? Pet sitters

My husband is concerned that once Rhubarb starts insulin, that we will no longer be able to go away for weekends or holidays. My current pet sitter hesitantly said she would do insulin, and I don't really have anyone else.

Are there things that can be done to make it easier for pet sitters? Can syringes be predrawn? Is there a way to reduce risk of hypos?

 

Pre-drawn syringes are a bad idea. The lubricant for the seal deteriorates. You can prefill a syringe with food coloring or even Kood Aid.
>If your petsitter is the slightest bit hesitant forget that.
>We boarded Noah in May with a vet set up for that; double wide kennels, Sunday visits. There are a million things to consider.
>A twice daily visit by a tech is ideal but unfortunately legal issues, security bonds, theft and alarm systems are part of the big picture.
>A tech in a local college might jump at the chance to get out of a crowded dorm. Then again think back to when you were 18. "Make yourself at home" never sounds right.
>Emergency clinics have 24 hour staff and are medically competent but affection is not part of the deal. Behind closed doors animals become another piece of meat. Those idiots murdered one of out cats, not an exaggeration.
>A lower dose is preferable to a high dose short term. You can work through higher numbers but HYPO is permanent if it's 12 hours before the next visit.
>If by some miracle you live in Southern Ontario I can recommend an excellent vet.
There are professional and competent pet sitters out there. Don't be shy about proving their qualifications and have one visit at shot time.

 

This was a concern my wife voiced as well. We had a bad experience medically boarding my last diabetic kitty a couple of years ago. They weren't tracking his numbers well and couldn't get him to eat, so. All a bit dicey, considering how agitated he was at being boarded.

Our neighbor has been pet-sitting for us for about a year now. We trade off keeping an eye on her dogs when she goes. So far, we're working up to teaching her to test and give insulin. Right now it's a bit of a struggle just to get the boys not to freak out and go hide when new people come in the house, but they've seen her enough to be comfortable with her. Now it's going to be working up to getting her to hold Sherlock, then to rub his ears and give treats, then to test. Because she's next door, she can poke her head in periodically to check and test as needed, and to make sure nothing looks hinky.

We'll probably drop the dose while we're gone just to avoid too much risk. It might throw his numbers out of whack, but I'll take that over an emergency.

You might just consider getting your sitter to come over to watch the process, then to help with it, then to take over once or twice with you watching to make sure they're comfortable and you feel good about it. Nothing wrong with being cautious and I'm sure they'd understand.

 

I trained a friend to test and give insulin and then stayed in touch while I was away. I left a novelette with feeding and dosing instructions in case communications were impossible for any reason. Most folks reduce dose for the duration of their absence, leave a No Shoot BG number and I told my friend that if she couldn't get a test for any reason, to skip the shot. It's easier to have the sitter dosing at whole or half units rather than quarter units although as mentioned above, you could fill a used syringe with coloured water as a sample for comparison as another safety check.

I started training my friend a couple of months before my planned trip to get my girl used to someone else testing and shooting and gradually graduated to meeting my friend outside and letting her go in and test and shoot while I waited out of the house to make sure my cat would co-operate even in my absence. When helping someone out myself, I had one or two days where I had to hunt down a hiding cat so make sure the sitter knows where your cat likes to hang out especially if they have hiding spots (like burrowing under the pillows on the guest bed!).

 

Hi Majandra!!
Oh I feel you so hard on this. My husband and I have a newly diagnosed kitty as well (her name is River) and we shared your concerns. However, we just got back from two days away and River is no worse for the wear.
Here is my thread about it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/human-travel-feline-diabetes.205461/
Just wanted to tell you that you are not alone!! You are in good hands here <3

 

We have a neighbor that had a diabetic dog so he is comfortable. I suspend testing when i travel and feel ok with that because Lilly has been stable for a while now. He knows to call me if there are any unusual signs and I have him give Lilly just a little less...1.5 instead of 2...just to make sure she is ok. I'm typically not gone for long periods of time...maybe a week at most. My sister found a vet tech that does pet sitting on the side. Maybe ask at your vets to see if any of the techs would be willing to pet sit?

 

I ceased all travel when Mia was diagnosed. She is a scaredy cat, mama's baby. When I used to travel, my sister would come by each day to check on my cats. She did that for years and still never got to even pet Mia. So, the thought of her giving shots and/or testing is quite funny.

I have done every test and given every shot myself. On a few occasions (that I could count on my fingers) when I HAD to be away at one of the non-shot meal times, my husband has fed the girls, but other than that, I have also fed them every meal... no auto-feeder here. So, yeah, this has been very life-altering for me. I still hold out hope that Mia is going to go into remission, at least for a time, so I guess I will have to grab a getaway when that happens.