KidneyCats Videos worth watching
The short answer
Yes, and there are good ones already made by other veterinarians, so I've pointed you at those rather than waiting until I've filmed my own. The one thing to look for in any fluids video is the camera angle: you want it shot over the owner's shoulder, from your eye line, not from across the room.
Are there videos showing how to give a cat subcutaneous fluids?
Yes, and good ones, made by veterinarians and veterinary technicians who film better than I do.
So rather than leave this page empty until I've made my own, here are the ones I'd actually point a client to. They're other people's work and I've said so clearly. When I film mine, they'll go here with a full written transcript under each one, because plenty of people would rather read than watch and every video on the internet assumes otherwise.
The ones worth your time
Watch two or three rather than one. Each demonstrator handles the restraint and the needle slightly differently, and one of them will match your hands better than the others.
What no video will teach you
This is the honest limit of the format, and it's the reason the written pages exist.
A video shows you one session, going well, with a cooperative cat and a competent demonstrator. What it can't show you is the part you'll actually need at nine o'clock on a Tuesday in week three:
- The soft lump that travels down to her chest or a front leg by bedtime, and why that's normal
- The needle that has gone straight through the skin tent and out the far side, so fluid runs down her flank instead of going in
- Why she cries, and the three things to fix in order
- What to do when she hides the moment the bag comes off the hook
All of that is written out on giving fluids when it goes wrong, and the full step-by-step with the kit list is on subcutaneous fluids.
Better than any video
Ask your own vet's technician to watch you give one in the clinic. Not to do it for you, to watch you do it.
When somebody is struggling with fluids at home it's almost always one small mechanical thing, and it's very hard to spot in your own hands. Ten minutes with a technician standing next to you fixes more than an hour of video. Any practice worth going to would much rather spend that time than have you quietly stop.
When mine go up
The plan, so it's on the record: fluids first, filmed over the shoulder, then giving a tablet to a cat who objects, then mixing a phosphorus binder into food so it disappears, then what a recheck actually involves.
Each will have the full transcript on the page underneath it. Not captions, a transcript, in text you can read at your own pace with the sound off in a waiting room.
Until then, the videos above are better than nothing and the written pages are better than both.
Questions people ask me about this
- Are there videos showing how to give a cat subcutaneous fluids?
- Yes, several good ones made by veterinarians and veterinary technicians, linked on this page. Watch two or three rather than one, because each demonstrator handles the needle angle and the restraint slightly differently and you'll find one that suits your hands. Then read the written steps, because a video is poor at explaining what to do when it goes wrong.
- What should I look for in a subcutaneous fluids video?
- The camera angle, first. You want it shot from roughly where your own eyes will be, over the owner's shoulder, not from across the room pointing at the cat. Then three specifics: is the fluid warmed, is the bag hung high enough to run fast, and does the needle go in flat, parallel to the spine, rather than angled down into her back.
- Why don't you have your own videos yet?
- Because the site needed to be written before it needed to be filmed, and there are already good videos out there. Rather than leave this page empty or put up something rushed, I've linked the ones I'd actually send a client to. When I film my own, they'll go here with a full written transcript underneath each one.
- Is a video enough to learn this from?
- For the mechanics, mostly yes. For the problems, no, and that's most of what people actually need. A video shows one session going well. It doesn't cover the lump that migrates to her chest, the needle that goes through and out the far side, or the cat who hides when she sees the bag. Those are written up on the troubleshooting page.
- Can I ask my own vet's technician to show me instead?
- Yes, and it's better than any video. Ask for ten minutes with a technician to watch you do one in the clinic, not to do it for you. It's nearly always one small mechanical thing making it hard, and that's almost impossible to spot in your own hands. Any decent practice would far rather do that than have you give up at home.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Steve Pelton, last updated . First published . Reviewed quarterly.