Boarding Diabetic Cat

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Helgaursula

Helgaursula

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Hi, I have hip replacements and I might need surgery. I am wondering, what to do with my cat Toby. I have been thinking of boarding him with either a Vet or a cattery (Melbourne, Northwest). It would be too difficult to let him stay with family (one lot has pets and the other one does not allow pets into the house). Maybe somebody could come to the house. At the moment I just want to organise it, in case I need to be away. Thanks for any help.
 
I have had hip replacement surgery. It required a relatively brief hospital stay. I have a wonderful cat sitter who would come to the house to care for my cats. She had taken care of my cats previously and knew everything about giving insulin, feeding schedule, etc. Once I was home, I also had her come by to scoop the kitty litter. You will not be able to bend over for several weeks so litter is an issue. Having someone who can manage the litter until you're able to bend is a plus or you can get a long handled litter scoop (I found mine on Amazon).

If you use a cat sitter, I would suggest having the person come by and go over instructions with them. At the minimum, you need to be sure they know how to draw up the dose of insulin and give a shot. Do not accept that "I know how." as a good answer. Ask the person to show you how they would draw up the dose. (We've had a sitter give a 5.0u dose when the cat was supposed to be getting 0.5u of insulin.) I often tell members to leave a sample syringe that has colored water at the dose amount or send the sitter a photo of a syringe with your dose.)

Helga -- I hope you don't mind my making a suggestion. This is the link to our dosing methods for glargine. I suspect you're seeing so much variability with Toby's numbers due to the way you're dosing. Glargine needs more than one cycle for a dose to stabilize. Depending on the dosing approach, the minimum time at a dose is 3 days unless a reduction is indicated.
 
Hi Helga, it is good to hear from you after quite a while. How is your beautiful Toby?
I know you keep in contact with @Bandit's Mom every so often.
How much insulin is Toby getting at the moment?
I don’t know how good your vet is or if they check over night but a vet might be better than a cattery unless they are used to giving insulin. Someone coming to the house might be best I think for you. Do you think Toby will eat OK if you are not there?
 
Hi Sienne and Gabby, Thanks for your reply. I actually had hip replacements on both legs (in 2008 and 2014), but lately, I seem to be getting some problems with one leg (an X-ray did not show anything). I just wanted to be prepared and investigate, while there is time. Toby has a mobile Vet. He gets insulin via an Optisulin Solarstar pen (4 U in the morning and 3 U in the evening). The Vet tests, when she comes and every now and then he has a Libre. If the kitty litter might be problematic, maybe a stay in a cattery would be best (there are some that accept sugar babies).
 
Hi Bron (and Sheba), Toby seems to be handing in there. He was diagnosed in 21 and I still use the Optisulin Solarstar pen (he had 4 U morning and 3 U night). Every now and then he get a Libre. The Vet also comes and tests his BG. At the moment I am not sure, whether my hip needs an operation or not. However, I wanted to have all arrangements in place. So far an X-ray has not shown any problems. I still have the same Vet. She used to be a mobile Vet, but now she has a practice, but still comes to my place. She always takes a BG reading. He seems fairly stable and he always likes his food. He might need dental treatment, but so far I have chickened out. He get Royal Canin, Easy Weight, wet food (as he will not eat the Diabetic one) and also some Royal Canin, Vet Diet, Diabetes, kibbles. He also has a bit of Fancy Feast Pate as well as Dine Pure Tuna Whitemeat. I do what I can, but testing would be difficult. Even the Vet has trouble with his ears (no blood) and I do not like the paws as he digs with them and he also does not like them to be touched). Hope you are well.
 
It is so good to hear from you how things are going. You have to do things that work for you. It sounds like your vet is good. Give Toby a big Pat from me. Take care of yourself.
 
I too remember you from when you joined and have often wondered how you and Toby are doing. I hope you don’t have to have surgery. Best wishes to you both.
 
Hi JL, thanks for your answer. I also hope that surgery won't be necessary. I talked to the family and they would try and make it easy for me and Toby. Hope it will all work out.
 
If you could find someone to come to the house to do it that would probably be the easiest on the cat and the least expenisive. Maybe a vet tech at the vet's office would be available.
 
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