How to Give a Cat an Injection

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Make sure your cat is hydrated.

   If you're administering subcutaneous injections to your cat, it is imperative that your cat remain hydrated prior to and following the injection.
   
   If your cat is severely dehydrated, the medication you administer may not be fully absorbed.This should not be a problem for most healthy cats, but if you suspect your cat may be dehydrated you should talk to your veterinarian about keeping her well-hydrated.
2. 2

   Step 2: Decide where to perform the injection.

   You may wish to hold the cat in your lap to comfort her during the injection, but this increases the chances that your cat may scratch or injure you, and it may cause her to associate being in your lap with receiving injections.
   
   If you do decide to hold the cat in your lap, it's best to put a thick towel down to cover your legs.
   
   However, the best location is a flat surface, like a table top., The site of injection will vary, depending on whether you're giving a simple subcutaneous injection or an intramuscular injection.
   
   But even within those parameters, giving your cat too many injections in the same spot can create problems for your cat.
   
   That's because a cat's body takes between six to eight hours to fully absorb the fluids administered by injection.Giving too much medication in one spot before it is absorbed can cause a fluid buildup, called an edema.This can cause discomfort for your cat, and could prevent a lot of the medicine you're giving from running its course in your cat's body.
   
   You should be able to administer about five to ten milliliters of medicine per pound of body weight (or about 10 to 20 ml of medicine per kg of body weight) before you'll need choose a new injection site.Check your cat to ensure that fluid injections are being adequately absorbed.
   
   You can do this by feeling along the injection site, as well as along the belly below the site of injection, as fluids tend to pool along the cat's underside., Most cats won't need this step unless they are suffering from a compromised immune system.
   
   But killing bacteria isn't the only benefit of an alcohol swab; rubbing alcohol can also help keep your cat's thick coat down flat, making it easier to see the skin when you give her an injection.Unlike a human's relatively hairless skin, a cat's thick coat takes about thirty minutes to be completely clean of bacteria after an alcohol swab.Therefore, if you need to swab the site of injection, you should do so about a half hour before you actually administer the medicine, and try to keep that site clean (by keeping her from rubbing the swabbed area against waste in the litter box, for example) until you can give her the injection. , Right before you administer an injection, give your cat a treat she really enjoys, like canned cat food or tuna fish.
   
   As soon as she starts to eat the food, gently pinch her skin where you will be giving the injection.
   
   After about five seconds you should stop pinching and remove the food.
   
   Return the food, and pinch a little harder this time.
   
   Repeat this until your cat becomes tolerant of the pinching and remains focused on the food.
   
   This will help prep her for the injection, and reduce the pain and stress she experiences when you give her the shot.
3. 3

   Step 3: Choose an appropriate site of injection.

4. 4

   Step 4: Rub the injection site with an alcohol swab.

5. 5

   Step 5: Use food as a distraction.

Detailed Guide

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