How awful is it to give a cat fluid injections?

First, it's subcutaneous -- not intravenous -- which means you don't really have to be able to aim. (If it's IV you have to be able to aim.) We did this for several months with our cat, first weekly and then daily. The needle is somewhat large for a cat, and that was a little tough for me at first -- I am not good with needles to begin with and the first couple of times I placed the needle for the subQ fluids, I felt sick to my stomach. I embroider, and what it felt like, to me, was putting a too-thick needle into a fine-woven fabric stretched very taut in a hoop. Like I said, the first couple of times were upsetting, but it rapidly became routine. We would snuggle the cat, pop the needle in the scruff at the back of his neck, and then open the fluid bag. It was DEFINITELY a two-man, four-hand undertaking at first, but as we got better at it, and the cat got used to it, I could manage it alone (as could my husband). It helps to have something to hang the fluid bag from -- we honestly just hung it from a lamp's arm, worked fine. The cat was really not bothered by it after the first or second time, when he didn't know what was happening. He would come find us around fluid time and hang out very happily during the treatments. He liked all the attention and I think the fluid helped him feel immediately better as well as better in general. My cat had had diabetes for about two and a half years (with daily insulin injections) before he developed renal failure, so we only did fluid treatments for about six months near the end of his life. But the fluid treatments extended his life about four months, I'd guess, and they really dramatically improved his quality of life. It's hard to tell you quite how much they improved his quality of life, but he went from seeming old and sick to acting like a fairly healthy middle-aged cat again, wrestling with his buddy-cat and following his sun-spots around the house and enjoying his life. Again, my cat was diabetic so the progression of issues was different, but the fluids really made him feel so, so much better and really improved his quality of life so that he was living a good and comfortable life right up until the end (when his decline was rapid and obvious and it was clear when the moment had arrived). It was EXTREMELY stressful for me at first -- I broke down sobbing in the vet's office when they were demonstrating what to do, and then I had a full-blown panic attack, and I kind-of freaked out the not-so-good-with-people vet who works with cats instead of humans FOR A REASON -- but I learned what to do and it became no big deal when we were doing it weekly or twice-a-week. When it became daily, it felt like a chore, but we knew he was pretty near the end then. But anyway, it's easy enough that when my mother's cat developed kidney disease, I strongly recommended she do the fluids at home instead of taking the cat to the vet for treatments all the time, because going to the vet for it is stressful for the cat, and it really isn't a very big deal to learn to do at home. I am a super-giant medical wuss who is easily emotionally overwhelmed by medical issues. So if I can do it, anybody can do it! I seem to remember paying around $6.50 for the 1000 mL bag of fluid (I think we gave 100 mL at a time, so it lasted 10 treatments?), plus some amount for the tubing and needles, which only had to be changed every so often. It wasn't hugely expensive, but it was an ongoing cost.

Mrs. Example and I had a cat a few years ago that had kidney problems, and we had to give her fluids at least once every couple of days. I don't remember the supplies being that expensive, but I don't remember any exact figures I can give you. The good news is that it really improves their quality of life quite a bit, and it's nowhere near as scary as it sounds. The fluids are subcutaneous (under the skin) instead of intravenous, so you don't need to be as precise as you might think, and the whole process goes pretty quickly. Individual cats will vary as to how they react to being given fluids, but ours seemed to figure out that she felt better afterward, so she started being pretty okay with it. You may need to do the "kitty burrito" thing with a bath towel like bottlebrushtree mentioned at first, though.

Subcutaneous means under the skin, it's completely different than IV which means intravenous, going into a vein. I had to give my old dog subq fluids. It was totally totally fine. He didn't even feel or notice it. I put the needle into the loose skin in between his shoulder blades, where apparently dogs don't have many nerves. I bet it's very similar for cats, that they have areas of their body like the scruff where they wouldn't feel a needle. I could do it while he was napping and he wouldn't even notice it at all. I totally know what you mean about how giving topical meds can be a pain. I would way way wayyyyyyyy rather give a dog or cat subq fluids than say, try to put an ear infection gel into their ears. Talk about a battle. That is a million times harder. I wish I could give all pills and medications subcutaneously. That's how much easier it is. You will be just fine. The only hard thing is, if you're doing it by yourself, keeping the needle from slipping out while at the same time keeping the bag elevated so the fluids can drip down. If you arrange things so you're sitting next to a shelf or something where you can put the bag, while you hold the needle in, that will make it way easier.

No big deal at all -- I've been doing this every day for close to a year (17-year old cat, chronic renal failure). When he sees me preparing the IV rig, he'll come running over and sit next to the chair until everything's ready and I pick him up to put him in my lap. (He used to jump up as soon as I sat down, but he's gotten a little more frail since then and doesn't jump much.) He seems to value the cuddling time much more than he minds the needle jab (which he usually doesn't react to at all). We do this sitting in a recliner so he can sit in my lap, with the bag hanging from an IV stand. This helps a lot -- when we started out, we'd put him on a towel on the kitchen counter, and it would take two people to hold him in place while he tried to get away. The current arrangement is much more comfortable for him, so it's a matter of finding what works for the particular cat. Sticking the needle in takes a little getting used to, but you'll soon be a pro. As far as supplies go, the two places I've found useful are http://www.shopmedvet.com/ (for IV sets and injection needles), and http://www.valleyvet.com/ for the prescription stuff (they'll call your vet to get the prescriptions). I also bought the IV stand for about $30 off of Amazon, and it's been a lifesaver. MeMail me if you want a painstakingly detailed shopping list of what we use. I was pretty panicky when our vet told us we were going to have to give him fluids every day, but it's much easier than it sounds and has become a comfortable daily ritual. It also seems to have made a bigger difference than anything else in keeping him active and healthy.

It takes a time or two to get used to, but it is completely not a thing. I am on my second kidney kitty now. It can extend their life and more importantly their quality of lift immeasurably.

Just want to add to the pile on that this is no big deal. My sister and I just started doing it with our elderly cat about two weeks ago. We do it in the morning and it takes so little time that I haven't had to change my morning routine at all. Our kitty purrs while she gets fluids and then happily hops right up to get her treats. One piece of anecdata: it was really easy to do the first few times and then suddenly became harder and we panicked a little bit. Have no fear if this happens to you! We theorize that it was a combination of soreness from previous needle sticks and her skin becoming firmer because she was actually better hydrated, which was a good sign. We try to change up the site a little bit more and are also just a little bit braver about the kitty making a little noise. Definitely use a partner until you get really comfortable with it, but it is overall incredibly easy. Good luck!

By the way, just to give you more of a sense of how not-a-big-deal this is, I am a pretty squeamish person and don't even want to watch fake movie gore a lot of the time. When I had to do this my mindset was like, "Oh fuck, I can't believe I am going to actually stick you with needles but I will do it just for you!!" Like it took all this drama and bravery in my mind. By the time I had done it like twice, it was like nothing for me, it was just another thing on my chore list like doing the laundry and I couldn't believe how dramatic I had been over it.

We did this with my old kitty, he didn't like it at first (and probably never really liked it) but at the end we gave him a shot a night and it just became something we did. We gave our cat some pills in a "pill pocket" every night, but these were to help keep his blood pressure down. They helped but we needed to do the shots as well. We would wrap him in a bath towel, get his neck and give him the shot. It took less than 5 minutes. It expended his life for years with little stress, I would recommend it.

Joining in to say that I did this for about 18 months with one of my cats--I was terrified before I tried it the first time but quickly developed a routine and, while I can't say that I ever looked forward to the procedure, I very quickly learned to not dread doing it. It never appeared to be painful to my cat, and it definitely gave him a much better quality of life for an additional 18 months. I'm sorry that you're going through this--but please know that you CAN DO IT and it will make a positive difference to your cat's life!