Looking for cat sitter

Hi. My cat Kitty Mae was diagnosed with diabetes on 12/21 so I am 2 weeks in to this challenge. She is 13 years old and really cute. I also have another cat, Louie, who is 12. Since the diagnosis, I have changed over their diet to all canned food twice a day. Prior to the diabetes they received 1/2 can of canned food at night and had dry food available during the day. I'm feeling pretty comfortable with giving the insulin, Lantus, and Kitty Mae is doing so much better since she was diagnosed. I haven't started at home testing but plan to start once I return from my business trip next week.

I am looking for a cat sitter that can provide care for my two cats while I am traveling for business. I am starting a new job on Monday and don't yet know how often I will need to travel, but I suspect that it will be at least once a month. Since she was diagnosed and I know I have this trip next week I have been looking for a cat sitter, but have had no luck. I tried care.com but all the responses are folks that take care of dogs or live too far from me. My vet has no recommendation as they have boarding facilities and I would prefer not to board her if it is not necessary. I've got my trip covered but am looking to establish a relationship with someone that can care for my cats. Anyone have any suggestions on how to find a cat sitter? I live in Greenwich CT.

I also have a question about eating -- my cats were free grazers when they were eating dry food. Now that I switched them to 100% low carb canned, I feed them twice a day but they do not eat the entire potion in a single sitting. I make sure that Kitty Mae eats enough food, this is easy as she is a bit of a chow hound, before giving her the shot. She then comes back to her food bowl an hour or so later to eat what is left. Once the food is gone they do not get anymore food until the next time Kitty Mae is due to get a shot -- 12 hours later. The food is normally finished within 3 hours of the initial feeding. My vet's suggestion is that I feed and then pick up the food after 20 minutes or so. Is it OK that she eats again after I've given her the shot? I'm concerned with her eating after the shot but need to ensure that they are eating enough food per day.

 

I would help but I'm in Florida, good luck finding someone

 

First of all welcome to FDMB.

On the cat sitting front, have you polled your friends to see if any of them might be able/willing to help out. I have a friend I trained to test and give insulin and it worked out very well. Do any of your friends/neighbours have a responsible older teenage or college age kid who might be interested in a little extra pocket cash? You could call around or visit vet clinics to see if any of their vet techs would come look after Kitty Mae and Louie. They will sometimes take sitting jobs on the side. Sometimes folks from doggie day care or rescues will do a little kitty sitting on the side too.

There should be pet sitting companies in your area and surely some of them look after diabetic cats/dogs.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with leaving food out. Most of us here have found multiple meals split up during the day or free feeding works best for our kitties.

Good luck finding a sitter.

 

I would definitely leave some food out for around the middle of the cycle when the blood sugar is at it’s lowest. You could invest in two autofeeders, one for each cat and these will open at the appointed time or you could leave out food that has been frozen and that should unfreeze in a few hours for them to eat fresh. Trial the frozen food one to see if it works for you.
Well done swapping to a low carb wet diet and good luck finding a sitter

 

I totally vote for the autofeeder set up. You can get the sureflap ones that are to each cat so you can issue what your sweet kitty is getting and how much she is actually eating.

For the cat sitter, I lucked out when I started asking friends with pets if they knew anyone. I ended up with a friend, of a friend, of a friend. And once she found she couldn't cover some dates she recommend someone else. Good luck with the search.

 

I signed up for nextdoor.com in the hopes of eventually finding a pet sitter. I haven't tried yet since I pretty much need to find the Mary Poppins of cat sitters since Hogan is "difficult". But at least you are able to connect with people in your immediate area. To me, the biggest hurdle is that someone has to come to your house exactly every 12 hours, which isn't very attractive to most. But if you can find someone nearby, then it's a bit more agreeable.

 

For years now I've been searching without success for a cat sitter. The only solution I've found is to leave him at the vet's office for boarding. Good luck finding someone to help you with your kitty. I'd help you but the commute from the west coast would be unsustainable. sorry.

 

A change to low-carb canned food can dramatically lower blood glucose and reduce insulin needs. When Chip was first diagnosed, in fact, a food change was all that was needed. He became diet controlled on the food change alone and didn't need insulin shots for several years. You don't say how much Lantus you're currently giving but I strongly encourage you to begin home testing ASAP. Just because things seem ok at the moment doesn't mean they are. A cats body can compensate for an overdose for awhile and then crash without warning.

This is a common problem. Some people have luck hiring a vet tech to come to their home. It's important that the person clearly understand what line to draw insulin to on the syringe (more than one cat has been accidentally overdosed, sometimes even when boarded at a vet clinic). One trick is to leave a sample syringe filled to the appropriate line with colored water for the caregiver to compare to. It's also great of the person knows how to home test so they can rule in/out a BG problem if the cat is acting "off."

Many of us free-feed canned food. I leave it out all day, pick up any that hasn't been eaten by the next meal, and put down fresh. It's particularly important that your cat have access to food mid cycle given that you aren't home testing. Cats who are experiencing low blood sugar will often instinctively want to eat to bring up their BG. You might see a reference to pick up food two hours prior to the next shot in order to not have a food-influenced BG value, but until you begin testing, I wouldn't worry about that.

Just my two cents. Have a safe trip and good luck with the new job.

 

If asking around doesn't find you anyone, try Angie's List or Thumbtack.
Or call a cat club or cat hospital/cattery or a cat breeder or local animal shelters (for referrals, not to take your cat)

 

I second Nextdoor.com as a great way to find a cat sitter.

You'll be able to ask your neighbors in your general neighborhood for their recommendations and will have the confidence of knowing the request isn't going all over the city to total strangers.

I already had a lovely catsitter for my three before Jester was diagnosed. But he was hesitant about giving Jester his insulin. I managed to find a second sitter who already had experience with diabetic cats. She taught my regular sitter. So I wound up having two great sitters.

Nextdoor.com is a fantastic resource.

 

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and the suggestions on finding a cat sitter. I'll try nextdoor.com. My mom, 88, is going to stay next week to cover this trip. My mom is in great shape for 88 but has a bit of trouble with her hands these days. I was really surprised to learn Mom doesn't really know how to pick up a cat given we had cats while I was growing up -- the things you learn.

Thanks for the info on free feeding, makes me feel better to know that they can eat as they need provided I control the portion. I will check out an automatic feeder(s) for them. Louie, the non-diabetic cat is the problem child as he is a snacker.

When Kitty Mae was first diagnosed I was giving 1.5 units of Lantus. Yesterday I took her to the vet for her first BG curve and they have increased the dose to 2 units. They told me that most of the day her BG was at 300 and it didn't come down, to 180, until the end of the day. The good new was no evidence of glucose in her urine. So once I get back I will have to start the home testing so we get better control of her BG. Otherwise she is doing well. She looks much better -- curious, playing and seeking petting.

 

Did you try a Google search like "Greenwich CT pet sitting"? Look for the actual web sites of local businesses, not links to referral services or 10-best lists. I'll bet if you poke around some you'll find a couple that include administering injections as part of their in-home service.