? Holidays, travel, petsitters, oh my?

I have a significant quandary, and I'm wondering if any of you have thoughts or experience to share. Even commiseration would be welcome, honestly!

This is also just kind of venting ... and long. Thanks for bearing with me.

So I live half a state away from many of my loved ones. I have tons of friends in my area, and my partner (ours is a very non-traditional relationship setup which I'm not going to get into detail right now). But my parents and my two best friends, each of whom has a family of their own (including little ones who are my nieces) all live back in my hometown, a two hour drive away. Normally, I go spend at least a week out there in late December for holiday celebrations and reconnecting. My brother and SIL come up from PA. I've really been looking forward to it, as I miss them all a lot, and I haven't even had a chance to meet my newest niece yet (she was born in June).

But ... it's hard to imagine being away from Eugenides for such a significant chunk of time, especially since everything with his health is kind of up in the air right now (recent FD re-diagnosis, numbers unstable, dental problems significant and in need of treatment as soon as we can sort out a plan). Normally, I'd just have a combination of friends and roommate help out to feed him and look in on him briefly every day, but that's not going to cut it now. I don't think any of them would be up for the injections, or installing a new Libre if needed, or spending a lot of time trying to get food into him if his numbers drop too low, etc etc etc. That's a lot, especially over an extended period.

I hired a vet tech (one I didn't know, from the local emergency vet) to feed and dose him over a few days for Thanksgiving 2021. We weren't doing home blood tests. When I got home, she and my roommates at the time gave me completely different stories about when she'd been there. Gen seemed to come away from it fine, and in fact he was officially in remission not long after, but it shook me. My vet (who I trust) gave me a contact she trusts to set me up with someone, but I just don't know?

On the other hand, I've never brought Gen home with me because a) he hates being in cars and especially the highway (and I haven't managed to successfully get him to take gabapentin), and b) my parents aren't pet people. They love their kids' cats (though it took a few years for my dad to come around, honestly) but their house is not really set up for them, and I'm not sure how they'd cope with furniture potentially getting clawed or tons of hair to clean up after, sufficiently guarding against him getting his paws on human food, or worst of all, potential stress-peeing somewhere he shouldn't (like on a carpet). That's not normal behavior for him when healthy, but he peed in closets a bunch when he was sick last time (mostly before I realized anything was wrong, he was sneaky about it and the cleanup was not fun). He's been peeing in my bathtub recently, which is at least easier to clean, but. Oh, and he's never been around a Christmas tree. God knows what that would be like.

And while he has traditionally been pretty great at adjusting to new locations (he never really hides, he always wants to explore everything), I don't know how much it might stress him out, and that's obviously a significant consideration.

I also don't drive or have a car, which means these trips generally require me to take a coach bus or train (the latter is not very convenient here, so probably the former), which makes things pretty unflexible, especially since I am so broke right now (I don't make enough to do much more than keep my head above water in this very overpriced city in normal times, and the vet/medication/associated costs are taking a huge chunk out of me). Getting back if there was an emergency would be difficult. My brother might be able to drive me ... and if I were to decide to bring Gen home with me, he might be able to come get us and bring us back. Not the easiest thing though, with unpredictable New England early winter weather to boot.

I wasn't that worried about missing Thanksgiving last week, but Christmas is another matter in my family. We tend to have pretty chill holidays with good quality time and it's kind of the anchor of my year, the thing I look forward to when things have been hard. My parents are aging, my brother lives far enough away and works hard enough that I almost never see him, and (honorary) nieces grow up fast. I desperately want to go, but I don't know if I can, and if I do, I don't know if trusting Gen to someone else's care or trying to bring him with me would be the better choice, for either him or me.

Ughhh, it's such a muddle. Sorry for the novel, folks. I don't think anyone can really solve this tangle for me, but if you have thoughts on getting petsitters for a diabetic kitty or traveling with them, I would be grateful for anything you want to share!

You can try the member's map to see who is in your area. Not all members who show up on the map are active, though. Still, send them a PM and ask about possible pet sitting while you look at other options. https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/members/membersmap

Medical boarding is an option if expensive. You can ask your vet's office if any of the techs will pet sit. Many do since a vet tech salary is basically peanuts.

Some people do travel with their cat. I think @Laurie&Petey does occasionally.

I didn't realize we had a map! (Wow, this really is a pretty global community. That's very cool.)

squeem3 said:

You can try the member's map to see who is in your area. Not all members who show up on the map are active, though. Still, send them a PM and ask about possible pet sitting while you look at other options. https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/members/membersmap

Medical boarding is an option if expensive. You can ask your vet's office if any of the techs will pet sit. Many do since a vet tech salary is basically peanuts.

Some people do travel with their cat. I think @Laurie&Petey does occasionally.

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I do travel with Petey about an hour away. Have you tried liquid gabapentin? Most vets will make it and you just mix with food.

I found out accidentally that catnip works for Pete! I get the good strong stuff, put a lot in a long organza bag and put it in his crate just before we leave. Kicks in in about 20min. Has to be fresh for each ride. Timing makes a difference for him too. I also have a cool crate with a bed that he loves sleeping in, so it's out all the time so it's his safe space and not just a dreaded trip.

Where are you located?

Laurie&Petey said:

I do travel with Petey about an hour away. Have you tried liquid gabapentin? Most vets will make it and you just mix with food.

I found out accidentally that catnip works for Pete! I get the good strong stuff, put a lot in a long organza bag and put it in his crate just before we leave. Kicks in in about 20min. Has to be fresh for each ride. Timing makes a difference for him too. I also have a cool crate with a bed that he loves sleeping in, so it's out all the time so it's his safe space and not just a dreaded trip.

Where are you located?

Click to expand...

I have not tried liquid gabapentin, but I have mixed the powder from the capsule into his food, and he wouldn't touch it. (Granted, he was supposed to have surgery that day, so I only gave him a teaspoon of food, and that may have made him suspicious.) He also just doesn't ever eat his whole dish of food in one "sitting," which makes this a little tricky.

I had heard that subcutaneous injectable gabapentin might be an option, but I don't know much about that (been meaning to ask my vet).

Sadly, Gen doesn't respond to catnip at all.

Hmm. Gen used to have a dog crate (from the shelter where I adopted him, because the carrier I'd bought turned out to be too small) and he did like that better. It was roomier. I wonder if I could put a travel bed together for him that he'd like better than his carrier. That's a thought. It wouldn't help with how much he seems to hate the highway in particular, though (my theory is that it's a noise problem).

We're in the Boston area (Brookline), and my families live in Western Massachusetts (Northampton).

Allie & Gen said:

I have not tried liquid gabapentin, but I have mixed the powder from the capsule into his food, and he wouldn't touch it. (Granted, he was supposed to have surgery that day, so I only gave him a teaspoon of food, and that may have made him suspicious.) He also just doesn't ever eat his whole dish of food in one "sitting," which makes this a little tricky.

I had heard that subcutaneous injectable gabapentin might be an option, but I don't know much about that (been meaning to ask my vet).

Sadly, Gen doesn't respond to catnip at all.

Hmm. Gen used to have a dog crate (from the shelter where I adopted him, because the carrier I'd bought turned out to be too small) and he did like that better. It was roomier. I wonder if I could put a travel bed together for him that he'd like better than his carrier. That's a thought. It wouldn't help with how much he seems to hate the highway in particular, though (my theory is that it's a noise problem).

We're in the Boston area (Brookline), and my families live in Western Massachusetts (Northampton).

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As you likely know, gabapentin is veerrry bitter, so the liquid form offsets that and works like a charm! Mine smelled so sweet I was worried about his diabetes, but no affect at all, actually helped his numbers when he needed to take it.

I am in northern NH, so can't be much help -It would be great to have a diabetes care friend to swap time off with! The crate might be worth a try.

Laurie&Petey said:

As you likely know, gabapentin is veerrry bitter, so the liquid form offsets that and works like a charm! Mine smelled so sweet I was worried about his diabetes, but no affect at all, actually helped his numbers when he needed to take it.

I am in northern NH, so can't be much help -It would be great to have a diabetes care friend to swap time off with! The crate might be worth a try.

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If the liquid's less bitter, that's definitely worth asking about. Thanks!

There appear to be a few people quite close, but nobody I've gotten to know as of yet. I'm a bit shy, but I'll try reaching out sometime after work.

I'm currently giving gabapentin to a kitty post surgery. I give a pill, in a pill pocket, then rolled in Fortiflora - great at disguising smells. The surgeon vet told me gaba liquid is quite bitter so recommended the pills. I can also pill, but hubby not so I wanted a way he could also medicate if needed.

Neko went twice to Colorado State University with me for treatment of her acromegaly. The first trip was a 3 day drive of nine hours each. She hated travel up until this time. Once she figured out we were gone too long to be going to the vet (little did she know!) she was fine. Second trip to CSU was a flight to Denver, then a drive to Fort Collins. My magic sauce was Feliway wipes in the carrier, and some Rescue Remedy before we left. For the flight, I also used a harness (Kitty Holster) which acted a bit like a Thundershirt to calm her down. I made the rookie mistake of travelling the second time the weekend before US Thanksgiving. Oops!

One of our members who had to drive her diabetic cat 4 hours to another city for work and back each week asked those of us who had travelled for some tips, and wrote up this document. Travelling with Diabetic Kitties