How to Give Injections to a Cat

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

21 Jan 2008 08:39 PM

Today at the cats only boarding facility, one of my coworkers from the veterinarian side showed me how to give an injection.

Why do I need to know this sort of thing? Well, sometimes we have guests at the boarding facility who are diabetic, and need insulin injections before they eat. Sometimes, guests arrive and are in need of vaccinations -- if the owner wants the cat to stay in the main part of the boarding facility, the cat must be up to date on his or her FVRCP.

Today, we happened to have two guests who were in need of their vaccination, so I learned how it's done. Having given insulin injections to a human before (my grandmother has diabetes and requires insulin twice per day), I noticed one BIG difference -- you can't really see what you're doing. When you're giving a needle to a cat, it's done more by feel: I couldn't see the needle sliding into the skin, and had to feel for it to break the surface.

(The needles we use at the boarding facility and the veterinarian's office are also much larger than the needles used to give insulin. This is so that the medication can be administered more quickly.)

Here are the basics for giving an injection to a cat:

1. Prepare your needle. For certain vaccinations, that means mixing the serum. For insulin, that means filling the needle to the appropriate amount.
2. Pinch the skin with one hand, forming a sort of triangular "tent" shape. The injection site can vary.
3. Insert the needle into the "door" of the tent -- the hollow between where you've pinched. You'll feel a sort of pop when the needle actually pierces the skin.
4. Inject the medication and remove the needle.

Relatively quick and easy... at least to write. In actuality, my first injection ended up mostly on the exam table because I though the needle had pierced the skin when it hadn't. My second try went a little better. This is going to take practice!

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger