Cat Sitter Woes

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Becky Young

Becky Young

Member Since 2017
Hey guys,

Based on suggestions here I hired a cat sitter to help give Davis his insulin while I am not able to be home. She is a former vet tech with lots of experience doing glucose tests and helping with insulin. She came over to meet Davis before I left and I showed her exactly how I do his BG test and insulin. I'm gone almost 15 days in June so she's going to be with Davis a lot. I'm out of state right now and she has been going to our house 2x day to test, feed and administer insulin to Davis and things have not gone well.

3 out of 5 times she has gone over so far, Davis has high BG (350-400) but refuses to eat his FF so she can't give him his insulin. He is snacking on Young Again while the sitter is gone, but he's throwing it up and having diahrreah afterwards (probably because he's hungry from not eating his FF so he's overdoing it on YA). This morning she found he has thrown up 3 different times.

She's seen him for 3 days and he's only had 2 or 3 doses of insulin so far. I have 3 more trips in June and will wind up paying her over $1000 and I'm just so upset that that it's not going well. I'm so confused because he LOVES his FF and he usually eats every last bite. She keeps asking me what I want her to do to try and help him and I have no clue.

I'm worried that the progress I've made with administering his insulin is being erased by all the doses he is missing. I have no idea what to do because I'm 1,000 miles from home. Maybe he's just stressed that a stranger is testing him? Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?
 
I'm sorry to hear that your kitty and his sitter are having such difficulties. I have a cat who is uninclined to eat well when he is being cared for at the vets office because he is so stressed. I've learned a few things over the years which may be helpful to you.
1. Feliway spray is very helpful for calming my kitty. The vets office sprays it on the blanket they put over the front of his cage. It can also be purchased in a diffuser which can be plugged in near the eating area. This really helps my kitty at home.
2. They always have to assist feed my kitty for a couple of days when he first arrives until he settles in and starts eating well on his own.
3. The most helpful thing for my kitty is a B12 injection given after he's been at the vets office for a day. Sometimes the vets office will also give him mirtazapine to help him eat.

Although these are things we've done when Radar had to be at the kennel, you could have the sitter try them and see what helps your kitty. It is especially wonderful that your sitter is a vet tech and has the training to do this more complex care.

These are for you :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug: As I know how hard it is to be away when the kitty needs you. Hang in there.
 
In addition to Jan's suggestions, could you get some FortiFlora for sitter to sprinkle on his food? What insulin? And would she be able to test for ketones?
 
Devils advocate. "Former" vet tech? I have a friend at my vet's office who just couldn't be bothered keeping up with annual dues (Canada) and the required yearly reeducation. She still has the smarts but is happy being a Mom and with the her employer so she has let the Tech part go. Injections, curves, eating and litter box remains are part science, part interpretation. Now she's a stranger to Davis and your love is absent. Maybe she's great or maybe she's like my cousin, not changing the water or litter as often as required, a pile of filthy dishes in the sink, then everything gets cleaned up in the last 24 hours. Obviously you put some thought into choosing her but what if she's not what she appears to be?
"She keeps asking me what I want her to do to try" ??? There's something wrong there. Check her credentials and if it comes to that ask for Davis to be taken in for a checkup. It's your cat and a boatload of money, you have every right to ask, DEMAND, that this be done. Then call your vet and confirm what you asked for has been done.
Soon we will be flying off to a funeral 5,000 miles away so I'm on your side. Sorry to be so negative but this is not someone watering your plants.
 
Sorry to hear things are so hard. Do you mind my asking how much you're paying her per visit? Asking as I need to hire a vet tech to do the same thing, sigh, while I'm gone for 2 weeks :(. Thank you.
 
If you are wanting to include dry food Dr Elsey has a new lower carb food out 4.9% carb
My cats all got sick on young again but so far so good with Dr Elsey. They only have chicken right now and salmon is coming.
 
Sorry to hear about the pet sitter woes. We tried to keep our kitty Leo at a pet hospital. He stopped eating there, and lost over 1 pound in 10 days (to 17 to less than 16 pounds). Little Dude is similar (not diabetic). He was in a bad cat fight and barely ate anything at the cat hospital for 10 days.

For that reason I try to keep all our cats a little overweight. Then when they get stressed, the lack of food is not as harsh on their bodies. Maybe your kitteh is still getting used to the sitter. Or kitteh could be stressed because you aren't there.
 
When I left for my 3 week trip to Indonesia - I ,like you, sourced a cat sitter that was a former vet tech. Jones didn't really eat for 4-5 days. Why? I was gone and his routine is messed up - some new to test and give injection and my DH was feeding. My CKD kitty stopped eating too. Both were not great eaters to start with but the change in routine was enough to upset them. She was great and my DH, which was home watched her do her routine, said they loved her and came running when she came.

My sitter did keep the dose as with Lantus the few bites he was getting was enough to give the small dose he was one. The only issue really was the dose changes she made. In the end, she set up an account on here and posted. I would highly recommend that your sitter does the same. She can get advice on dose etc.
 
Becky Young said:
She is a former vet tech with lots of experience doing glucose tests and helping with insulin. She came over to meet Davis before I left and I showed her exactly how I do his BG test and insulin.
>She is a former tech. How "former"? 10 years?
She's going to be with Davis a lot. What's her definition of a lot? 10 minutes or an hour?
3 out of 5 times .... Davis has high BG (350-400) but refuses to eat his FF so she can't give him his insulin.
> None of us are made of money but if you board Davis at a vet he will get his insulin, no explanation necessary.
This morning she found he has thrown up 3 different times.
> Those are the ones she found. We have a huge basement with lots of secret places diarrhea and vomit can't be found without a flashlight.
I'm paying her over$1000 and I'm just so upset that that it's not going well.
> Sorry, this is a mean thing to say but what price are you willing to pay for peace of mind? That $1,000 could turn into $4,000 if Davis has to spend 10 days at the vet undoing the damage caused by your sitter.
I'm so confused....She keeps asking me what I want her to do to try and help him and I have no clue.
> She's the tech, part of having a "clue" is why she went to school.
I have no idea what to do because I'm 1,000 miles from home.
> As I said before, we will be leaving in a big hurry, possibly a week, possibly two months, for a funeral across the continent. It could conceivably turn into three funerals. If we come home and have one less cat we will NEVER have to wonder if we did the right thing because Noah will be boarded at our vet. Not ideal but it's our only choice. I'm sorry to be so negative.
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Sorry, that was missed up. "Click to expand" Becky and this will make the whole story make more sense. Anyone else wanting to chime in will NOT hurt my feelings. It's about Davis, not me.
 
Noah & me said:
Sorry, that was missed up. "Click to expand" Becky and this will make the whole story make more sense. Anyone else wanting to chime in will NOT hurt my feelings. It's about Davis, not me.
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Is there a friend/family that is familiar to Davis that might be willing to come over a few times during feeding time to be the familiar face for him? Has the pet sitter taken some time to just be there with the food out (sit on the floor beside the bowl and pet him)? Can the food be left out to eat while pet sitter is not there? How much is pet sitter willing to do? Can PS go and get FortiFlora from a pet store? It doesn't take much - literally a sprinkle on top of the food. Another thing that Gizmo goes crazy for is PureBites Duck liver (crushed up and sprinkled on top) (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058R11OO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I think you (PS) can get them at PetSmart or PetCo. Tuna juice on top of food?

I am so sorry this is happening - it is such a hopeless feeling when you are there and they won't eat, I can't imagine being 100's of miles away and have it happening.
 
Angel's mommie said:
Sorry to hear things are so hard. Do you mind my asking how much you're paying her per visit? Asking as I need to hire a vet tech to do the same thing, sigh, while I'm gone for 2 weeks :(. Thank you.
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We are paying about $17 per visit, around $34 per day. The other people I've talked to were pretty similar, but she is licensed and insured so she charges a bit more than someone who is just doing it for a little extra cash.
 
LizzieInTexas said:
Is there a friend/family that is familiar to Davis that might be willing to come over a few times during feeding time to be the familiar face for him? Has the pet sitter taken some time to just be there with the food out (sit on the floor beside the bowl and pet him)? Can the food be left out to eat while pet sitter is not there? How much is pet sitter willing to do? Can PS go and get FortiFlora from a pet store? It doesn't take much - literally a sprinkle on top of the food. Another thing that Gizmo goes crazy for is PureBites Duck liver (crushed up and sprinkled on top) (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058R11OO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I think you (PS) can get them at PetSmart or PetCo. Tuna juice on top of food?

I am so sorry this is happening - it is such a hopeless feeling when you are there and they won't eat, I can't imagine being 100's of miles away and have it happening.
Click to expand...
I talked my mother in-law to coming over once per day to just hang out with him and pet him. She's got issues with needles and doesn't want the responsibility of doing insulin but it's nice for him to have a familiar face! The sitter reported a great day yesterday...Davis ate both meals and got his insulin on schedule. Phew, maybe he just needed a few days to get used to someone new. Hopefully he will do well again the rest of this week while I'm gone!
 
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