How To Prepare An Insulin Syringe To Inject A Diabetic Cat
One of the things you will need to learn to do when treating at home is to learn how to prepare an insulin syringe to inject a diabetic cat.
Initially this can be quite daunting but once you’ve been taught what to do and have administered the injection a couple of times to your diabetic cat, it becomes quite straight forward and routine.
Below is a video from Vetvid which explains what you need to do. This is a good video but I would hesitate before I say it is an excellent video, and I will explain why right at the bottom of this post.
How to Prepare an Insulin Syringe to Inject a Diabetic Cat
Here is a transcript of the video, so you do not need to make notes.
“Hello! I’m Dr. Mike. Today we’re going to learn how to prepare an Insulin Syringe to inject your diabetic cat. We’ll visit Liza who has a diabetic cat on Insulin to watch her prepare the syringe.
There are few things you need to know about preparing an Insulin Syringe to inject the diabetic cat. There’s more than one type of Insulin syringe so be sure you use the right one. If you use the wrong type of syringe your cat could get the wrong amount of Insulin, and that could be very dangerous.
In this case Liza is using ProZinc, a U40 Insulin made just for cats. Therefore, she will be using a U40 Syringe like this. You can see how the syringe is marked with numbers indicating units of Insulin.
Be sure you’re giving your cat the number of units prescribed by your veterinarian. And by the way, don’t ever try to adjust your cat’s Insulin dosage on your own. Always follow the advice of your veterinarian.
To prepare your cat’s Insulin dose, first take the Insulin vial out of the refrigerator and gently role it between your hands to mix the Insulin. This also warms it up a little so the injection will be more comfortable for your cat.
Now take the syringe and remove the caps from the plunger and the needle. Pull the plunger back to the number of units that your veterinarian prescribed for your cat. Liza is going to inject four units of ProZinc so she pulls the plunger back to the four unit mark.
Stick the needle to the Insulin Vial and push the plunger all the way in to inject air into the vial. With the needle still inserted, turn the vial upside down. Look to make sure that tip of the needle is all the way submerged in the liquid, so you won’t draw air into the syringe.
Now, slowly pull back the plunger again, but this time go a few units passed the dose. You can see Liza’s drawing about seven units into the syringe. While you still have the needle inserted in the vial, look for any air bubbles in the syringe.
If your see any, just tap the side of the syringe with your finger to release them. Now slowly push the plunger into the prescribed dose, in this case, four units. Take your finger off the plunger and pull the needle out of the vial.
The syringe is now ready for injection. I hope this information has been helpful. Now, to let you know how to fill the Insulin Syringe, please watch our VetVid video The Easy Way to Give Your Diabetic Cat an Insulin Injection. Thanks for watching.”
If you watched the video you will have noticed that Dr. Mike is quite clear that you should release all the air bubbles before giving the injection. Yet, in the video it is obviousthat Liza has failed to do so as a large air bubble is clearly visible in the syringe!
So for the sake of clarity I think this video should have bee re-shot. Nevertheless it is a good video and does teach you how to prepare an insulin syringe to inject a diabetic cat.
