FemaleIsNotAFeeling on Nostr: I started to squeeze the bag to make it go in faster, otherwise it took forever to ...

I started to squeeze the bag to make it go in faster, otherwise it took forever to gravity drip in. My vet said it was ok and she would squeeze the bag at times with difficult animals too.

Do you have someone you can have help you do it? Like someone does the bag and someone else makes sure she doesn't bolt?

One thing I considered before I started was if sub-q was worth it, or if it would change our relationship and make him fear me. You can only go at your unwilling cat with a needle so many times before they start to flinch when you come at them. I did NOT want that. If that was gunna be how it was, I'd rather just let him go in peace.

I was so lucky to have a cat that would sit still for it though and could do it by myself, but I still preferred squeezing the bag to get it over with for both of us. Try that. Squeezing the bag to make the fluids go in a little faster. Mark the bag with a line to know when you've got enough fluid in.

Some cats will also protest and will learn that protesting will get them what they want, so there is a balance of being firm, yet not rough to the point that you're gunna condition your cat to be afraid of you.

"She's used to her autonomy being respected (as much as an indoor cat that never goes further than my staircase can be)."

Reading that lets me know she in part, is just being stubborn in getting her way. If you take your cat to the vet for a shot, they will grab the cat by the scruff to immobilize it. It looks like torture to us, but it's so the cat doesn't buck around the needle and hurt itself.

(My cat banshee screams in the bath like he's being murdered too, but he's only getting wet).

Point being, sometimes you need to be a little more demanding in what your asking in order to get the task done. If she goes to get up, try to keep her there with a light hand and vocalize a clear no. Try to set a gentle boundary. She will push past that boundary if she can. It's a balance between being firm, but not rough to the point you make her fear you.

If you don't have the heart to do it, then reevaluate if it's worth doing the sub q. In the end, you are trying to prolong her life so you both can have more quality time together. If your days have become fighting with the needle to extremes, my heart wouldn't be in it for long. Before you consider giving up, be a little more firm to get the point across that you are the one who decides when she gets to get up and walk away. Like her life depends on it, because it does.

And it wouldn't hurt to have a conversation with your vet too and see what they would say about sub q for a reluctant pet. I wish you luck. Keep trying. Be a bit more firm. When treatment is done let her free to go and do what she pleases, so she knows that at the end there is freedom and release every time. Snaxx always help.