[Blindtlk] Administering subcutaneous injections

[Mike Freeman]

Lucy:

 

I don't think you'll have a problem administering medication subcutaneously
to your cat (except for your cat perhaps not being friendly to you for a few
minutes afterward, of course!). But first some caveats. I am not a medical
doctor nor am I a vetinarian. The only experience I've had has been
injecting myself (I'm diabetic). Hence, I don't know whether the needles
used to inject a cat subcutaneously are different from those used to inject
humans; after all, *we* don't have fur. I do own a cat but she hasn't needed
medication so far (knock on wood). With that said, here goes.

 

I don't know what units the medication is measured in. Hence, I can't judge
whether techniques and devices used to inject insulin would work. However,
assuming the worst case, you could work with your vet to cut a popsicle
stick or something like it to match how far you'll have to pull out the
plunger in the syringe in order to administer the right dose of medication.
The best way to get rid of air bubbles is to pull the plunger out to that
length, then push it in again and do this several times to get any air
bubbles out of the syringe before doing the final pull Matched to the stick)
to get the medicine in the syringe. Then just inject the cat. And don't
worry if there are still small air bubbles in the syringe; they may affect
how much medicine is going into the cat but won't hurt the cat. You are not
injecting into blood vessels.

If the medication comes in pens as much insulin does these days and if the
pen uses disposable needles like those used to inject insulin, it's even
easier. You determine the dose by turning the knob on the base of the pen so
many times to get the right dose (your vet will show you how); before doing
this, though, you just turn the pen a couple of units (whatever they are)
and push the plunger down till you detect the liquid at the end of the
needle and then select the dose and inject.

I'm being vague here because I don't know how the medicine is measured. With
insulin, there are 100 "units" per cubic centimeter (cc).

There is a device to handle exact syringe doses for insulin but I don't know
how it would stack up injecting your cat.

But where there's a will, there's a way and I see no real trouble once
you've devised a technique for getting the right dose.

I'm sure I haven't helped much since my experience is with me, not animals.
But John Fritz has injected horses and cattle on his dairy farm and so I
know it can be done.

 

Mike Freeman