How to Give Your Cat a Shot
By Sherril Steele-Carlin
Giving medication to our animals is never a great experience. It’s hard on our pets, and on us, too. However, if your vet has diagnosed your cat with diabetes, epilepsy, or other serious diseases, you may have to face the task of giving your pet a shot once or twice a day. Here’s how to make it an easier and more pleasant experience for both of you.
Get Your Materials Ready
It’s much easier to get the medication and syringe ready before you chase down your cat. If your cat has diabetes, you’ll probably store the insulin in your refrigerator. Get it, along with a clean syringe. Your veterinarian should be able to supply you with the proper size syringes for your particular cat. You’re also going to need a paper towel, and rubbing alcohol. Make sure you have everything ready and waiting. It makes giving the shot much easier.
First, shake the medication thoroughly to make sure it’s completely mixed. This is a very important step with insulin. Check with your vet about shaking other medications, it may not be necessary. Next, pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol onto the paper towel. Thoroughly clean the top of the medication bottle (where you will insert the syringe), and the needle on the syringe. After they are cleaned with the alcohol, be sure not to touch them, or you’ll need to clean them again. This prevents infection in your pet.
The Technnique
Insert the cleaned needle into the top of the medication, and draw a full syringe of medication into the tube. Be sure to fill up the tube completely. Then, push the plunger of the syringe, and push ALL the medication back into the bottle. This helps mix the medication further. It also pushes out any air in the syringe tube, which can affect measuring the proper dose of medication. Repeat this step. Next, you’re going to draw the actual amount of medication you are supposed to use into the tube. Your doctor will tell you the proper dosage. Fill the needle to an amount over the proper dosage, and then slowly push out the medication until you reach the proper amount. If you try to suck in additional medication, you may take in air, and your dosage will be incorrect. Your syringe will be marked in small increments, so you’ll be able to measure the accurate dosage.
Grab that Cat!
Grasp the loose fur on the back of the cat’s neck or shoulders. Gently pull up as much loose fur as you can, creating a “pocket” of loose skin and fur. You will be holding a double-sided handful of fur. This is where you will insert the needle and administer the medication. The medication doesn’t have to go into a blood vessel; it simply needs to go into the skin. If for some reason the needle goes through both layers of skin, you'll know your cat didn't get the medication. In that case, you need to follow this procedure again, making sure the needle doesn’t poke through both layers of skin.
This may sound like it’s very difficult, but once you get used to it, giving the shot only takes a split second. If you’re giving your pet insulin, it’s a good idea to feed them a small amount of canned food after the shot, to make sure they have some food in their stomach. This is the part our cat likes the best!
Cleaning Up
While your cat is enjoying his treat, clean the needle again with a small amount of fresh alcohol, and wipe off the top of the bottle again. When you are done with a syringe, DO NOT throw it into your trash! This can be extremely dangerous. Find out if your vet has a syringe recycling program, and use it.
