have to give up diabetic kitty

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becky_hamilton

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I'm new to posting on this board, but I've been checking it regularly since my cat was diagnosed in January with diabetes (and asthma). She's only 6 years old, taking 1 unit of Lantus twice a day and one puff of Flovent twice a day (from a cute little kitty aerosol spacer). She's well-regulated, eating all Fancy Feast, and doesn't seem to be in any sort of distress at all.

The problem is, my husband and I are going to be traveling regularly this coming year, and moving to a new area without a family and friend support group to help with giving meds when we're away, and we can't afford to board the cat every time we're gone.

We love our kitty (her name is Grace) and don't want to put her to sleep when she seems to be doing really well, but may end up having to do that. Ideally, we would really like to find a new family for her, possibly one that's already used to dealing with a diabetic cat, so I thought I'd try here. If there's anyone interested, please let me know - we live in Houston, Texas, and I'd be willing to drive a few hours to find her a new home where she could be happy.
 
What area are you moving to? Perhaps there will be member(s) at that location who can help with care for the kitty while you are travelling, and thus help keep her with her family.
 
We're not sure yet where we'll be living - my husband is applying for jobs all over the country - but we'll be in France for a couple weeks (can't take her) then traveling back to Houston regularly from wherever we move to, in addition to wherever else we go. When we take her in a car, she yowls the entire way then hisses, bites, and scratches for about 24 hours after we get there. Not an ideal situation.
 
But she's nice when she's at home! (Just in case you were thinking about adopting a nice cat and were disturbed by the hissing, biting and scratching image) :)
 
I feel your misery. We are faced with the same situation - as we'd like to take a one month trip and are not crazy about boarding the cat -- not only the expense, plus it'll prob. kill him thbroken heart, we think.

Don't give up yet - investigate a vet tech who might be willing to come in OR take the cat home and care for her there for a fee.

I sure hope you can come up with a solution - the heartbreak of putting her down will prob. stay with you a long time.
 
My hubby and I are retired and have done a lot of traveling. We always had a neighbor watch Mittsi and Dude when we made our trips in the past but 6 years ago Dude was diagnosed with diabetes. The vet said we'd be able to keep him about a year, probably.

Dude is a pretty mild-mannered guy but Mittsi was born to a semi-feral mom and is a tortie - with a typical tortie attitude. On any previous trips to the vet, both kitties had yowled and been extremely vocal the entire ride in the carriers.

in 2007, it was necessary for us to make a trip from Oregon to Florida - for a family wedding - and we had no one to give Dude shots, etc. without it costing up to $25/day and we were going to be gone for awhile.

We bought a large cage that would fit across the back of our van and put it in our living room - the kitties became used to being in it with some toys, their beds, etc. Then we put it in the van and began some very short drives. To make a long story short, we ended up traveling for over two months and 8,000 miles cross-country and they both fared very well and with no noise from them. There are many pet friendly motels almost everywhere now - and we were able to keep Dude's shots on schedule. We met a lot of people here on the board in our travels and it turned out very well. At first it seemed impossible but it did work out with some patience.

Now they go everywhere with us. A picnic in the park - if we'll be gone over shot time, they both are with us and we can put the cage anywhere. There are several people here on the board who have taken their kitties camping. We are planning a camping trip (day and perhaps overnight) mid-August with them.

I realize you couldn't take your baby to France, but a vet tech could probably help with the shots, etc. while you were on that trip.

I hope it can work out so that you can keep your sweet girl with you. If it's absolutely impossible, I hope you are able to find someone who can give her a good home. It's sad for you and for her if you have to give her up.

Oh, and Mittsi still hisses and spits - just ask anyone who met her along the way. But in the cage, she sleeps.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Emmy & Dude (& Mittsi too)
 
I think its great that people travel with their cats! However, in the southern part of the country especially in the summer, cars heat up amazing fast. Be very careful if you try it. Stopping for just a potty break or a quick meal could mean disaster if pets are left in a hot car, even with windows cracked. I wouldn't even trust parking in deep shade with the temps we've been having lately.
 
If you can afford a trip to France, can't you afford to board the cat while you are gone?

You definitely can take the cat with you when you travel. I've done it many a time, and that with three special needs cats. Cat Fancy recently had articles about how more and more people are traveling with their cats. Plenty of hotels now accomodate pets. There are lots of tips out there for making travel easier. One thing you should ask your vet about is some medication to make things easier for your cat. For example a small dose of acepromazine will relax the cat (not knock it out) and also acts as anti-nausea. You would also want to get the cat accustomed to a harness in preparation for travels, as well as having the cat microchipped. You might consider transitioning your cat to a Breeze catbox since this is especially easy to use when traveling (very lightweight). The Breeze pads are also very nice for lining the carrier. If your vehicle is good sized, you can buy a pop-up pet crate which gives the cat plenty room to move around in the car and also contains the cat if needed, at any hotel. I got a really big nice one for $26 at Target.

Let's face it, it's hard for a healthy cat to find a good home. A special needs animal has the deck really stacked against it. So, you just need to do some research, do some prep work, and you and your pet will be all set to go.

laur
 
Thank you for all the suggestions - it had never even occurred to me to take a cat to a hotel.

I did check with my vet today about a tech taking care of her, so that was a nice suggestion too.

You guys are fantastic!

On the downside, we're having trouble controlling her blood glucose levels and just had to up her insulin dose today, so hopefully Grace starts feeling better.
 
Don't be too discouraged by the fact that you have had to raise the insulin dose - Dude has been on insulin for over 6 years now and his doses have varied from time to time - sometimes lower - sometimes higher. As long as you can get decent numbers, you have to just work with them.

Good luck on the traveling - I am really hoping you are able to either find a vet tech to help you out or take the kitty with you on some of the trips.

Emmy & Dude (& Mittsi too)
 
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