12/6 Charlie AMPS 376 +4 347 Travel & Dosing advice?

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charliesmom

charliesmom

Member Since 2012
Hi everyone,

Sorry we've been a bit absent lately. We've had a lot going on with the end of the year job hunt scramble, trips to Denmark, and cold and flu season.
I'm slowly on the upswing now after being sick for 3 weeks and now taking antibiotics.

Charlie and I have a big trip coming up tomorrow (Amsterdam to Chicago) and we are both very nervous about it. Our vet has written out a clean health certificate (in her assessment, the airlines will just cause problems on an overseas trip if they realize she has diabetes) so she advised me not to bring syringes and needles on the flight and instead to arrange those on the other end in Chicago. I've done so. Her health certificate says she's healthy as she has no infectious diseases. She now has a Dutch passport, and we're ready to go (albeit nervous).

The airline does not recommend tranquilizers as a cat's blood pressure can go real low. Plus a local cat expert told me she thought this was a bad idea anyway as then Charlie's muscles will be limp, but her mind will still be going. Thus, she'd be totally anxious and stressed out anyway. So no tranquilizers.

All I have from my vet is a sort of aromatherapy fluid that I am supposed to spray on a blanket and put in Charlie's cage. It's called "Rescue flower remedies" and it's made by Bach. Let's hope it calms Charlie down a bit as I have seen her scream like a tiger at the vet and I SURE HOPE she doesn't do that on the plane. If she does, I'll be buying a round of drinks for my neighbors, embarrassingly.

Before our departure, I'm wondering if anyone has some last minute advice on dosing. Should we increase to 1.25 tonight? Or would you recommend no change until I arrive in Chicago and things are stabilized again? I'm leaning towards increasing tonight and measuring how it goes as while in flight tomorrow, Charlie will not get any food or insulin. It seems that the 1 full unit has been working a tad bit better for Charlie, but she's still not in the green (or at least I haven't caught her there).

The plan for tomorrow is to give her food and insulin at her 7am test time and then NOT to feed her 6 hours later as I usually do since the airline recommends not to feed or give water 4 hours before the flight, and my flight is at 12:45pm tomorrow.

Thoughts? Ideas? Words of advice from fellow travelers with sugar kitties?

Home for the holidays. Will be real nice to see my family. Hope this kitty behaves for me over the course of this next month.

Jill
 
What I do may not work for everyone, but I skip the shot before the flight as J.D. will be cooped up in his carrier for basically 12 hours and will not be getting his regular meals. I do bring little plastic bowl like things, and ask for water from the stewardess and give him some water on the flight, and I bring a baggie of EVO kibble with some treats mixed in and give him a few every now and then to give him something to do in flight and to give him a bit of something in his tummy.
I usually put 4 pee pads in his carrier and usually have to take out the first two because he pees on them, so I bring a large baggie to put the wet ones in. I also use Bach's Rescue Remedy for Pets. Mine is in a bottle and has an eyedropper. I give him a little bit in his mouth and I put a couple drops on the top of each front paw and I put some drops around his carrier.

I hope your flight goes well. J.D. usually stretches out and sleeps most of the way. Keep a harness and leash on Charlie at all times, and a collar with ID and extra bells on her. I would also get her microchipped if she isn't already.
 
Rescue remedy works really well for some kitties, I hope it does great things for Charlie :smile:

Are you guys allowed to have your kitties with you in the plane :shock: over here they have to go in the luggage compartment (or somewhere like that), hence when I moved from one side of the country to the other I spent three days driving instead of flying :lol:
 
Wow, Dyana. That is very detailed and most EXCELLENT advice. Now I need to run out to the store before they close and get some new supplies.

In my case, I'm actually leaning now towards no change on the dosing for the time being until I get to Chicago and things settle in a few days. As it's an 8 hour flight with likely 2 extra hours on each end, I was also thinking about still giving Charlie her normal morning insulin shot at 7am (1 full unit). That's what my vet thought too as with the stress of flying, her BG #'s will likely go up anyway.

Evo kibble doesn't exist in Amsterdam, but maybe I can bring a small bag of the hills diabetic dry food just to have a few treats to give her now and then? I don't know. Charlie doesn't like any treats other than tuna fish, which I don't think I can bring on board.

Where do I find pee pads? Adult diapers spread out in the carrier?

Glad to hear someone else knows what the rescue stuff is. I will give it a try just like you do. Mine has an eye dropper too.

Charlie is already microchipped so that part is covered. I'll need to get a harness, leash and ID though. Plus a plastic bowl.

Thank you very much for the fast response.
 
Pee pads are puppy training pads, and they sell them in the dog section of pet stores and even in the pet section of grocery stores here.
The difference in time zones will make the hour you are giving her shots change, if you are trying to stay with a 12 hour schedule once you arrive in Chicago. Because I skipped the shot before, I asked my parents in CA on vacation, what time would be the most convenient for you (that I would have to be home to administer insulin), so I gave them some say in the decision. Here on the east coast I was shooting at 6:00am and 6:00pm. If I had stayed with the same 12 hours, I would be shooting at 3:00am and 3:00pm west coast time, and that would be inconvenient for my parents.

I think J.D. sometimes goes lower because of stress, at least he does at the vet sometimes.
 
I'd consider Dyana's point about skipping the pre-flight shot. That will leave you a great deal of flexibility with establishing your shot time once you're in Chicago.

The Hill's diabetic food is pretty high in carbs. The EVO Dyana mentioned is not. However, if you want to give Charlie something to eat, that should be fine -- just don't be surprised if you see high numbers.

If you need info on any cat-related issues, let me know. I'm down by Navy Pier.
 
Wishing you and Charlie a good trip. I also think that it is not a good time to start a new dose. There are so many variables that you would not be able to evaluate it. Dyana's suggestion about getting water for Charlie during the flight is a good one. You don't want to deprive a diabetic kitty of water, especially if you are giving dry treats.

Bon voyage and Happy Holidays!

Ella & Rusty
 
OK, we will give Charlie her shot tonight (1 full unit) and then feed her at 7am without giving her the shot in the morning. I went to the pet store and found a harness, leash, collar, a little tiny tube to put her address in (which attaches to the collar), and puppy pads.

KLM allows you to fly with cats on the plane if you pay 200 Euros each direction (OUCH!) and if the entire weight, including the bag, is under 6 kilos. Charlie weighs 5 kilos now so hopefully we'll just make it. I will give her some water on the plane and will spray the rescue stuff before the flight.

Thanks for all your help guys. We will not increase the dose tonight. Gotta get packing!
 
Have a good flight and a great time w/ family for the holidays. How long will you be gone? Let us know how things turn out. You may be able to bring moist food on the plane just not into the US, so you would need to toss what is left before landing.
 
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