Vacations

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by PinkyYiaYia, Jan 11, 2019.

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  1. PinkyYiaYia

    PinkyYiaYia New Member

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    Jan 11, 2019
    What does everyone do about taking vacations? My kitty has missed a shot or two here and there but has not gone without insulin for an extended time. One option is a medical boarding which I really do not want to do and the other is to have someone come to the house to give him his insulin. My concern is with the latter is the possibility of him having a low. I have gone away overnight with no problem skipping a few injections. Over one weeks time, what would happen if we withheld insulin and started back up upon return? Opinions please!!
     
  2. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

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    Jul 6, 2017
    I stopped traveling when Mia was diagnosed since she is a mama's baby scaredy cat and would not do well with anyone else handling her testing and shots. I have seen several posts here, however, for people who have either boarded their cat at the vet or hired a pet sitter to come to their home.

    If your cat needs insulin, skipping a week is not really a great idea. Do you do glucose testing at home? How are your cat's glucose numbers? What insulin is he on?
     
  3. Angie & Millhouse

    Angie & Millhouse Member

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    Nov 29, 2018
    I have a vet tech lined up for a three day getaway, but lately he has been having cycles with no insulin, so hopefully I won't need her. Does your kitty have low days where he doesn't get shot? If you find someone to come in, I think the main task is to test and observe. It would be horrible to have someone just come shoot and leave, while in the meantime, your little buddy could go hypo. As I get further into this, my bigger concern is the testing aspect. And to think I really, REALLY did not want to begin testing. Good luck!
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2019
  4. PinkyYiaYia

    PinkyYiaYia New Member

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    Jan 11, 2019
    He is on prozinc. I do not do glucose testing at home. He goes in for periodic fructosamine tests and depending on that result we may adjust his insulin and then he will go in for the day for a curve. He is a bit of a brittle diabetic and has had a few lows which have ended up with and emergency room trip. Having someone come into the house wouldn’t really work because he is very timid and skittish and I’m afraid that even if they could give him a shot, I fear he may not eat. The one time that I did board him, He did not eat well because he was depressed. They had to adjust his insulin accordingly. I just don’t know what to do!
     
  5. Lisa and Witn (GA)

    Lisa and Witn (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    Is it possible to take him with you when you travel? There are several members that travel with their cats.
     
  6. PinkyYiaYia

    PinkyYiaYia New Member

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    Jan 11, 2019
    I will be going overseas, to Greece, so unfortunately I won’t be able to.
     
  7. Lisa and Witn (GA)

    Lisa and Witn (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    Where are you located? We may have a member near you that can recommend someone. Also add your location to the title so others can see someone needs help in their area
     
  8. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

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    Without home testing, you really do not know when he is going too low to do anything about it - well, until it gets so bad he ends up in the emergency room. They don't usually show visible signs of hypo until it is really bad. Insulin needs can change rapidly, so periodic vet visits being the only time glucose is checked is a bit dangerous. Fructosamine tests give you an average over a couple of weeks, so they don't really show you how well a dose is working. Glucose levels can be on a roller coaster... way up and way down..and the average won't show you that. Curves done in a vet's office are impacted by stress, so they do not tend to be extremely accurate and may result in a dose being set too high. Anyway, I know this is not the kind of advice you asked for, but I had to mention it, especially since you mentioned being concerned with him going too low.

    It sounds like you have already decided that you cannot have someone come over, and you cannot board him, and you cannot take him with you. So, I guess you know that the only options left are you staying home or him not getting his insulin. Without knowing how long he has been on insulin, what his dose is, whether he has had any issues with ketones and how his glucose numbers are looking lately, it really is not possible to give you any kind of informed advice/opinion on letting him go without insulin for a full week. I can only say that when Mia was on ProZinc, I would not have let her go a week without her insulin. Even now when she is on Levemir and her numbers are consistently really good, I might let her go two or three days without insulin if I had to, but I would not want to go a week.

    If you are going to be gone a full week, surely you have someone coming by to handle food and litter and just check in. Is that someone your cat knows? If not, could they start visiting before you are gone to let him get used to them? Would they be willing to stay at your home while you are gone or maybe do multiple visits in a day to check in?
     
  9. RosieandJazzy

    RosieandJazzy New Member

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    Jan 12, 2019
    So were heading away on vacation for 2 weeks and currently giving our cat 2 injections per day with food as per the vet. Were going to bring a cat sitter in once a day while were gone to administer 1 injection a day. Has anyone done this and how did their cat respond? I spoke with our vet and he said it wasn't recommended but said that 1 dose is better then none. Our cat has been on insulin for about 2 months and has responded well and seems to be back to her old self. We just had her fructose levels checked and the vet said they were good. I understand this isn't recommended but when I tried to ask my vet he didn't really give me clear answers. I understand there are some risks her health could suffer but he wouldn't really clarify if there was a slight risk to this plan or if we should absolutely not risk it. I know no one can give me a definite answer just asking if anyone has done this and how it effected their cat. Thanks.
     
  10. PinkyYiaYia

    PinkyYiaYia New Member

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    Jan 11, 2019
    My vet does not recommend home testing. Even if someone was able to come over, and I do have people to come and feed my three cats and to change their litter boxes however, my diabetic, Zeus, would hide. The bigger problem being even if they were to give him his insulin, what if he had a low while they were gone. He has been diabetic for about 4 1/2 years now and when he was originally diagnosed he did have ketones and was very sick. He was really young to have diabetes so we really didn’t think that was the problem and even my vet was shocked. Throughout this time he has been hospitalized twice with low blood sugar and we’ve had to re-adjust his insulin. He’s currently on Prozac, three units twice a day. I am beginning to think I may just have to put his feelings aside and medically board him at the vets office. It is just such a long time for him to be in a cage. They all love him there and he is really good for them but a week is a long time! Shelter cats survive for weeks and months In cages so maybe I should just suck it up to make sure he’s safe.
     
  11. AlphaCat

    AlphaCat Member

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    May 9, 2017
    I took my cat when I traveled, but there were many vacations that didn't happen because I couldn't take her. Yes, it was inconvenient, but she was family. There is no way I'd tell my mother to just go without her medicine, or go on half her medicine so I could go on vacation.

    If you are uncertain your cat could have their normal medicine while you are away, board them for their safety, please.

    To RosieandJazzy specifically: Half a dose of insulin isn't better than. It could cause major problems. Right now there are humans who are rationing their insulin due to finances, due to shut down, etc. There are news articles of humans dying because they were rationing their insulin.

    A vacation is not worth the death of a family member. Please board your cat if you can not provide care directly. (Or find consistent alternate care.)

    I'm positive I don't live by anyone (because I live in the boonies) but I'm experienced with caring and testing for a diabetic cat. I would be willing to help if you are near me. I think there's a few people in here that have a cat sitting swap agreement (because they live close to each other) so they can still go on vacation. Maybe post in here if you need a cat sitter to see if there's anyone local with experience.
     
  12. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

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    Jun 8, 2016
    I did medical boarding for cc last year for 3 or 4 nights. She did fine and all the vet assistants said how good she was. She ate fine and didn't seem to get too stressed. My niece watched my other five cats but didn't want to do shots. I dint blame her.
     
  13. jayla-n-Drevon

    jayla-n-Drevon Well-Known Member

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    Oct 11, 2015
    I taught my long time sitter how to test and give fluids-she did a great job. She would text me the pre shot number and then we decided the dose depending if she was going to be around.
     
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