switch is what's bothering him, as I took special note of his reaction during that time.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

r-kins , how long is the needle on your syringes? And what gauge? Maybe you could try a shorter needles.

I agree with LTS3, in how I found it easier to give a subQ injection. The important thing is to make your "tent" big enough so that when the needle goes in, it isn't hitting any muscle tissue, which would make the kitty jump away a bit. You know? The needle needs to go into that "air pocket" created by the "tent".

 

[KarenKat]

Trin jumps a bit when my boyfriend gives him his B12. So far it hasn’t caused too much of an issue, but it’s something we watch. I didn’t realize it stung, makes sense.

We got a lesson from the Vet tech and we were told to use a new needle for every injection. We got pre-drawn syringes but she said to change out the need after drawing because even poking the bottle with three syringe dulls it enough for th cat to feel it more. Not sure if you got the same advice.

 

[r-kins]

r-kins , how long is the needle on your syringes? And what gauge? Maybe you could try a shorter needles.

I agree with LTS3, in how I found it easier to give a subQ injection. The important thing is to make your "tent" big enough so that when the needle goes in, it isn't hitting any muscle tissue, which would make the kitty jump away a bit. You know? The needle needs to go into that "air pocket" created by the "tent".

Not sure about the gauge of the syringe, I'll look into it later. It definitely isn't the smallest there is though.

Yep, doing the whole tenting thing. In another post I noted that my hand positioning was to make sure that the needle went in parallel to make sure it stayed SubQ and didn't accidentally go into the muscle.

 

[r-kins]

Trin jumps a bit when my boyfriend gives him his B12. So far it hasn’t caused too much of an issue, but it’s something we watch. I didn’t realize it stung, makes sense.

We got a lesson from the Vet tech and we were told to use a new needle for every injection. We got pre-drawn syringes but she said to change out the need after drawing because even poking the bottle with three syringe dulls it enough for th cat to feel it more. Not sure if you got the same advice.

Mine jumps so hard that I feel awful. Maybe he's especially surprised though since it's happening at mealtime as well.

The vet gave me pre-drawn syringes as well so I haven't had an experience with needles being dull. Do you do completely new syringes or change out the needle? This is my first experience with giving shots other than giving an insulin shot a couple of times.

 

[KarenKat]

This is our first experience too. The vet said that they had already swapped out the needle tips, so my guess is they did the same for you. He’s probably just surprised and overreacts. Poor kitty.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Not sure about the gauge of the syringe, I'll look into it later. It definitely isn't the smallest there is though.

Yep, doing the whole tenting thing. In another post I noted that my hand positioning was to make sure that the needle went in parallel to make sure it stayed SubQ and didn't accidentally go into the muscle.

Where are you giving the injection? Scruff of neck?

I found that awkward for me, and I always gave subQ shots to my last cat in her lateral abdomen. I gave them to my cat while she was eating, -- I leaned over her very quickly, pulled a bit of loose skin out from her side and made the "tent", and with the short needle I used, did a slight upward angle very gently into the "tent" (you kind of "parallel" the needle along the line/angle of the cat's side). I had to give her B12 shots along with insulin (and later, Buprenex, poor cat, when she developed pancreatitis). She never jumped from receiving the B!2 (or other shots). Maybe I was lucky? But a think several people might use the lateral abdomen, like I did, and not the scruff area. I found it much easier and quicker, less stress. Maybe you could set up an appt with a vet or vet tech to show you how to do that location if you want to try it.

 

[r-kins]

Where are you giving the injection? Scruff of neck?

I found that awkward for me, and I always gave subQ shots to my last cat in her lateral abdomen. I gave them to my cat while she was eating, -- I leaned over her very quickly, pulled a bit of loose skin out from her side and made the "tent", and with the short needle I used, did a slight upward angle very gently into the "tent" (you kind of "parallel" the needle along the line/angle of the cat's side). I had to give her B12 shots along with insulin (and later, Buprenex, poor cat, when she developed pancreatitis). She never jumped from receiving the B!2 (or other shots). Maybe I was lucky? But a think several people might use the lateral abdomen, like I did, and not the scruff area. I found it much easier and quicker, less stress. Maybe you could set up an appt with a vet or vet tech to show you how to do that location if you want to try it.

What part is the lateral abdomen? Like on the haunch? I might give that a try. We're temporarily moving away from where his normal vet lives so he might just have a few more uncomfortable ones before I can ask a tech to show me, but this looks like it'll be lifelong so worth trying. He jumps so badly that he jerks the needle out and has pink spots on his white fur.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

What part is the lateral abdomen? Like on the haunch? I might give that a try. We're temporarily moving away from where his normal vet lives so he might just have a few more uncomfortable ones before I can ask a tech to show me, but this looks like it'll be lifelong so worth trying. He jumps so badly that he jerks the needle out and has pink spots on his white fur.

Well, I would highly encourage you to have a vet or tech show you how to do this first. I am not a vet nor a vet tech, just a cat owner. For my last cat, the feline-specific vet and the techs showed me how to do this in person and it is from learning this in person from a professional that you will learn the best way.

By lateral abdomen, I mean basically the side of the cat's abdomen area. I basically "tented" my cat's skin approx. over the mid- rib cage area. The skin can be quite loose there and easy to "tent". I found it easier to discern my "tent" in that location and so it was easier for me to feel confident with the injection and the angle of injection. Using the scruff always stressed me and the cat out. I never felt confident I could get the medicine in properly. (I've never found any suggestion or feeling of scruffing by a human to a cat to be a positive for a cat -- it stresses them & they tense up and jerk away, in my experience.) There's not a ton of quick blood flow in the scruff area anyway so using the lateral abdomen is more effective, in my view.

This following video has nothing to do with giving lateral abdomen subQ shots -- however, it will show you the general location of a cat's lateral abdomen because the light in the video is basically highlighting (shining on) the area of the cat there... (note: I have nothing to do with this video online, just found it in a quick search of "where is a cat's lateral abdomen?", and I saw that it might be good one to at least show you the area that I mean-- dead center and midway between the spine and underside of a cat's side).



edit: This page also brings up giving shots (of subQ insulin).
How to Give Injections to Cats

I didn't have my cat lay down, though. She was just standing over her food dish, chowing down on her meal and I leaned over her very quickly to give the shot(s).

 

[r-kins]

PushPurrCatPaws

Cool, thanks! We won't be back at the vet for awhile, but next time we go I'll ask about doing it in the lateral abdomen instead.

 

[KarenKat]

Not sure if you are still having some trouble, but we had a perfect, jump-free and trouble-free injection near the scruff this morning! We couldn't do it last night because Trin ran away when he felt the poke, so we thought we would wait until his calmest, most serene moment, which is between us in bed right when we wake up. We woke up, cuddled him from either side, and the needle went in seamlessly and he didn't even notice.

Is there a time when your kitty is happiest? Sunbathing, or during naptime? I really recommend picking the right moment, no matter where you inject. I was surprised how great it worked! (to be fair, it probably helped that my boyfriend was too sleepy to be really nerved about when he stabbed him. He gets so anxious I'm sure it affects Trin).

 

[Timmer]

I know it's scary giving shots. I had to give B12 injections but we never had a problem. Like the other person said, I don't know why you are switching hand positions? Maybe you are inserting it into the actual meat? Also, are you using a fresh needle to get the stuff out of the bottle, and then changing needles before you inject? I was taught that at the VCA clinic because the needle would be sharper. The only way the cat really feels it is if the needle is not sharp enough. The key is fresh needles.
I've also given IV sub Q fluids and never had a problem. Sharp needles.

 

[r-kins]

Thanks to everyone who gave input! I talked to his vet and she thinks that for now, just switching to an oral Vitamin B12 will be best, even if it's not as effective. She was against the muzzle because she felt it would frighten him further and it was better to just do the oral meds. We're moving in with family and another cat for a couple of months beginning this weekend, so I'll try the shots again when the situation is a little less stressful for him.

FWIW, I am not getting the shot into his muscle, I'm doing a very nice tent. Changing the hand positions, while it may not work for some of you, never got a reaction from him so I don't think that was the problem. It just seems to be the actual injecting of the B12 fluid.

 

[r-kins]

I know it's scary giving shots. I had to give B12 injections but we never had a problem. Like the other person said, I don't know why you are switching hand positions? Maybe you are inserting it into the actual meat? Also, are you using a fresh needle to get the stuff out of the bottle, and then changing needles before you inject? I was taught that at the VCA clinic because the needle would be sharper. The only way the cat really feels it is if the needle is not sharp enough. The key is fresh needles.
I've also given IV sub Q fluids and never had a problem. Sharp needles.

I was given prefilled syringes, each one brand new. He's fine being stuck, he's fine when I switch positions, and it's when I push the plunger that he jumps and gets upset. I'm definitely not inserting it into the meat: that's part of the benefit of the way I'm putting the syringe in. It's completely parallel with the body.