igpjazz

I know this sounds like a silly question for some but my husband and i have a trip scheduled on sept 21 for dubrovnik and london for 9 days. My pet has just been diagnosed and needs his blood sugars controlled as he has been urinating frequently and out of the litter box. We have a reliable pet sitter who can see him 2x a day and give his insulin shots. She is aware of his urinary problems,too. Please advise. Thanks in advance for any insight you can give.

azzure

Can you board your cat at the vet's office for awhile? I would be uncomfortable just having someone look in on the cat...I would rather have someone take him in to their home or house-sit in mine. My cat died of kidney failure not long after we returned from a trip, because the pet sitter who was looking in on him failed to notice how thin and weak he had become.

Easterdawn

I agree with azzure, I have worked in the pet boarding industry in Canada and even though there are many good ones, they do not have the experience in vetenary care and the signs and symptoms of animals who are in diabetic distress. It is not just giving him the insulin he probable will need to have his sugar checked at regular intervals.

For your peace of mind while you are away, boarding at your vets would be a much better solution. Do not cancel your trip, but better arrangements would make the trip a much happier time for you and your family, including your feline friend.

maitaitom

I think the above advice is sound. This is coming from someone whose cat died last year while we were on vacation. I would not cancel my trip. I would board your cat at the vet, so he can have more attention, and should anything crop up, they will be there.

To help you relax, I prescribe a daily trip to The Buza Bar each afternoon while in Dubrovnik. Take two small bottles of wine from the cliff hopping server, and your worries should ease immensely.

igpjazz

Thanks for your quick responses.My vet suggested a boarding place for him with vet techs around who are use to giving medications. My concern is that the stress level on the cat may make it worse. He is 12 years old and has never lived out of our home. My friend who will be cat sitting him is a diabetic herself (if that makes any difference at all) but I think she is reliable. Any more ideas would be appreciated.

Easterdawn

The signs and symptoms can be quite different in animals than humans. What if he has a reaction when your friend is not there? I don't want to scare you, but I still would consider boarding at the vets or the facility that he has recomended to you. He is going to be stressed anyways as you will not be around the home. it is is for a short time, only ten days.

Take blankets, beds, toys and anything he is used to. Give him a tee shirt that you have worn so that he can smell you. I know this sounds kind of gross, but it really helps animals to relax in new situations, even senior pets. Good Luck

StuDudley

We had a diabetic cat, & our full time house sitters (ex human nurse & husband) gave her shots twice a day. No problems. We usually take a 5 week trip in June and a 4 week trip in Sept.

Last year when we got home from vacation, our other/non-diabetic cat was barely able to greet us as we walked in the door. He could not walk without stumbling, runny eyes, looked thin as a rail, sneezing, and even smelled bad. Took him to the emergency vet. Weight had gone from 11 to 6 lbs, dehydrayted, and could not poop. Was not eating either. The house sitter did not notice any of this. The Vet did not think our cat would survive. We fired the house sitter that had sat for us for around 10 years. This year, we hired a new cat/house sitter. The last few days before we returned home, the cat started to not eat and not poop. The cat sitter rushed him to the hospital & they took care of him right away before he deteriorated like he did the year before.

About 5 years ago, we borded the diabetic cat at a place that would administer 2 shots a day & it was located next door to our vet. No problems. We borded the "other" cat at another less expensive bording place. The "other" cat was a basket case when we retrieved him. Not a happy camper at all. We've never boarded him since then - always used a house/cat sitter. Twice, when our normal house sitters were not available, we hired someone to come by once a day to feed the "other" cat (the diabetic cat had died by then). The person noticed that the cat was really stressed out, so she started coming by twice a day. When we needed her to come by on a subsequent trip, we "signed up" for twice a day visits.

Summary.
- A good house sitter that is familiar with cats worked fine for us
- one of our 2 cats would/could not tolerate being away from his normal environment at home. It was OK with our diabetic cat - she just slept more.

We have friends who hire the vet tech from their normal vet's office. She knows the cats & any "problems" that they have. We would have done this for out "other"/non-diabetic cat after we fired the house sitters who ignored the problems - but our opinion was that our cat needed someone around 24 hrs a day - or he would get stressed.

Stu Dudley

igpjazz

Thanks to all. Initially, I was leaning more towards cancelling our trip. But now I feel more comfortable otherwise, but, I still have to decide between the boarding option or cat sitter. I still have 2 1/2 weeks to decide and see how he does on his daily insulin shots.

kja

Hi, igpjazz -

Good luck with all this!

I've had cats who have not handled boarding well and who have (thankfully) done very well with trusted catsitters - sometimes including vet techs who I have hired to assist. I've also sometimes had several people check on the cats - someone who is to visit them every day and others to check in every once in a while. (Depending on the circumstances, I might present that to the catsitters as a way to give them a bit of a break or a back-up in case something comes up in their own lives - or just because I want to ensure that the cats get lots of attention while I'm away.)

But it's always a tough call on how to best ensure that my cats have the care I want for them in my absence. I've found my vets to be very helpful with those decisions - they've helped me think through the options with the benefit of their knowledge of the cat's health and history.

Hope that helps!

cw

Has your cat been left alone before with a cat sitter dropping by? Our elderly cat needed medication (not shots) in his last years and I knew he would be awfully unhappy and stressed in a boarding facility. We hired a new service who had a vet tech on the staff, so she was the one who came to check on the cat.

I think it's a good idea to see how your cat does for the next two weeks. You might want to make a reservation to board, just in case. But when our neighbors traveled and left their diabetic dog at home, the sitters did fine with him. Maybe you could have your friend come once a day and have a vet tech visit the other time?

It's so hard to leave pets in the best of circumstances so I fully understand your distress.

Jean

One of my cats was diabetic. He was almost 16 at diagnosis, had a nervous personality and had never been boarded before he became Diabetes Boy.

Has your cat had a glucose curve done, or are you still adjusting the dosage? Are you doing glucose readings every few days, or is this being only by the vet on a periodic basis? Is the sitter going to be fully educated on the injections and what symptoms to watch out for? Would this person be willing to stick around for 30-45 minutes after each injection to look for insulin shock symptoms?

I would (and did) feel better with the cat boarded at a qualified facility, especially if that's what the vet recommends. My cat's diabetes actually resolved itself after a few weeks on insulin, and, if I had continued the injections at the same level, he would have gone into shock. (This is one reason why treating diabetes in cats is different from treatment in dogs.) Eventually, because my cat had other serious health problems, he developed rebound diabetes (somogy effect) which came on very suddenly and was uncontrollable.

Good luck with your decision, and have a great trip.

PastTimesWriter

We had a cat with renal kidney failure, she had to have hydration therapy three/four times a week. Our critter sitter tended to all of our animals and took Bessie to the vet for her therapy. You might be able to make arrangements with your pet sitter and your vet to take your cat in three times a week for one of your cat's shots and a general checkup. If there were any concerns at least your vet could address them immediately and you would put your mind at ease about leaving your pet and hopefully enjoy your vacation.

Jean

I like PastTimesWriter's idea as a third alternative.

igpjazz

Thanks everybody, lots of cat lovers in this board! At this point, I am thinking of observing my cat for another week to ensure he doesnt have any reaction to the insulin shots (he gets once a day) which he just started 3 days ago.

We have 3 other healthy cats at home and I am planning to have 2 sitters come 2x a day. Both of them have been coming at our place to see the cats for a while now (6years). The lady who will be giving the insulin shot at night has done that to her dogs in the past. Our vet is just 2 blocks away and knows her since she brings her animals to the clinic,too.

If it comes to the point that he is still not doing well by next week, I am cancelling this trip. I only have until next week to decide since my husband has to request for his vacation then.

MaggieOB

Another vote for boarding your diabetic cat with the vet while you are away. We had a wonderful Siamese who was diagnosed with diabetes when he was about 9. The first few weeks of figuring out to give him the insulin injections (as we chased him around the house!!) were not easy. Once we all figured it out it was fine and he lived happily for another 7 years.

But even after he was used to the injections we always boarded him at the vet when we went away (in fact, I would make the cat's "reservation" before any of ours because if for some reason the vet couldn't take him, we weren't going anywhere!!)

I understand your concern about the trauma of boarding but I think the most important thing right now is the cat's health and I would vote the vet is best able to determine that, no matter how good your cat sitter is. Good luck!

igpjazz

Hi,

My concern is he gets so stressed out just going to the vet's office that he usually urinates on himself ( he is really a scaredy cat!) much more to stay there for 10 days. He might stop eating...

cigalechanta

My cat died with a sitter.
Maybe your sitter can visit the cat while boarded where there are vets, so he won't be so stressed. Also leave something you wear so he can sense you will return.

saacnmama

Why not have the sitter take the cat to a vet's appt midway through your trip? Just some kind of check-up to see how the meds are working for kitty. You don't need to tell your friend the real purpose is making sure she's doing her job.

If you know the vet's stressful for the pet and stress is what you're trying to avoid, it seems obvious what choice to make, especially given all the other info re: "roommates", who the sitters are, how close the vet is, that the sitter knows the vet, etc.

You've already talked about the illness with the friend, so she knows to be extra careful. Assuming she knows your pet, she c/should plan to spend a little time petting or playing during regular stops, not just show up to cause pain (the injection) and leave. You could certainly get some pamphlets or something about the illness in pets, and even remark on the most surprizing stealth symptoms when you give them to her.

I certainly agree with the 'Rx' above, but expect you'll want to hear how things are going too. Isn't a friend more likely to chat with you about this than a busy vet asst?

Jean

igpjazz, as you probably know by now, it's important that diabetic cats eat the same food, approximately the same amount, at roughly the same time every day. This can be hard to maintain when there are other cats who may be hogging the food or the diabetic cat stops eating because of stress or anxiety or reaction to the insulin.

You know your cat (and his housemates) better than anyone, so you're likely to make the best choice for his care after weighing all the pros and cons.

If you haven't already done so, you might want to view the area where your cat would be caged at the vet clinic (if you chose that option). At my vet clinic, this area was way too noisy and populated (humans, cats, dogs) for my shy, nervous guy. But the clinic owns a separate boarding facility that is an oasis of tranquility. Dogs and cats in separate areas, large cat cages with views out a window, soft music in the background (honest!). The boarding employees work for the vet, and there is a trained tech on site. My Diabetic Boy only stayed there once but did very well. His mother (who lived to be about 20) stayed there many times over five years.

Unless your kitty takes a backward step, I wouldn't cancel your trip. But you haven't said whether your sitter(s) are well informed on what to look for in the way of symptoms and reactions (in cats specifically) and what to do if there's an emergency when the vet clinic is closed. Is there a 24-hour emergency animal hospital nearby?

igpjazz

Jean,
You do have a very good point about the feeding which is one of my concerns,too. With 4 cats in the house, it's hard to regulate his diet. I might visit the vet's boarding facility next week and make a reservation for boarding.

We do have a 24 hour emergency animal closeby,too. In your experience what are the chances of a stressed out cat to stop eating? This is my main concern.

Thanks again, everyone!