6/23 Guinness AM 277 Question regarding going out of town

Good Morning Lantus Land. Guinness had a good night with a low 105, but is back up to 277 this am. I say back up, but in the 200's for him is actually great!

I have some questions regarding going out-of-town. We've had (or are about to have) a death in our family and will have to leave at a moment's notice for a few days. I'm sick about having to leave Guinness, but it can't be avoided. I'm not sure what to do and have bounced around a few senario's in my head and wanted to get some opinions from people here to the less stressful and most helpful to Guinness.

Let me quickly set up one large obstacle: I shoot at 4:30am and 4:30pm, which means it is going to be nearly impossible to have my pet sitter come for the morning shot. I may only have a few days to move the shot time (in 15 minute increments) which may not make a difference to her because I don't know if she is willing to come before 8am.

Senario one:I test and shoot his 4:30am shot and leave. Pet sitter comes at PM shot and shoots (no test, she can't do it) and refills feeders for morning. Morning shot is skipped or given late depending on what time I can get her to come by and refill the feeders and shoot again. She comes back at night and shoots and feeds, but no test (which might be bad if she is shooting at 4:30pm after a 8am shot).

Senario two:I board him at my current vets. No really luxury boarding here, just a metal vet cage. I'm not even sure they would have someone there at 4:30am to give him his shot anyways. He still may get a late shot or skip that morning shot. He could get proper testing though and possibly fluids if he needs them. I'm not even sure this senario is possible because I haven't asked them yet.

Senario three:I take him with me. I've never taken him on an extended (5 hour) drive. I could possibly find a hotel that allows pets (or sneak him in). I'm worried the long trip might be a little stressful on him, but I would be there to give him care. I have a large dog kennel that he could stay in while at the hotel when we are not there. He's a avid out of the box pee-er so, I think this would be necessary.

Any thoughts? I would really appreciate the advice. Thank you so much in advance for helping me out with this.

 

Re: 6/23 Guinness AM 277 Question regarding going out of tow

We are getting ready to go out of town in a few weeks for 3 nights and I have been having the same issue, but it is not as rushed as yours.

We got some names from our vet of techs who are able to test and give the insulin shots and are interviewing them now. We will probably end up spending the extra money and having them stay overnight just in case anything wierd happens and keep our lab at home instead of boarding him. I don't know if an arrangement like that is available where you are, but it is where we have landed and the only choice I was really comfortable with. This is the first time we have travelled all together since diagnosis.

My sister has a diabetic corgi and she bring her with her. Out of your choices below, that would probably be the one I would choose if Guinness is comfortable in the carrier. Tarragon freaks out in the 5 blocks to the vet.

 

Re: 6/23 Guinness AM 277 Question regarding going out of tow

With the current dose, I would not select the first option as too much can go wrong with shot times and an inexperienced sitter who cannot even test before shooting. Shots over 10 BID need ps tests. A pet sitter who can't test and with Guinness likely acro, you are brewing a recipe for trouble.
Example: Oliver was fine last nite, and got his usual dose of 26.5u at pmps of 295 .... his amps was 72. We skipped his shot as his +14 with HC was still only 125. Think about how blind shooting could have entertained a fatal situation for him. I would use this option as a last resort.

The second option may not be great, but it`s alot safer for Guinness. If his dose needs drop, he is in a good place at the vet for a resolution. Don`t worry about shot times because they can be adjusted to fit.
Get pricings for his stay, including asking about how much each test costs (yes, many vets will charge per BG test), and know what range the cost will be.

The third option would be great. Look for Patti/Merlin's recent posting on Travelling with diabetic pets; you may find this option to be the best all around for you and Guinness.
Read thru Patti's doc and see how you can arrange this option. You could even take a trial car ride and see how it goes.


Hopefully, your travel will not be too soon, and you can make arrangements that suit you and Guinness.

 

Re: 6/23 Guinness AM 277 Question regarding going out of tow

Good morning guys .. sorry to hear about your family situation .. I'm not sure what I would do in that situation .. but I guess I would lean more towards traveling with him, if he travels well .. at any rate, I hope you get it figured out and feel comfortable with your choice ...

 

Re: 6/23 Guinness AM 277 Question regarding going out of tow

If I could take Gabby with me when I travel, I would. She won't let anyone else test her.

I do think Gayle has made some important points. Guinness is on a large dose and you're just beginning to see some breakthrough. You would need an experienced caregiver OR you would need to have a caregiver shoot a reduced dose. (The latter is what I do with Gabby.) I'd also want to know if there's anyone at the vet's office to monitor overnight if you decide to board.

 

Re: 6/23 Guinness AM 277 Question regarding going out of tow

Hi Linda,
Here's the URL for Patti's excellent essay on traveling with a diabetic cat:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gMwbpx3Lnrq5KDiKk0lhyQIRZylEmhztYhxZCpNcDqM/edit?hl=en_US

She has lots of good advice.

I, too, would use option 3. Guinness is on too high a dose to comfortably leave him in the care of others. I was going to suggest that you skip a shot, call it a "fur" shot, and then move your shot schedule to a time that would be OK for your petsitter, but given Guinness's dose and uneven numbers, and the fact that the petsitter would not test, this isn't a great idea.
I hope that you can work something out. If you take along your regular litter box to set up in a motel room, that might set Guinness's mind at ease and keep him from soiling the premises. Then you wouldn't have to keep him in a cage the whole time. Is it possible for you to stay with a relative rather than in a hotel?

Best of luck to you. And I'm very sorry that you have to contemplate all of this at a time of stress for you and your family.

Ella & Rusty

 

Re: 6/23 Guinness AM 277 Question regarding going out of tow

I sure wish I lived by you because I would gladly take of the handsome man!

But since I can't do that for you, I offer my vote of taking him with you. Although it will add some stress for you, it won't be half the stress you'd be feeling leaving him at home. And I think his added stress could be lessened by having you with him.

Not sure if you know how Guinness reacts to car travelling, but in order to make the move from UT to OR, I had to give my 14 cats all a bit of valium (which made some of them sleep, but others it just took the stress off).

 

Re: 6/23 Guinness AM 277 Question regarding going out of tow

I will also put in my vote to take him with you if it's reasonable/possible. If you're doubting leaving him for even a minute now, when you're actually gone it's going to be really really amplified!

We take Willy with us when we go for a variety of reasons. For one, we don't have an experienced (reliable) care giver who could handle any of the infinite situations that may arise (we have people who are willing but for whatever reason I don't feel comfortable with it). Another reason is when we go, it's usually several hours away so if we had to return home for an emergency it wouldn't be quickly. Finally, it's less stress on everyone (Willy thrives on attention) to have him with us. In our case, he does BETTER when we go because it's just him and the dog so he gets tons of attention and snuggles.

We just found out one of the vet techs at our clinic will do overnight stuff (stop by, let out, etc.) so in the future, this may be an option if we can afford it. If we were to ever use this option we would leave our CC with our vet (or e-clinic) in case he needed to be taken in.

Willy is a good traveler but we have found using a calm collar or lavender collar really seems to help him for longer trips when he starts getting fussy (6hrs+). We take our Breeze System with us because it's easier to manage when out of town.

 

Re: 6/23 Guinness AM 277 Question regarding going out of tow

it sounds like you have several good options. I used to take Lucy with me when I went to my parents' house. She wasn't good in the car (she pees the second she hits the carrier and tends to hyperventilate while we're riding). Feliway spray in the carrier seemed to help some, and she was ok as soon as we got there. She did tend to run lower at their house than mine, for some reason. :lol:

If you are leaving him home and having a petsitter shoot blind, then I would reduce his dose. Do you know whether he usually eats normally when you are gone, or does he eat more or less?

I have left Jazzy with a petsitter twice. The first time I reduced her dose from 11.5 to 10, thinking that would be a big enough reduction to keep her safe with blind shooting. When I got home at PMPS of day 3, she was at 63! The next time I thought I was reducing by a ridiculous amount, from 12 units to 5. It was only for 2 shots, and she was still yellow when I got home! Never underestimate the power of a 10-11 unit shed. If you're going to BCS, you need to do a MAJOR BCS for it to really slow things down.

 

Re: 6/23 Guinness AM 277 Question regarding going out of tow

Just read your post and first I want to say I'm sorry to hear that you're going to be traveling for such sad occasions. It never gets any easier.

If I were in your situation, I'd probably take him with me. My kitty would be stressed out as it is without me at home so if he's stressed, might as well have him with me. You also don't need to be stressed on both ends, about your loved one and then wondering what's up with Guinness.

We recently drove from LA to San Fran, a 7 hour drive. Here are some of our experiences:
- Junior's LB time in the daytime is usually around 4-5am and 9-9:30am. Except for the day we were leaving SF. All the begging and pleading couldn't make him go and we wound up hitting the road at 1pm and with hand wringing and prayers to the Poopy Gods.
- On one of our rest stops, we let Junior out and plunked him down in the litter box. He looked a little stunned to be out of his carrier and had LB stage fright. Luckily he didn't have any accidents.
- He didn't cry much except for the beginning. He didn't like being behind my seat so once we moved him in the middle seat, he had great views of me and my mom and was relaxed for the rest of the trip. I think the AC blowing directly to him also helped.
- We didn't feed him at all during the trip but in hindsight I wish I had packed some of his favorite steamed chicken treats for him to feed 1-2 hours before arrival.

I will have to say that Junior has evolved to being a good traveler. I had been flying him to and from Chicago and LA since he was a kitten and he freaked out most of the time. When we moved to Chicago a few years ago and I began hauling him to my mom's house twice a month. He still protested but didn't freak out on the 1-hour car rides. The turning point was when he became diabetic. His poor little body was just too tired to protest so he'd just wind up napping on the ride.

Good luck on your travels!