Feline Friday is coming, but not until later in the day. With Meda out of town, and the combination of new cat responsibilities as well as a new schedule, things are out of whack.

The new schedule revolves around the 12-hour insulin cycle. We’re aiming Duke at daily 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. shots. They’re supposed to be given after he eats. Problem: Morning feeding time had previously been about 5 a.m.

So what I do now is get up and put out a small snack for the cats, just enough to take the edge off their morning appetite. Then I make them wait until about 7 a.m.

Then Duke gets a nice dish of canned special low carb food. The other cats get their dry kibbles. By 7:30, I’m ready for Duke’s shot and all the cats have been fed.

After my first fumbling attempt at giving Duke’s insulin shot at home without assistance, I went online and found some good advice. My problem was that Duke didn’t want me to hold him in place long enough to find a good bit of skin and give the shot. I don’t think he minded the shot. He minded the constraint.

The advice was to make it part of a new grooming ritual. So I did. Now, after morning and evening meals, and at least once time in between, I put Duke on our bed, sit next to him, and give him a good brushing. While I’m brushing, I scratch the side of his face or his chin with the plastic parts of a syringe, so he isn’t afraid when seeing one coming towards him. I also ruffle his fur and pinch a bit of skin while I’m brushing, similar to what I have to do to give the shot. All the while, the brush is going, and he’s loving it.

Then, at least in the post-feeding sessions, I exchange syringe for brush, pull the protective plastic cover off of the needle with my teeth, and quickly give him the shot, then resume brushing for another minute. I’ve managed this successfully three times in row, and I’m going for #4 in a minute or two.

When Meda gets back, it might not be so necessary, but it still seems like a good idea to associate the shots with the pleasure of a good grooming.

All that an extended excuse for why I’m behind on today’s Friday Felines. I apologize to those of you waiting for your weekly pick-me-up.