? What do you do if you have to go away?

hi all

I am really feeling horrible i might have to go away due to a death in the family.

I have no personal friends or family who could take care of my cat while i am away. He still isnt even regulated. I cannot hire a petsitter as i have heard too many horror stories.

I absolutely hate the thought of boarding him at the vet, where someone wont be there overnights, and he'd be stuck in a cage, which makes me sick. I dont know how many days at this point, i'm waiting for more information from the legals.

Any suggestions appreicated.

 

Can you take him with you?

 

No. too far away to drive and there's no way i'd put him through air travel.

 

I always took my cat with me, when my Dad had heart surgery and when I went on vacations (NJ to CA and back). He rode in cabin and became quite a pro at it (eight years and sixteen trips across the country).

 

I don't know what the answer is, I can only tell you my experience. My cat had never been boarded but I had high hopes that it would work out, it did not. Briefly this is what happened, I dropped my cat at the vet complete with his food, insulin and specific instructions on dosing ( no blind dosing) and the pad he always slept on. I also left very specific instructions that I wanted to be called if he did not adjust to his new surroundings. The vet took the partition down between two cages so he was in a cage double the size they normally house cats in. Within 48 hours I received a call from the vet stating my cat had stopped eating, was terrified of the dogs barking and needed to be picked up and brought home. Lucky for me my adult daughter was able to pick him up and bring him home and within hours he was back to his old self. My daughter had never tested or dosed him so there were several daily trips back and forth to the vet to make sure his BG levels were acceptable until I got home, ( the last thing I wanted is to have him develop DKA due to high numbers). I was so upset and worried about him I cut my trip short and went home. That will be 2 years ago in December, to date I have not left him for more that 12-14 hours, no one gives him insulin but me and that is the way I want it. Based on my experience and the fact that you do not have a pet sitter you trust you only have two options, in my opinion, stay home or take you diabetic cat with you.

 

If flying is a possibility, I wouldn't worry about it....as long as his carrier will fit under the seat, he'd be right there with you the whole time

We've had people here drive almost cross country with their diabetic cats to get treatment at different veterinary hospitals....like @Wendy&Neko has gone from British Columbia to Colorado for SRT treatment

My own cat China used to wail like a crazy cat when I had to take her 5 minutes to the vet but I found that if I don't put her in a carrier and just put her harness and leash on, she sits on the back seat and rides along fine

 

I had to be away from home for 5 days just a couple weeks after Callie was diagnosed as FD. I had no choice but to board her with our vet. She did just fine. The techs held, petted and played with her whenever they had time. In the past, they always commented on how sweet and well behaved she was. She was feed low carb food, tested and given her insulin. When I picked her up, she showed no signs of stress.

I think it all depends on your cat's disposition and how much you trust your vet.

 

Find out if there is a tech at a clinic near you that does petsitting on the side. Or ask a vet you trust if they know someone who does petsitting as a business. There are good petsitters out there. Around here, there are also people who do in house (their own place) petsitting. So kitty has to stay at another place, but gets a larger space.

I have both taken Neko on a long road trip - 3 days of 9 hours each way of driving, and flown to Fort Collins, Colorado. Before the first trip (the drive) Neko used to complain loudly on the 10 minute trip to the vet. But after a little while of complaints, she quieted down once we opened the door to her carrier. She mostly stayed in the carrier, but felt less confined with the door open. The flight to Colorado was 5 hours. Neko, at the time not quite 15 lbs, fit in an under the seat carrier in front of me. Most air carriers have a 15 lb limit or at least carrier size limit for animals who travel coach with their people.

 

I am going to have to be away from home repeatedly for the next several weeks, for days at a time, and I plan on taking Squallie with me. He is not the best traveller, but I figure with some calming chews and a harness, so he doesn't have to stay in the hated carrier, he'll be okay. Better than leaving him in a place and/or with people he is unfamiliar with.

 

I would have a major problem with Rocky as he does not want to eat at the vet's and does not want to use litter tray - only wants to do his business outside in the garden. I had a major problem when he had surgery and the vet told me to keep him in for 3 days and he would not use his litter tray and we ended up taking him back to the vet's to squeeze his bladder as he was blocked.
The only option for us is to have a friend staying in our house but when it comes to dealing with diabetes it would be a different story. Rocky is well regulated so not giving him injection for few days would not be a problem. So far we did not go on holidays together since Rocky's diagnosis.
I think your situation is complicated as your cat clearly needs her insulin regularly.
I would consider a good pet sitter and maybe a vet technician if you can afford the cost. You can pick a dose you're comfortable with and have a technician give insulin.

 

People have made some good suggestions, Jen. If travelling with you or staying in the vet clinic just won't work, I'd find the money to hire the best in house cat sitter with vet tech experience or similar that I could find. I'd make it a condition that frequent reports be made to you. If an in house sitter can't be found you could also consider installing a web cam or cams to see how Mr B. is doing while he's alone.

 

when I go anywhere I have my sitter text me his pre shot and any other tests she gets in between-
now that she is comfortable I don't really have to give the "sitter dose" because she knows how to bring him up--

maybe you can do some interviewing after this trip when you don't "need" a sitter so you have one on hand?
I hope you find a solution that works --I hate going away now that we have FD-it certainly complicate things.
prayers...