5/13 Esse AMPS 165

Lauren & Esse

Lauren & Esse

Member
Yesterday's thread!

He must have heard me bragging about him in yesterday' s post because he was back to being totally uncooperative for PMPS last night and AMPS today (had to burrito him again). I suspect the novelty of licking up wet treats has worn off so they're no longer distracting enough to work. The thing he's most consistently excited about honestly is just eating his big meal after being fasted for two hours--before starting insulin we just gave him food whenever he "asked"--but even this morning that wasn't enough, he just stops eating and starts swatting until we stop messing with him.

If it weren't so important to get these numbers, I would find it hilarious. He's gotten so good at tucking his ears back and tilting his head like a fighter jet to avoid me grabbing his ear. Reminds me of trying to spoon feed a baby with food they don't like.

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(The look of post-burrito defeat)
 
He is SO adorable and looks so soft! I hope he decides to just surrender to avoid the burrito!

Petey's ear muscles have gotten strong too! He can fold um down and just hold them there, I have to pry them up (only ego was hurt in the process). haha

Have a great day, Lauren!
 
He's adorable! Even his little face says "Don't even try it," though. 😂

As someone else who also has a difficult kitty, I understand your struggle! It took us a long time to get down a system that worked. Fortunately we've never had to burrito. After he tried to bite me just once we got some gabapentin from the vet to give him a couple of hours before injections, and some lidocaine to numb the little shaved spots where we give injections (because he's just very sensitive). Apologies if those are both things you've already tried, but I wonder if they may help you. Especially the gabapentin - just kind of make him relaxed prior to injections.
 
@Brianna & Xander Did your vet have any concerns about long term gabapentin usage? That would be my only hesitation but I haven't really looked that deeply into it.

He's honestly not that bad about the pain of being poked/shot but does not like being restrained in any capacity, even if that's just me trying to hold his ear to warm it up before poking. So something to relax him would probably be helpful.

Edit: We've also been considering the Libre but wanted to give him a fair trial at getting used to the pokes... still on the table after today. :)
 
Lauren & Esse said:
@Brianna & Xander Did your vet have any concerns about long term gabapentin usage? That would be my only hesitation but I haven't really looked that deeply into it.

He's honestly not that bad about the pain of being poked/shot but does not like being restrained in any capacity, even if that's just me trying to hold his ear to warm it up before poking. So something to relax him would probably be helpful.

Edit: We've also been considering the Libre but wanted to give him a fair trial at getting used to the pokes... still on the table after today. :)
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Nope. As far as everything I've been told and read, it's supposed to be an incredibly safe drug and a lot of cats and dogs with arthritis and anxiety are on it permanently.

I understand the not like being restrained too, because it's the same for Xander! While we were able to make injections work without restraining him (except if he's really, really on edge) we were never able to make ear pokes work. It's definitely great that you're keeping at it because it really is the gold standard, but please know that if you end up having to move to the Libre like we do you're not alone in it. There aren't many of us, but we exist!
 
Yeah, that's exactly it. Giving him the shots is ultimately fine because it's super quick if I get a good 'tent' on the first go, but poking is a little more precise so it takes me a second, you know?

Do you apply the Libres yourself or does the vet do it?
 
Lauren & Esse said:
Yeah, that's exactly it. Giving him the shots is ultimately fine because it's super quick if I get a good 'tent' on the first go, but poking is a little more precise so it takes me a second, you know?

Do you apply the Libres yourself or does the vet do it?
Click to expand...

I completely understand!!

We had the vet apply the first few (they only charged us $15 to do it and we were afraid of trying), but going to the vet was stressful for him and our vet is in another city, so it got to be a huge hassle, especially when there was a reason we had to replace it sooner because he pulled it off or it failed, etc. But this tutorial was incredibly helpful and after doing it a few times it's actually pretty easy! It's kind of an "ordeal" every 2 weeks because we do have to keep him contained to do all of the skin prep, but as soon as we're done he's back to himself. It does take some practice, but aside from the odd unexpected thing (like recently one failed to deploy, it got stuck in the applicator so we had to kinda start over), it's way less of a hassle than I expected.

I would recommend if you go that route that you have more than one Libre on hand as a backup if you need to change it! And also that you'll need an old phone to keep around because the Libre 3 needs to be within 33 feet of the sensor to get the data. I just have my last phone connected to the sensor and have it transmit to my own phone via the LibreLinkUp app. :)
 
Lauren & Esse said:
Yesterday's thread!

He must have heard me bragging about him in yesterday' s post because he was back to being totally uncooperative for PMPS last night and AMPS today (had to burrito him again). I suspect the novelty of licking up wet treats has worn off so they're no longer distracting enough to work. The thing he's most consistently excited about honestly is just eating his big meal after being fasted for two hours--before starting insulin we just gave him food whenever he "asked"--but even this morning that wasn't enough, he just stops eating and starts swatting until we stop messing with him.

If it weren't so important to get these numbers, I would find it hilarious. He's gotten so good at tucking his ears back and tilting his head like a fighter jet to avoid me grabbing his ear. Reminds me of trying to spoon feed a baby with food they don't like.

View attachment 77
(The look of post-burrito defeat)
Click to expand...
He's just adorable! I understand a "spicy" cat! Ivy is one of those and I use z Libre 3 (like Brianna) for the same reason.

Hoping Esse will learn to cooperate and "tolerate" ear pokes!
If he could only tell us what he's thinking! 😻 🐈
 
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