Duffy had her first at home sub q fluid injection today. The lady at the vets went over the whole procedure with me on Sun, even typed out instructions
for me. She got my drip line all attached & set up for me.
This is a great site for how to (also posted earlier in the thread), the only difference between these instructions & what the vets suggest is my vets like to leave the old needle on after the injection, then replace with a new one when ready for the next time - this keeps the new needle in the sterile packaging longer lessening the chance of contamination *you must of course remember to replace with a new needle for the next injection*. There must be a needle on the end of the drip set at all times to ensure the end of the line is sterile.
Warmed up the fluids prior to inj, most cats prefer it to be as close to their body temp as possible, no fun having cold liquid injected under the skin
- use the wrist temp like w/baby bottles to make sure it is not too warm.
Hung the fluid bag off the curtain rod in the bedroom where there is corner windows to amuse Duffy while she waits for the proper amount of fluid to run. After we were done she got a lamb liver treat & she was happy as could be.
Duffy behaved herself really well, she was great with the poke, she just squirmed a bit when I held her still till I got the line open then she was mostly content to stay where I wanted her.
Being that Duffy is also getting GUNN IMS needle therapy she is virtually non reactive to the needle itself going in. The Vet & staff all commented on this on Sun as well, they were surprised that she didn't even flinch that time.
As used by many kidney cat people I will be looking to get the Terumo Ultra Thin Wall 20 gauge needles instead of the 18 gauge ones from the vets. The 18g are used most often by vets cuz they are a bigger size therefore the fluid flows faster & less time is needed to contain the cat for the time it takes. The Terumo UTW 20g are a smaller sized needle but because the walls are so thin they flow almost as fast as the 18g, the Terumo also have a super sharp & beveled edge to make the sticking must smoother & easier on the skin. Cats have fairly thin skin anyways but easier & less noticable poking is definately better for daily, weekly or in our case bi-weekly injections.
One must also remember used needles no matter who they're used for are considered hazardous material waste & one needs a secure sharps container to be taken to the vets for proper disposal. Glass or very hard plastic container is best, you do replace the needle cap after use but it's still better not to use anything that can be punctured.