Help with Sub-Q's and Aggressive Cat

Do you warm the fluids?

Do you give the fluids from the floor or from a table or counter top? I had better success doing it by myself while seated on the floor where I could use my body/legs/etc to help contain the cat.

When I gave fluids to George, a feral, I had to have a holder to scruff him. We wrapped a blanket or towel around the front part of his body to keep him from catching us with his claws or getting away.

And yes, I aways warm the fluids, plus had better success with the terumo needles vs monoject. They seemed sharper, with less resistance going through the skin.

I was hoping you were still around to answer! yes, warm the fluids to (cat) body temperature (about 100 F) by putting the bag in a pan of warm water. Check the temp (and the flow) by running it over your wrist. It should feel just warm on your skin.

From what you say, it isn't the stick that bothers Aussie, but when he feels the fluids. If the ringers is cold, I can understand why he reacts.

Most cats eventually make the connection between getting the fluids and feeling better, and learn to accept it quite well.

What size needle do you use? The smaller the needle the less he will feel the stick, but it also slows the flow down. I prefer an #18 size, because the flow is fast, I can do 200 ml in 7 minutes. #21 the cat doesn't usually even feel it go in, but it takes a long time to drip.

As the fluid pouch under the skin grows, you can gently lift the skin around the area to help it disperse, this keeps the skin from getting too tight and uncomfortable.

Do keep us updated on Aussie!

I used to hang the bag on a hook by the sink and put a towel down in the sink and put Bud in there. That way I could lean over him to keep him still and still have both hands free. Worked good for me...

I had Winkin a few years ago, and I would rest him on the vanity with a towel around him, hang the fluid bag, have a sink of hot water, and let the tube lie in the water and heat the fluids as it dripped. He would always lay very still while I rubbed his head, never any squirming.
Best of luck to you
Bobby
and the Gang

I'd keep trying it with warmed fluids. If the fluids have always been room temperature, Aussie may anticipate that uncomfortable feeling, so it will take several rounds with warmed fluids before she decides "hey, this isn't so bad after all."

Good luck!!

...........

Oh yeah you definitely need to warm the fluids, not too hot or they will burn the cat, but cold fluids is just plain uncomfortable and lowers the body temperature! My cat hisses and gets mad at me many of the times I give her sq fluids, but if I just use one hand to hold the needle in and scruff her gently while gently shaking/vibrating her head from side to side, she still grumbles but doesn't struggle as much. It looks and sounds mean, but it's really not (so long as you do it gently, not harshly, of course), it's just a great way to distract them from what's going on.

Another thing you can do that is like a restraint bag is to cut a hole in a towel big enough for her head to fit through but no other part of her body. Put her head through the hole so you can use the towel to restrain her better and sometimes it makes them feel more secure. Then put in the needle and hold her there! Talk to her softly and say nice things to her while it's going on. Tell her you know it's no fun, but it's for her own good darnit!

How much are you giving and how often?

I've always used the 19G x 1 inch Terumo needles and much preferred them to the 18G longer ones. Less risk of poking through the skin tent. It really makes little difference in terms of flow rate, too. I order mine, a box of 100, from a local medical supply place (for humans; don't even require a prescription, that's here in Canada, or at least where I live).

My angel cat Taco was a doll when it came to subQ fluids; he was so compliant and cooperative......but my old angel CRF kitty BeeJoo, and my recent angel (CRF) kitty Tigger, not so much.

I, too, live alone, and had to come up with a way to give the fluids while keeping kitty from running away, in light of only having 2 hands! LOL

Here's what I did and it worked so well:

1. Get yourself a nice big fluffy cat bed or dog pillow. Place it against a wall.

2. Put a nail on the wall about 3 feet up the wall directly above pillow; hang your fluid bag from this.

3. Ensure you have everything ready to go (new needle, no air in the line, etc) before bringing cat over to the pillow with you.

4. Kneel down on the pillow, with you facing the wall........then sit down so that your butt cheeks are sitting atop your heels. Place cat in between your thighs...ensuring there is only enough room between you/the cat and the wall.....in other words, cat would be facing the wall and blocked by the wall. Having cat between your thighs helps to prevent cat from wiggling out, either to the side...and being so close to the wall prevents cat from wiggling out forward.

5. As you're giving the fluids (I never warmed mine; I'd read it was a little controversial perhaps to submerse the IV bag in warm water to warm inside fluids; the heat could maybe cause some leaching of chemicals from the plastic (or whatever the actual bag is made of) IV bag itself), pull up on the fluid pouch and jiggle it while the fluids are going in, to help it disperse the fluids better and lessen there being a large "lump" from the fluids that can be uncomfortable to the cat, due to their skin being stretched.

So essentially I'd have one hand securing the cat, and the other jiggling the skin-tent area.

If kitty hisses, that's okay............Tigger would always hiss and act like she was dyyyyyyyyying. As hard as it is to hear our cat in distress, you just have to do your best to ignore it and proceed. As noisy and owly Tigger would get while I'd be doing it, within 5 minutes of it being over, she was coming around for scratches so no long term trauma, at least not with her.

Yes, you usually will have to unpinch the tube where the cincher thing is.

Sometimes you have to turn the needle a bit to get the flow going again. Keep lifting her skin to help the fluids disperse, This will keep her more comfortable, and keep the fluids flowing quickly.

It takes me 7 minutes from poke to finish to do 150 mls. That is with a #18 one inch needle and a standard drip line.

Don't be alarmed if some squirts back out after you finish. It's normal.

Don't be alarmed if you see a tinge of pink in those drips that squirt back out. Just means the needle scraped the inside of the skin a bit. I had that happen only twice in 3 years of it, but thought I would mention it since you have a squirmer.

By the way. I always purchase fluids by the case from my local pharmacy, it saved me hundreds. One case of 12 bags cost $22-$24 through the pharmacy, the price per bag at the vet is up to $24! Needles and the sets, too.

Have your vet write you a prescription. Check with your pharmacy to make sure they'll do it. I get all my cats' maintenance meds through my phamacy.

I always warm the fluids to body temperature. I put the bag against my arm and if I can feel a temperature difference between it and my skin, it's not warm enough (or if it feels hot to me it's too warm.)
It can take quite a while to warm them up, and I also make sure to swish the bag around while warming so the fluid warms all the way through. I have found that getting them warmed enough makes a big difference. Some of the pets I've given warm fluids to objected a bit to the actual needle going in but none of them objected to the body-temp fluids going in.

I also tent the skin quite a bit and hold it up/tented (if they'll let me) for a short time after the fluids start flowing to help it spread under the skin better (this only works if you use two people though, otherwise you don't have an extra hand to hold the skin tented.)

No, no, it can be done with one person and two hands. I am by myself, and have always kept the skin lifted to keep the fluids dispersing.

It all just takes a little practice is all. After a couple months it all becomes routine. And once the cat makes the connection between feeling better and the fluids, that helps, too.

Ok. I've always had an extra person who holds the cat in their lap while I do the fluids, so I didn't think the tenting thing would work without someone else keeping hands on the cat to avoid bolting.

I know all about practice...I had a cat on fluids for 2 years, plus two dogs at different times, and I helped a friend give her cat fluids when her cat was diagnosed with CRF and she had trouble doing it on her own.

It's a handy skill to have. I, too, have stepped in and done fluids for cats other than my own.

Once,, a couple of years ago my mother, who lives two hours drive north of me, called me in a panic because she had some how forgotten to take her CRF kitty Erin (rb) to the vet that day for her fluids. (she won't do it at home)

I had just gotten home from hiking in the mountains, but I couldn't stand the idea of my mother worrying herself sick all night and all day Sunday, and, most likely taking Erin to the ER on Sunday and spending $400 just for Erin to have routine fluids. So I packed up some supplies and drove up there to do it.

Erin was blind then too, and had a Caretaker Cat, a big cushy calico named CeCe. My mother is squeamish and did not want to watch me administer the fluids to Erin, but CeCe would not let me do it without my mother there.

CeCe kept crowding up and pushing Erin off my lap. My mother finally came in and sat on the couch with Erin on HER lap. CeCe found this arrangement acceptable, and allowed me to give the fluids to Erin.

That was when I realized how lucky I was to have this skill. And I have my dear Bridge Angel Ootay to thank for it.

I've done it for my other cats, too when they were having ill times. Saved them a trip to the vet. Of course I am always in touch with my vet during times like that, but it is a comfort to know I have the supplies and skills to give fluids in an emergency.

I think it's good there are people like us who can do these things for our family and friends!

Yes it is a very useful skill! I guess I have Sylvia to thank for that, she was my CRF kitty. I just realized I forgot one-- I also gave medicated sub-q fluids to my cat Sneakers when she was sick (anorectic) and it helped to keep her from getting dehydrated when she was refusing to eat. Thanks to Sylvia I already had the skills.
It is also very helpful to have the supplies around in case of emergency. I have asked my vet before if giving fluids would help when I had a sick pet. Those skills also work for giving any sub-q injections-- if you can do fluids you can do sub-q syringe injections. Since I knew how to do that I was able to administer stronger, injectable meds when my dog had cancer and give insulin shots when I was petsitting a diabetic dog.
I try to keep a venoset and bag of fluids in my pet first aid kit just in case. Actually I need to get a new bag for that...