8/6 Moonie AMPS 85, +2 79, PMPS 145, +2 109

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

8/5 Moonie AMPS 65, +2 81, PMPS 60, +2 89

Moonie’s poops were more solid today, still a bit too soft to be normal, but much better than it was earlier this week. Her poops always smell so bad though whereas my civvie kitties’ poops never ever smell. Is that the IBD? I hope it improves with the probiotics and transition to homemade.

We did a meet and greet yesterday with a potential sitter for our upcoming vacation later this month. I wanted to show off how sweet and cooperative Moonie is but Moonie refused to eat in front of the new sitter . I really hope she doesn’t do that while we’re away. I got her into this bad habit of spoon feeding her while I sing to her. Now I’m worried she won’t eat while we’re gone and wondering if I should get her used to eating alone. But her shelter used to leave Moonie alone in a locked room to eat, and she looks so happy now when I feed her.

The sitter will be doing preshot blood glucose checks and a +2. I’ll probably ask closer to the time, but should we still be giving the sitter a dose that’s lower by 0.25u or 0.5u? I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m dreading being away from her for a week. I know this makes me crazy but I can’t think of a better place on earth than being home with my cats and work laptop.

 

[Elizabeth & Mister]

That first picture could be Mister, I love when he sleeps like that. It shows how relaxed and comfortable they are, right at home. don’t feel bad about your concerns, any of us would have the same worries as you and there’s nothing wrong with that. You just love her and want the best for your girl. I’m sure you’ll get some great advice here before your trip that will keep Moonie safe and bring you some peace of mind. I’ve watched a couple people take vacations since I’ve been here and they had the same thoughts and feelings as you do leading up to their trips.

I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure they are always happy and content, especially when we know their stories and backgrounds and never want them to feel scared or alone again. But Moonie knows how loved she is, and she strikes me as just a happy girl who knows she has her mom wrapped around her little paw. I hope her appetite keeps getting better, I’m so happy to read you’re seeing some improvements.

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

That first picture could be Mister, I love when he sleeps like that. It shows how relaxed and comfortable they are, right at home. don’t feel bad about your concerns, any of us would have the same worries as you and there’s nothing wrong with that. You just love her and want the best for your girl. I’m sure you’ll get some great advice here before your trip that will keep Moonie safe and bring you some peace of mind. I’ve watched a couple people take vacations since I’ve been here and they had the same thoughts and feelings as you do leading up to their trips.

I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure they are always happy and content, especially when we know their stories and backgrounds and never want them to feel scared or alone again. But Moonie knows how loved she is, and she strikes me as just a happy girl who knows she has her mom wrapped around her little paw. I hope her appetite keeps getting better, I’m so happy to read you’re seeing some improvements.

Thanks Elizabeth! I got really lucky that I found two sitters who had diabetic cats of their own so they at least were very familiar with insulin shots. And we're going to do "dry runs" before we go out for vacation so that we can iron out any issues before we take off.

And you're right - it's just that my kitties are so good at emotional manipulation! They all know how loved they are and will probably be plotting to extract maximum treats from the sitters while we're gone

I always love Mister's photos too - he could be Moonie's twin between the snoozy belly shots and chicken dust covered face!

 

[Elizabeth & Mister]

Thanks Elizabeth! I got really lucky that I found two sitters who had diabetic cats of their own so they at least were very familiar with insulin shots. And we're going to do "dry runs" before we go out for vacation so that we can iron out any issues before we take off.

And you're right - it's just that my kitties are so good at emotional manipulation! They all know how loved they are and will probably be plotting to extract maximum treats from the sitters while we're gone

I always love Mister's photos too - he could be Moonie's twin between the snoozy belly shots and chicken dust covered face!

Oh they absolutely know exactly what they are doing!

I love that you’re doing dry runs before you go, I think that’s a great idea for everyone. What a blessing that the sitters are familiar with FD. Miss Moons will do great (though have you considered you may have to teach one of the sitters her meal time song and dance? Kidding, but also not)

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

Oh they absolutely know exactly what they are doing!

I love that you’re doing dry runs before you go, I think that’s a great idea for everyone. What a blessing that the sitters are familiar with FD. Miss Moons will do great (though have you considered you may have to teach one of the sitters her meal time song and dance? Kidding, but also not)

Parker and I are such suckers that if we go down that path, no sitter will ever agree to sit for us! We indulge all of our kitties' eccentricities so they all have SO many. Like how Rakko demands to drink from a bath tub or sink faucet, but only at a certain water pressure and only if you pick him up / take him back down. Or how cranky Wilbur gets if you don't take him out on joy rides in the car every couple days.

Hopefully the dry runs will give both us and the sitters more comfort! Fingers crossed.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Cute photos! I’m glad she’s better.

You will find with raw food that the poop is really different. It doesn’t smell, they don’t produce as much, and they might not poop as often. Liv poops about every other day. It’s totally different.

You are lucky to find a petsitter experienced with FD. I know what you mean about leaving with an FD cat. We travelled a lot before Gracie’s dx but after, one of us would always be here with her so we went nowhere together for 5.5 years except one anniversary when another FDMB member who lived near us came and stayed with her. He was the only one we would trust and his partner cared for their FD cat. It’s really hard to leave them……

I would suggest you start to drain her depot with a 0.25u decrease a few days before you leave and see what she does with it. If her BG is still too low for your comfort, you can do another 0.25u. When Sienne had to leave Gabby for a business trip, Gabby wouldn’t let anyone test her so Sienne dropped her dose back by half, as I remember, just to keep her safe and Gabby always recovered just fine.

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

Cute photos! I’m glad she’s better.

You will find with raw food that the poop is really different. It doesn’t smell, they don’t produce as much, and they might not poop as often. Liv poops about every other day. It’s totally different.

You are lucky to find a petsitter experienced with FD. I know what you mean about leaving with an FD cat. We travelled a lot before Gracie’s dx but after, one of us would always be here with her so we went nowhere together for 5.5 years except one anniversary when another FDMB member who lived near us came and stayed with her. He was the only one we would trust and his partner cared for their FD cat. It’s really hard to leave them……

I would suggest you start to drain her depot with a 0.25u decrease a few days before you leave and see what she does with it. If her BG is still too low for your comfort, you can do another 0.25u. When Sienne had to leave Gabby for a business trip, Gabby wouldn’t let anyone test her so Sienne dropped her dose back by half, as I remember, just to keep her safe and Gabby always recovered just fine.

Thanks Marje! I'm excited to see what the new diet does for her once she's fully transitioned, and hopefully we can figure out a way to balance the carbs too.

The sitters were both experienced with injections but I don't think they'd done blood glucose testing. Moonie is pretty cooperative so I'm hoping she'll let them do it - but my paranoia is partly why I've lined up three separate sitters and are doing dry runs with all three.

It pains me to think about temporarily messing up Moonie's numbers, which have been so great recently, but I know safety comes first and it's unreasonable to expect Parker to live like a hermit forever. What numbers do you think we should be aiming for a few days prior to departure? Should we be getting her consistently in the blues, nadirs in the 90s? Thank you again!

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Thanks Marje! I'm excited to see what the new diet does for her once she's fully transitioned, and hopefully we can figure out a way to balance the carbs too.

The sitters were both experienced with injections but I don't think they'd done blood glucose testing. Moonie is pretty cooperative so I'm hoping she'll let them do it - but my paranoia is partly why I've lined up three separate sitters and are doing dry runs with all three.

It pains me to think about temporarily messing up Moonie's numbers, which have been so great recently, but I know safety comes first and it's unreasonable to expect Parker to live like a hermit forever. What numbers do you think we should be aiming for a few days prior to departure? Should we be getting her consistently in the blues, nadirs in the 90s? Thank you again!

I would feel better about nadirs in maybe mid 100s.

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

I would feel better about nadirs in maybe mid 100s.

Makes sense thanks Marje! I'll try not to freak out looking at the numbers all week from another country

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Makes sense thanks Marje! I'll try not to freak out looking at the numbers all week from another country

Where are you going?

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

Where are you going?

Ireland! I've never been so I'm excited to go

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Ireland! I've never been so I'm excited to go

It’s wonderful there. Dublin is a really fun city so don’t miss out on the Book of Kells at Trinity University. The Long Hall is a great pub. EPIC is truly epic and the Jeanie Johnston is definitely worth the visit. Don’t forget the Jameson Brewery The Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin is not to be missed along with the Cathedrals and Kilmainhaim Gaol.

Are you going in a tour or on your own? We based in Dublin for 17 days and then just rented a car for a couple so we could drive to Cliffs of Moher and other sites out west and also south towards Rock of Cashel and Limerick on the second day.

If you buy LEAP visitor passes, you can use trams, trains, and buses. We also took the DART out of Dublin east to the coast to Malahide and did the beach walk to Portmarnock. We also took it to Howth which was great. On another day, we took the DART east again to Dalkey which we LOVED and hiked to Killiney where Bono lives. .

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

It’s wonderful there. Dublin is a really fun city so don’t miss out on the Book of Kells at Trinity University. The Long Hall is a great pub. EPIC is truly epic and the Jeanie Johnston is definitely worth the visit. Don’t forget the Jameson Brewery The Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin is not to be missed along with the Cathedrals and Kilmainhaim Gaol.

Are you going in a tour or on your own? We based in Dublin for 17 days and then just rented a car for a couple so we could drive to Cliffs of Moher and other sites out west and also south towards Rock of Cashel and Limerick on the second day.

If you buy LEAP visitor passes, you can use trams, trains, and buses. We also took the DART out of Dublin east to the coast to Malahide and did the beach walk to Portmarnock. We also took it to Howth which was great. On another day, we took the DART east again to Dalkey which we LOVED and hiked to Killiney where Bono lives. .

Ohhh thank you so much for the recommendations! We're just going on our own and we'll be there for a week. I wasn't sure exactly what we should do, but now I have some very good ideas thanks to you

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Ohhh thank you so much for the recommendations! We're just going on our own and we'll be there for a week. I wasn't sure exactly what we should do, but now I have some very good ideas thanks to you

Will you just be in Dublin?

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

Will you just be in Dublin?

I think we start in Dublin for 2 days or so, but head to Kinsale for the rest of the trip as a base camp! Hopefully we can fit at least some of these in during our Dublin time! Worst case we'll have to come back

 

[Wendy&Neko]

We get people to post and ask for petsitter recommendations quite a bit closer to departure. A lot can happen before then.

Ireland is great, so much to do. We stayed at a friends parents place across the street from the Malahide Castle (worth a visit) to start. It was a quick hop to Dublin. Trinity College has great architecture. Keep an eye out for interesting statues around town. After a week in Dublin we drove a loop down south and west, ending up at Galway, where we joined up with a 6 day horse back riding trip across Galway to the coast. Where we went swimming with the horses. Took the train back to Dublin and stayed in Bray a couple nights. Another highlight place to stay was Ballymaloe House, near Cork. You can stay as guests and they have a cooking school there so fabulous dinners.

If you like gardens, Powerscourt Gardens is worth a stop and on the route back Hunter's Hotel is a locals stop for tea out in the garden. Both are part of a day trip we did south of Dublin.

head to Kinsale for the rest of the trip as a base camp

Blarney Castle is overrated but the Drombeg Stone Circle is worth it. Incredible fuschia hedgerows on the way. Ballymaloe House can be booked just for dinner and not far from Cork. Cork was a good wander, especially the harbour. My ancestors left Ireland from Cork.

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

We get people to post and ask for petsitter recommendations quite a bit closer to departure. A lot can happen before then.

Ireland is great, so much to do. We stayed at a friends parents place across the street from the Malahide Castle (worth a visit) to start. It was a quick hop to Dublin. Trinity College has great architecture. Keep an eye out for interesting statues around town. After a week in Dublin we drove a loop down south and west, ending up at Galway, where we joined up with a 6 day horse back riding trip across Galway to the coast. Where we went swimming with the horses. Took the train back to Dublin and stayed in Bray a couple nights. Another highlight place to stay was Ballymaloe House, near Cork. You can stay as guests and they have a cooking school there so fabulous dinners.

If you like gardens, Powerscourt Gardens is worth a stop and on the route back Hunter's Hotel is a locals stop for tea out in the garden. Both are part of a day trip we did south of Dublin.

Blarney Castle is overrated but the Drombeg Stone Circle is worth it. Incredible fuschia hedgerows on the way. Ballymaloe House can be booked just for dinner and not far from Cork. Cork was a good wander, especially the harbour. My ancestors left Ireland from Cork.

Oh wow! Now I'm really excited to go. 6 day horse back riding trip + swimming with horses sounds magical.

Between this and Marje's recommendations, I'm now convinced that we're going to have to go back. I don't know how we're going to fit it all in - Parker and I were talking about our next trips being a "cats around the world trip" (Greece, Turkey, Japan, etc)

In all seriousness I think our next trip should be a domestic one where we can drive and bring Moonie... we have at least one cat who LOVES car rides so I'm convinced she can learn to love it for treats.

 

[Dyana]

I would love that 6 day horseback trip. I'm mostly Irish and have never been there.

I used to take J.D. with me on vacations. For 8 years (until he was 19) of flying back and forth from New Jersey to California to visit my Dad. We also went on many long road trips to Pittsburgh PA for FDMB reunions once a year back in the day,

 

[Tim & Pookey]

Pittsburgh PA for FDMB reunions once a year back in the day,

Did people from FDMB get to meet J.D. in person? How fun that would be.

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

Best fish and chips in Dublin is Leo Bullock's, across from Christ Church Cathedral.
Bewley's on Grafton St. is a tradition for afternoon tea. Established in the 1920s. It's become quite touristy though, and expensive.
You can find the Georgian houses on the south side of Merrion Square. It's a nice place to rest your weary legs. And there is a fantastic statue of Oscar Wilde at the corner of Merrion Square West and Nassau Street.
The Ferryman down near the docks is the oldest pub in Dublin.
Ballymaloe House is legendary. I have their cookbook and make their brown bread recipe all the time.

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

Best fish and chips in Dublin is Leo Bullock's, across from Christ Church Cathedral.
Bewley's on Grafton St. is a tradition for afternoon tea. Established in the 1920s. It's become quite touristy though, and expensive.
You can find the Georgian houses on the south side of Merrion Square. It's a nice place to rest your weary legs. And there is a fantastic statue of Oscar Wilde at the corner of Merrion Square West and Nassau Street.
The Ferryman down near the docks is the oldest pub in Dublin.
Ballymaloe House is legendary. I have their cookbook and make their brown bread recipe all the time.

Wow thank you! I had no idea that there was such a wealth of Ireland knowledge on this forum. I thought it was just for feline diabetes… little did I know that it was also a repository for world class Ireland travel tips and destinations

In all seriousness thank you so much everyone. It’s been amazing to get everyone’s recommendations and focus on all of the adventures ahead vs. my anxiety of leaving Moonie for a week. Hopefully I’ll come back renewed and energized to be an even better mom to her

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

We also went on many long road trips to Pittsburgh PA for FDMB reunions once a year back in the day,

Did people from FDMB get to meet J.D. in person? How fun that would be.

Wait that would be so fun to meet the FDMB kitties in person (the humans too)! I’m bummed that the reunions stopped though I imagine it’s incredibly difficult to coordinate with so many members living in different cities and states and countries.

 

[squeem3]

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/fdmb-meet-ups-reunions.23/

Mostly local meet ups but there was a larger PA-area yearly meet up that was open to any member. The last one was in 2019: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/2019-pgh-reunion.215121/ Thread doesn't have as many posts as previous reunion ones. COVID probably put an end to the yearly reunion.