Vet couldn't take bloods

[Maddiesmum]

Dragan had so many blood tests he thought the vet was Dracula!  Suprisingly he was always very good and just sat there and let them do it to him.  Bless him I miss him

[CurlyCatz]

Its most definately fact that the animals who have repeated tests become very wise & aprehensive about whats coming, not surprising really.

[swampmaxmum]

So Swampy's not the only "difficult patient"    The vet is actually good and is the best in this area imo. There's another guy who is lovely but quite young and inexperienced. Swampy's life was saved by this vet, and he knows how grateful we are to him. He just seems quite moody (vet, not Swampa!). Swampy's had about 20 blood tests so I think he's worked out an 'avoidance strategy'  but he does need to have his kidney and liver checked every few months. I've noticed him drinking more lately and his cold's awful. He's lost a little weight (100g consistently) and his tum's swollen, even without the binders, so I want his liver done too to be sure.

Just got some Alu caps from Boots as Ipaketine makes his tum hard and swollen and even lactulose doesn't work too well if I give him it, so I've stopped. Any experience of Alu Caps being any better at that? (Swamp has IBD). What's the minimum amount on his food that would have any effect?  With the problems with Fortekor,  we could be looking at this or nothing other than renal food.

[Desley (booktigger)]

We have issues taking blood from Molly as she is very jumpy, so what we do now is she has 2 appointments, about 20 mins apart, and she has some anaesthetic gel (no idea what the name is) on her neck on the first one, and it has worked enough for her to accept it without a fuss. Might be worth asking about, and fingers crossed.

[CurlyCatz]

LOL but those tasmanian devils are very cute 

[blackcat]

The vet was bleeding and called her a "Tazmanian Devil"  (he is aussie  )

But apparently not a Tasmanian ... Perpetuating Disney characterisations rather than a sound grasp on the characteristics of the species 

[Mark]

generally speaking also the smaller cats can be a   

you need something decent sized to get a hold of and the tinier ones seem to be able to wriggle free more.

Willow is a good example. She is tiny but the vet and a VN struggled to get a pill down her. The vet was bleeding and called her a "Tazmanian Devil"  (he is aussie  )

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Poor Swampy, I feel so sorry for him and I would be so angry at the vets.

I was used to a vet who loved animals and had compassion with them in London and then came here with Kocka to a nightmare.

I now have a nice vets who have lots of compassion for the patients and also the human clients and was very lucky when Sasa was ill in December cos the other place I went was also very good and they have 24/7 care. Its just its a very long drive to both when  a cat is very sick.

I have also been told about a homapthic (sp) vet in Burry Port who does 24/7 care. apparentently a Spanish husbad and wife.

I think its so important to have faith and feel good about the vet that you use.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

This was the problem with Bob, Sean said he was the worse one ever and he christened him Beelzebob    He would sit there quietly and lull them into a false sense of security, as soon as Sean did anything, Bob would bite and scratch but he said he was very sneaky with it 

[CurlyCatz]

generally speaking also the smaller cats can be a   

you need something decent sized to get a hold of and the tinier ones seem to be able to wriggle free more.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

I know when Little Bob first had to have bloods taken, he did end up going back again as he was getting so stressed out.  Sean was worried about him getting over agitated and because Bob had other things going on, Sean didn't want to make him worse.  I think I would rather a vet admit defeat than make it more stressful than necessary for them but up to date, I think Bob was the only one I've taken in and they didn't manage to get his bloods done.

[CurlyCatz]

carol yep the cephalic vein in the leg can be used but for a thyroid blood test it isnt as important as the likes of liver enzymes, we used to send the thyroid samples away to an outside lab and it was a "plain tube" that the blood had to be put into ie no anticoagulant in the glass tube thus the blood clotted so if there was a little bit of clotting due to slow bleeding from the leg vein or slightly damaged blood cells it wasnt as important.

rosella we sometimes took the samples in front of the owner but if it was say a normal appointement and it became apparent the patient needing a blood test, most commonly the animal would be taken down to us for a couple of minutes to take the blood or the owner asked if they would take a seat in the waiting room, i understand it from both prospectives infact perhaps i am worse as i am no longer in the postion or allowed to carry out jobs on my own animals so its murder for me to take a back seat and be treated like a "normal client" (which i now am of course for the time being)  I personally far prefer to be in control either carrying out the tasks myself or being the "holder" of my own animal but they do generally honestly behave better (or seem to anyway) when the owner isnt present, now perhaps thats because it naturally places stress on the staff when owners are there and the animals pick up on it im not sure or maybe they pick up on the owners stress which in turn worries them.

maddiesmum, yeah vets & nurses are used to dealing with difficult animals and a good nurse will know how to handle them very well but it doesnt change the fact that some animals are still difficult.  SM ... swampy has every good reason to get agitated, poor man what a lot of health issues he's been/going through and i only hope you know your vet staff well enough that they understand this, its certainly something i myself would always think of when dealing with such a patient, besides for those such as swampy who are well known to the practice we normally develop personal feelings towards them like we would with our own pets and i hope this would be the case with your practice..i think its called compassion !

[Rosella moggy]

also if its not going well i know only too well from experience there is nothing worse than the owner standing there as you can see them getting irate too (no offence to owners, its only natural and i'm the same)

I used to get sent out of the room when Little Bob was having bloods done 

Come to think of it, Thomas is taken out of the room when he has had bloods taken. I must offer to remove myself in future as Tom has arthritis in his back legs and nurse wouldn't know how to carry him without him being uncomfortable. I'd always assumed they took him out coz they needed equipment from another room but could well be to stop me reacting badly.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

also if its not going well i know only too well from experience there is nothing worse than the owner standing there as you can see them getting irate too (no offence to owners, its only natural and i'm the same)

I used to get sent out of the room when Little Bob was having bloods done 

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

I know its not as good but they can take blood from a vein in the front leg.  Tiny used to have his taken this way for thyroid tests when we were trying to satbilise him because he got very agitated if they tried his neck.  Korky is no problem - he lets the vet do anything he likes, although he does a wonderful dirty look when he's had the thermometer treatment.  Hope it all goes well next time.

[Maddiesmum]

Well I am a bit dumbstruck really.  Vets should be used to "difficult" animals, it's all in a day's work for them.  No wonder he hates the vet I would too if I had gone through all he has.  Poor little fella.  Hope you can get something sorted for him soon.

[swampmaxmum]

Thanks everyone!  I guess I am annoyed because it's not exactly the first time he's had blood taken and presumably they know that the youngest nurse isn't the right person, so could have booked me in for when it was going to work better, rather than starve him overnight and then be taken down to the vets (stresssssful) unnecessarily. I also get fed up with being told how difficult he is - he's had a tumour removed in 2004 (big op in France, lots of bloods and ultrasound beforehand too and umpteen vet visits), then cholangiohep as a result of an adverse reaction to a sedative in 2005 which nearly killed him - mega blood tests all the time, a week in hospital and vet visits - and now CRF and his mouth bump and colds etc......so, he's entitled to be a bit miffed at the vet imo!! Starving him causes him to be even more agitated.
Because of the above, we can't give him any kind of sedative. I can't talk the vet into non fasting blood tests either as he says they aren't as accurate (and he can't do liver function).

[CurlyCatz]

I sympathise with you & swampy but the nurse aswell, it can be awful trying to get bloods if they cant keep their head still, the thing is its something almost impossible to stop them doing without exerting considerable force.  Some nurses (and even vets) can be very tiny and to have to physically get your hands round enough to have a large enough hold can be tricky for some.  Normally once a cat starts getting agitated its a down hill spiral as they seem to involuntarily resist and jerk more and more.

As i always say the quality of the blood sample is far better from the jugular so i do advocate taking it from there, in cases where you really really need the blood but the cat is uptight/fractious etc sedation is sometimes needed, in the case of an emergency you'd have to weigh up the pros and cons of using sedative/exerting more force than you'd normally prefer to etc, before sedation though we'd always try the wrapping tightly in a towel - when wrapped in a towel a nurse can then turn cat on its back and extend neck out and allow other nurse or vet access that way also sometimes can use a  cat muzzle which covers the eyes.

also if its not going well i know only too well from experience there is nothing worse than the owner standing there as you can see them getting irate too (no offence to owners, its only natural and i'm the same)

I can only say in future when he needs to be booked in you make sure the staff of your choice are on duty.  Hope his bloods are not too bad when you finally get them taken.

[Stuart]

hands are too small to hold him tightly?? sounds a bit daft to me

sorry to hear this about Swampy, hopefully get his bloods done by other nurse

My Hamish was a struggler, and had very sharp claws, but they would let me hold him to get his bloods done
Misty on the otherhand is no bother, He got his bloods done last year, and they wouldnt let me hold Him??
I told them a wee tip " Misty LOVES His chin scratched" they had shaved his neck with clippers and took His bloods
when I went to get Him, I asked the vet "How was He??" and her reply was " I wish they were all like that "

Misty's the same when I give Him His daily Fortekor, He's no problem, just sit's there while I man handle his face to
throw this big pill down his throat no Claws come up to greet my hand !!

Good luck with the bloods and I hope Swampy's feeling better soon 

[clarenmax]

Sorry to hear this, hopefully they can take Swampy's bloods a bit later on 

Hope he's not too stressed 

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

Poor Swampy    I think the secret is a vet nurse who is firm but gentle.  I've held a couple of mine when Sean has got bloods out but he now won't let me    I get too stressed out which the cats pick up on and I think they tend to wriggle more and I'm always worried about hurting them.  When I took Willow in for bloods, Sean said he was as strong as an ox but with a firm grip, they managed to do him.  Hopefully they'll succeed when the other nurse comes in 

[swampmaxmum]

Swampy's blood tests were due today as he's been peeing a bit more, having to be fed by hand in several places around the flat, or even off the back of a spoon to get enough nosh in him and has lost a little weight. My vet always wants him starved, then he does a FBC as well, incl liver. When I got there today, the youngest nurse was on duty and apparently her hands are too small to hold him tightly, so they tried and it was no good. I was asked if I wanted to leave him in hospital, really hungry, until lunchtime when the other nurse comes on duty - so naturally I said no, he's coming home and I will just have to come back  . They keep going on like it's Swampy's fault for being naughty/a bad patient and moving his head. I'm sure he's not easy & I know he jerks his head (he's had lots of tests and vet visits poor love), but surely they should be able to take blood without all this kerfuffle? What if it's an emergency?!  I still haven't calmed down properly - now I can only take him in when the other nurse is on early which will be end of the week or next week. My OH is raving on as well about the whole thing.  Are there any tricks to getting blood out of the jugular of a scared and annoyed cat (he jerks his head but doesn't attack or bite). They won't let me hold him either. Swamp gets stressed from not eating too - up at 6.30, he expects breakfast by 7.30 at the latest and the earliest appointment is 8.30