cattery v sitter

Status
Not open for further replies.
carmen

carmen

Member
Hi everyone!

I'm considering leaving my 3 cats (one FD) for the first time since his diagnosis in Nov/Dec with a woman who will come twice a day to feed/inject. She's cared for the civies while Mith was in hospital and all was fine. tried her out this weekend (fri pm, all Sat, sunday am) and the only prob she had was getting him to eat sunday morning. also, when i went to inject him this evening (i use the needles twice) the needle she had used was bent. i just don't know which is safer - leave them being checked twice a day for a short period (20/30 mins per visit) twice a day, but in their own home, or try and find a cattery (they've never been in one). Mith is as stable as he will ever be - he is a 'difficult' diabetic -- he's had one proper hypo - but didnt have any symptoms - i just thought something was wrong...

I wish i could see into the future at which option was safer!!

thabnk you all for reading my ramblings :)
 
It is the eternal question, no? I had a sitter care for Willie about a month after he was diagnosed for several days. He had so much going on healthwise at that point, that I'm not sure now what to do as I'm contemplating an out of town trip for memorial day weekend. Boarding allows for more interaction and more pokes, but puts him in a new environment, whereas I worry about how little attention he gets when at home. Sorry I've got no helpful answers... just commiseration!! Anxious to see what others have to offer!
 
There is always a learning curve to taking care of our kitties I think. A bent needle could be because of it getting capped wrong; I've bent a couple doing that myself. I would think having a sitter come would be less stressful for them...any way you can just have the sitter stay at your house? I am lucky that I have a roommate willing to take care of Kazi while I am gone...makes me feel much better that someone is around to make sure she is acting normally and can check her BG if she isn't.

Out of curiosity...why are you using needles twice? There are several options for getting syringes cheaply...and using them twice is not really advisable due to the risk of infection.
 
The thing with catteries is they may require that your cats are up to date on all vaccines. Depending on how you feel about the subject, they may not accept your explanation as to why the cat(s) isn't and let the cat(s) board at their facility.

You also need to know who will be looking after your animals, how long will receive attention, will they be in cages the entire time or let out and if let out under what circumstances and conditions and what other animals may be in the room with them.

If it were me and given a choice, I'd keep my cats in their home in their own safe environment. Of course, it means finding someone that you not only trust with your loves but with your house and belongings too.

It's a challenging issue and I got very lucky that I found a cat sitter who does both boarding and house calls. We use the same vet office and she's been coming over for months now and my girls just absolutely love her.

If you happen to be in Central NJ, I could give you her name and share :-D
 
I too would opt for keeping them in their own environment, especially if you already have somene who comes over. Perhaps for the time you are away, you might change the routine to using a needle only once. It just removes one variable from the list of potential problems for a sitter.
 
Hi all

thanks for your replies

I'm in London btw!!

i only use syringes twice, with no problems so it's fine - vet is happy with that (even suggested i could use them x 3 but i wont).

my sitter can't stay with in the flat - i do trust her with my stuff etc - just scared of him being alone for the rest of the time! he's quite fussy, ie, this evening i've had to come into work without giving him any insulin as he refused to eat and his BG was 8 (144)...the sitter doesn't test. it's all so stressful!!!
 
Personally I'd go with a well trusted sitter. Your kitties would be less stressed, and so long as you trust your sitter things should go smoothly. But I get that since your sitter doesn't test and your baby can be finicky, well... its a tough decision. I wouldn't want them to shoot without testing. Very tough call...

I disagree with your vet about syringes. Any human doctor would say to use them only once. You not only risk infection from the injection site but you end up contaminating your insulin as well.
 
I had to leave my Coco for 4 nights at the vet when we went on vacation before. Vets are supposed to know what their doing >.> at least with simple injections.. When i picked him up . .they gave me about 4 prefilled syringes with his insulin.. I do not like my cats insulin prefilled in syringes .. ever! they said that they just prefilled a bunch of them the day i dropped him off to make it easier ..

They also told me they were using the syringes 2x each.. that's why they had so many left overs.. Pissed me off so bad.. I told them before hand not to. Coco has FIV and very prone to infection.. Not to mention they then re-stick a needle into my 100$ insulin vial that has been in his body before..

They didn't even refrigerate the bottle.. Needless to say.. I threw it out the day i picked him up and bought a new bottle. The prefilled syringes were at the wrong units also. I don't understand how all this could happen. but he looked horrible.. I cant trust my vet to look after him at all.. so i def wouldn't let a kennel look after him.

I wouldn't even let a cat sitter look after him, but if you need to pick, pick the cat sitter. Make sure it's someone you trust and someone who genuinely cares about your cat or else the proper care will probably be neglected.
 
Another thought, if the sitter is wlling to give insulin, you could always set it up so she gives a token dose - such as 1/2 your normal dose.

This will ensure he still gets some insulin and keeps him safer since he won't be tested and monitored while gone.

And have to agree, noit a good idea to reuse syinges. They are inexpensive enough that its not worth risking the cat or your insulin for 50p syringes. Just something to consider.
 
Hi all

thanks for your replies

i think i may go with a cattery despite knowing it will stress them out, but at least i know they are being monitored with access to a vet. my sitter says she's never had to deal with such an unstable cat and finds it stressful, so i dont think she really wants to take him on! plus, giving him a lesser dose isn't going to work as he's been DKA twice so dont want to risk that again! my vets are lovely but they only have cages, not a proper cattery. over here in the Uk we have something called the Feline Advisory bureau who have a list of catteries they approve so i may check some of them out - unfortunately none are in london but in the suburbs but i think i'll be calmer when i'm away if i know they are being checked more than 2x 30mins a day. not idea i know but i can't not go away, it's something that's been planned for a year and is important -- and it's 3 weeks so i have to be sure they'll be safe.

x
 
I think given your circumstances that you've likely chosen the right option. Make sure when you do leave them that they each have something of yours with your scent on it (eg a t-shirt you've worn and not washed). also make sure that you leave clear instructions on testing, on dosing (eg if they get a lower than usual preshot), urine testing for ketones, food, etc.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top