No Tresspassing?

It was what, two weeks ago, that I blogged about how I get blood from Isabella for her twice-a-day glucose tests?

Well, toss all that out the window, because things have changed. We have a new system now and it’s a lovely thing indeed.

A few weeks ago I started wondering why the folks on the Feline Diabetes Message Board always instruct newbies to poke between the vein and the outer rim of the cat’s ear. It makes sense to avoid the vein (pricking it releases a gusher of blood that’s nearly unstoppable. One shake of the cat’s head … and you’ll be wiping blood from the walls and every other conceivable surface), but why restrict the poke-able area to that tiny 1/8th inch margin? What about the rest of the ear? That whole, juicy part in the middle?

I’ve wielded the lancet freehand this whole time because I can’t accurately aim the lancet-launcher-pen thing at that teeny little margin. And, as I described before, Isabella finds my poking technique to be harsh. So you can understand why I was eyeing the middle of Isabella’s ears like a land-owner might survey an adjoining off-limits property.

Finally, I just asked the question. I posted a message to the Board asking why. Why not use the whole ear? Guess what: no one had an explanation. Not one single response had a reason that was good enough to convince me that it was anything other than “that’s just the way we do it.”

It was as if fences were torn down and the No Trespassing signs burned. I marched into that un-poked territory with great confidence – and – the lancet-launcher thing. Now that I didn’t have to aim so bloody carefully (oooo, that’s a bad pun!), I could use the launcher that Isabella so clearly preferred. No more shrieks from the cat. Blood drops are easily obtained and the whole process now takes about a minute.

I don’t have to wrap her in a blanket. I just plop her on the couch and she sits.

For freehand I was using a fine-tip lancet, the smallest I could find. With the launcher, I moved up to a fatter tip, but Isabella’s discomfort is still dramatically reduced. She flinches a little, but doesn’t move or run away. The whole change is so cool. I’m glad I broke tradition and tore downs those fences.

Only one thing hasn’t changed: I still wear leather gloves. It is, after all, Isabella, she-devil of diabetic cats.