Does anyone here ever get to go on vacation/holiday?

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Ruth and Rhinog

Ruth and Rhinog

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Hi,

We are supposed to be going away for a week on Saturday. We booked it at the beginning of the year when Rhinog was OTJ. Now he's back on insulin it doesn't look like we'll be going. The kids are going to be so disappointed.

We are staying in the UK but the owner of the cottages we have rented won't let me take Rhinog.

I can't believe there is a cattery in this country that would be comfortable giving 0.25 units. We can't prefill syringes. Our only option is to train a friend or member of the family up to do it. But could I ever trust them?

What does everyone else do?

Ruth
 
Re: Does anyone here ever get to go on vacation/hoilday?

that's exactly what i did. my fiance finally, after something like 2.5+ years decided he'd take on the test/shoot thing and it worked out really well actually. of course, he'd heard everything there was about feline diabetes before hand so he had a pretty good idea about things in general before he took needle in hand. so much so that when she threw him a couple loops while i was gone, he called me just to make sure what he was thinking was correct. and it was :)

personally, i will never go far enough away from home without either fiance or my vet being available to take care of her. the only other option i would consider is taking her with me. going places just isn't that important to me :) packing and traveling is work man and I work plenty already! LOL!!
 
Re: Does anyone here ever get to go on vacation/hoilday?

Find someone you can trust, who will test and shoot for you.

Also, to make it easier so there are NO mistakes, take colored water and fill a used syringe to the level you want them to go to and tell the person check the insulin syringe against the colored water one.

And put a dark mark on the syringes the person will use as the FILL TO line.

Hope this helps.

Oh and you and your family are allowed to take a vacation!
 
Re: Does anyone here ever get to go on vacation/hoilday?

Well, DH and I have taken separate vacations for several years so one of us has always been home with the kitties. (4 out of 5 require daily medication)

With thought of traveling/camping, when I bought a station wagon, I bought a large dog crate - planning to take the diabetic cat with us -- now we have two though (just adopted a second diabetic in March), so I don't think it will work (they don't like each other yet).

My vet will board diabetic cats, but they only get one shot per day because no one is at the clinic during the night (years ago, they arrived in the morning to a hypoglycemic cat, so now - no evening shot). We've been reluctant to leave our well-regulated kitties there. (we do not have kids)

Good luck!
 
Re: Does anyone here ever get to go on vacation/hoilday?

I lucked into an awesome petsitter, who while she had no experience was willing to learn. So I taught her to test and shoot and left lots of printed and highlighted instructions for feeding, what to do if the pre-shot number was too low, etc. She's reliable, she's willing to stick around through hypo situations if one should sneak up on us, and I was lucky as heck to have found her.

Many vet techs petsit on the side so you could ask around to see if one in your area would be willing to come in twice a day to care for your kitty. They'd already be familiar with giving shots at least.

Most recently, I left hubby behind to deal with the 7 critters while youngerson and I drove to Georgia to attend my oldest's graduation from basic training. I still hired the pet sitter to come in to let the dogs out during the day but hubby was able to do the rest.
 
Re: Does anyone here ever get to go on vacation/hoilday?

I used a vet tech from my vet's office. Maybe ask if someone from the vet's office will do pet sitting?

It worked well because the vet tech was familiar with Maggie, knew how to do the shots, and what problems to look for. I taught her how to test with the home bg moniter and left detailed instructions. She had my cell number and also left messages with updates on our home phone after each visit. Because she was just there for shots, we reduced the dosage alittle. She called when there was a problem or question. She took Maggie to the vet the one time there was a problem.

I hope you find a solution and don't need to cancel your trip.
 
Re: Does anyone here ever get to go on vacation/hoilday?

One sitter we had had, came from an agency; she was diabetic herself so was aware of the drill. I just had to stress that I needed someone who was familiar with giving cats shots. The next sitter we had, ran her own business, but she was also a client/patient of our vet so the vets office reccomended her. When she moved, I then had to train my daughter, who was quite squeamish about the whole thing, but everything came out okay. Thomas has been on insulin for 9 1/2 years now, so it is wrong to think that people need to miss their vacation. You have to take care of the beans in the family as well.

Dana
 
Re: Does anyone here ever get to go on vacation/hoilday?

Hi there,

You really ought to be able to take the trip. Ask your vet techs if they can pet sit. Talk to your local rescue about a volunteer who might have diabetic experience. Do you have any nurse friends who have cats? That may provide a solution.

I actually am very fortunate. I have two people who live near me and can give my fluctuating diabetic population shots. My primary caretaker had an acrocat that I helped her diagnose. She tests, shoots and plays with them all.

My back up sitter will shoot and play, but has not tested. For short term - like an overnight - she is great. Also, sometimes the two of them split the day - one in the morning and one at night.

With my 4 diabetics (sometimes more) and 3 civies, it is important to have coverage. Just getting to family gatherings is a weekend sojourn.

Good luck

Claudia
 
Re: Does anyone here ever get to go on vacation/hoilday?

If you can't find someone that can come in to take care of your cat, ask you vet if they board pets or can recommend someone. I have boarded my cats at the vet when I still had Witn & Spot. The main reason that I boarded them was because it was impossible for anyone other than me to test Spot or give her shots. And I value my friends too much to do that to them. haha_smiley At least I knew the vets could handle her.

If you board your pets, write out very explicit instructions, including testing. I always do that with my vet's office and they always follow them. My vet and I don't agree on hometesting, but when I board my cats, they do respect my wishes about how my cats are cared for.
 
Cattery in/near Telford that will

Hi Ruth,

my friend had a cattery lady somewhere near Telford that was happy to give insulin to her cat Ronnie.
They weren't hometesting. I had the same deal here. The vet pension (cattery) wouldn't test Lucky. I therefore always cut her dose by half. Yes her numbers would run higher but it meant she was safe.

I did only put her in for no more than 3 days at a time. Heather/Jasper and I did a swap with our cats when she went to America and I went to Egypt for 3 weeks a piece. Whilst Jasper was 99% an easy cat, Lucky was the opposite. I think they got no more than a handful of insulin shots in Lucky in that time because she just went so mental. She survived the ordeal and thankfully her numbers recovered quickly on her return home.

I'll ring my friend and see if I can get the details. Your looking at roughly a 100mile trip from where you live.
 

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Re: Does anyone here ever get to go on vacation/hoilday?

Thanks for your great advice.

I think we've found a solution. My mother and father in-law have agreed to be trained up! They've just been over for an intense training session. Rhinog's ears are a little worse for wear but I think they've got it. They've just gone home with some coloured water in a vial and a syringe to practice with.

We decided that it will be easier for everyone if Rhinog goes to stay at their house. I know he will probably be quite stressed by it at first but no more than if he went to cattery or the vets. Because he is new to Lantus and we're not really sure where his nadir is I wanted there to be someone about to monitor him. At least we are only a 3 hour drive away if it does go wrong.

They will keep him shut in most of the time and take him out into the garden on a lead. We tried him with the harness and lead today. He does look funny. :lol: He's not at all botherd by the harness but as soon as I put the lead on he just sat down and refused to move. I think he'll be ok when he is there and has been shut in for a while. He will be so glad to be outside I don't think it will bother him too much.

I'm just so glad they agreed. My father in-law is not really a cat man but my mother in-law just told him it was going to happen as she knows how much we all need a holiday. I'm so grateful to them.

I'm setting Rhinog a challenge. He has 7 days to turn my father in-law into a cat lover. I think he's up to it. By the time we come back I'm sure they will be the best of friends.

Wow. I think we're going on holiday! I'd better start packing!

Ruth
 
Fabulous!!! I have boarded Chase at the vets in the past and had to, initially, teach them how to use a glucometer. It turned out to be useful training for them, as they then were able to train others. But the cost was pretty high, as they charge extra for each test and for the level two medical treatment. For my last business trip, my mother agreed to try so she could save me some money. Neither Mom or Dad are cat people either, and you should see the contraption they built to keep Chase out from behind their dryer, but they did just fine. I had to do about three run throughs so Mom was really comfortable with the whole process. If you have time, that might be a good idea. Enjoy your vacation!
 
I went on vacation last year, after training my mother how to do it. Unfortunately, once I was 3000 miles away, my mother called to inform me that he wouldn't come near her, even though he did during the trainings. So he went that week without insulin and it took me a long time to get him back under control!! I could never board him, for that would spike his levels even higher! So needless to say, no vacation for me anytime soon!

The things we do for our babies!

Jen and Smoky
 
We had to go to Nebraska a couple of weeks ago for a family emergency and we took Conner with us. He absolutely loved getting to see "Grandpa and Grandma" for a few days and play with his cat buddy, Daisy. He had so much fun playing with her at night, then, being the little social butterfly he is, he had to be where the action was, he didn't sleep much while we were there. So when we got back to Missouri, he spent a lot of time sleeping the next couple of days. Anyway, it also gave my mom a chance to practice giving Conner insulin so she will be ready when we leave for a week in December for Mexico. I am not sure if Conner will be going to my parents for that week or if my parents (and Daisy) will stay at our house that week. That is some time off yet, but we have our caregiver taken care of. It's the short trips I worry about. Needless to say, one of us usually stays home while the other one goes on a weekend trip.
 
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