? Insulin Shots With a Sitter for Thanksgiving? I'm Terrified.

[Snickers and Chrissy]

Hi, I hope I'm posting this in the right spot. I'm still new to this. Snickers was only diagnosed about two weeks ago, 11-06-19. Her numbers right now seem to be ranging between 185-72 using the Alpha Trak 2. She's on Lantus. Started out on 1 unit twice a day then dropped down to .5 two days ago.

We're going out of town Thanksgiving week for a few days, and have a neighbor coming to do the shots. They don't mind, but they can't monitor her blood sugar all day and I think they're iffy about pricking her ears. The insulin needle they don't mind though.

I'm soooo terrified that Snickers will drop too low while we're gone. We're leaving Monday and will be back Saturday, so gone five days and nights. We're still trying to figure out her dosing, because it's only been two weeks and already her numbers dropped from 450 and 550 to 185 and 70.

Do you think that telling the sitter to do .25 units twice a day while we're gone makes sense? Would that be safe? Does anyone ever just do insulin once a day, or is that a terrible, terrible idea?

My vet says we can board her there, but that seems like a bad idea too. They won't check her glucose every two hours, and she'll just be stressed which will give them false readings anyway, right? Not totally sure what to do and need honest opinions. Is it a terrible idea to go away right now since this is all still new?

Any opinions and thoughts welcome.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

This is what we did with Noah.
He was beyond nervous, had never been crated once in his life and was in failing health at the age of 15 when a week long trip made boarding him a necessity. If a sitter came in the house he'd be hiding in the basement for an hour. It was not a vacation and I was physically ill thinking about it.
Only because I have been doing this a long time with two cats was I comfortable not having him checked every two hours. Some people get up in the middle of the night, every night, some don't. Noah's PM dose was always 2/3 of what I would otherwise give him, the cats here are all seniors and there's not much nocturnal activity.
If you are new at this do not take this as specific advice, every cat is different. This is just what worked for us. Personally I'd feel better leaving a cat with a medical professional but make it clear to them what you expect and leave it in writing. Talk to the vet and the lead tech.
When I came home Noah had actually gained weight and his numbers were fine, little miracles happen all the time.

 

[Snickers and Chrissy]

Thanks so much for your reply! I really appreciate it.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

I believe you settled on a dose of 0.25u to try for now with the help of folks on the Lantus board., I suggest you get as much testing in as you can in the next couple of days and then post on Lantus to get some suggestions of how to proceed based on the readings you have been getting on Sunday. Usually folks change the dose a couple of days before departure but that doesn't give you much time to see how the 0.25u dose is working for Snickers. Sorry but I think you need to see how that dose is working before making any decisions.

 

[Karen&Rocket]

Another thing I would add is that .25 units is soooooo very small - what others have done is leave a sample syringe filled with colored liquid showing exactly how much to inject. That way you don't have a mistake where they put in 2.5 units, or whatever. I agree with Dickson; under-dosing while you're away is usually a good idea, but that may be difficult for a sitter with such a small dose.

 

[Snickers and Chrissy]

I believe you settled on a dose of 0.25u to try for now with the help of folks on the Lantus board., I suggest you get as much testing in as you can in the next couple of days and then post on Lantus to get some suggestions of how to proceed based on the readings you have been getting on Sunday. Usually folks change the dose a couple of days before departure but that doesn't give you much time to see how the 0.25u dose is working for Snickers. Sorry but I think you need to see how that dose is working before making any decisions.

Thanks MrWorfMensMom! I posted for advice so I'm happy to get it. I think one person suggested trying .25 units if I wanted to but nothing was settled on. We're gonna try .5 for the next couple days since we really haven't had much time on that and see how that goes for now. Thanks so much!

 

[Snickers and Chrissy]

Another thing I would add is that .25 units is soooooo very small - what others have done is leave a sample syringe filled with colored liquid showing exactly how much to inject. That way you don't have a mistake where they put in 2.5 units, or whatever. I agree with Dickson; under-dosing while you're away is usually a good idea, but that may be difficult for a sitter with such a small dose.

That's a great idea about the syringe Keskat and Rocket. Thank you!

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Is your sitter able to test? As mentioned, most folks reduce the dose for vacations and let kitty run a little higher while they are away. Given how close Snickers has dropped to the low end of what is considered normal on the 0.5u dose, if I was you, I'd reduce to 0.25u now and see how that works to ensure Snickers stays safe in your absence especially if your sitter doesn't test or only tests pre-shot. Safety first. You can get back on track when you get home.

 

[Snickers and Chrissy]

Is your sitter able to test? As mentioned, most folks reduce the dose for vacations and let kitty run a little higher while they are away. Given how close Snickers has dropped to the low end of what is considered normal on the 0.5u dose, if I was you, I'd reduce to 0.25u now and see how that works to ensure Snickers stays safe in your absence especially if your sitter doesn't test or only tests pre-shot. Safety first. You can get back on track when you get home.

Thanks Mr.WorfMen's Mom. I think maybe we'll do that. I'll double check with the sitter too. My brother just told me he's willing to come by and spot check her in the afternoon, so that's good at least.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

I've learned the hard way to make sure someone understands what it is I expect. We use two clinics for different needs; one has known me forever but is a bit old school, the other where we boarded Noah is much smaller but has a lot more technical toys. Digital x-rays on I-pads, he does his own blood work in house.
I made an appointment there with the vet and head tech at a time when Noah was due for a shot. They didn't just nod, "yah, we know this stuff already", they were surprised at how nervous he really was (peed on the exam table), had a different term for tenting and the vet had never heard of the Somogyi Effect. I like this vet because instead of getting into a snit that I knew something he didn't he asked me if he could keep what I had already printed for him. He also answers his cell phone 24/7!
The lesson is never assume anything when you leave a pet with someone else. Print out everything, go over it with them line by line. If you board ask to see the room, is it quiet, do the lights dim, are there barking dogs next door etc.
What Linda said about getting in as much testing as you can. Your meter should have a memory function and together with your spreadsheet anyone competent can get a feel for what's going on. If you set one up here you can grant access to someone else. I did my own spreadsheets in Excel (bad habit / OCD) so you'll have to ask someone else about that. Good luck and try not to tear your hair out, we all miss even tiny vacations.

 

[Snickers and Chrissy]

I've learned the hard way to make sure someone understands what it is I expect. We use two clinics for different needs; one has known me forever but is a bit old school, the other where we boarded Noah is much smaller but has a lot more technical toys. Digital x-rays on I-pads, he does his own blood work in house.
I made an appointment there with the vet and head tech at a time when Noah was due for a shot. They didn't just nod, "yah, we know this stuff already", they were surprised at how nervous he really was (peed on the exam table), had a different term for tenting and the vet had never heard of the Somogyi Effect. I like this vet because instead of getting into a snit that I knew something he didn't he asked me if he could keep what I had already printed for him. He also answers his cell phone 24/7!
The lesson is never assume anything when you leave a pet with someone else. Print out everything, go over it with them line by line. If you board ask to see the room, is it quiet, do the lights dim, are there barking dogs next door etc.
What Linda said about getting in as much testing as you can. Your meter should have a memory function and together with your spreadsheet anyone competent can get a feel for what's going on. If you set one up here you can grant access to someone else. I did my own spreadsheets in Excel (bad habit / OCD) so you'll have to ask someone else about that. Good luck and try not to tear your hair out, we all miss even tiny vacations.

Thank you so much. It really helps to know other people's experiences.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

So Snickers was a barn cat! You probably just added ten years to her life.
This is a good place to be Chrissy.

 

[Snickers and Chrissy]

So Snickers was a barn cat! You probably just added ten years to her life.
This is a good place to be Chrissy.

Yes! She was! Thank you so much. She's such a sweet girl and we adore her, even with all the health problems she came with. We're slowly sorting it all out and she's better every day.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

A couple of thoughts....

• Post with the area where you liven in the subject line. There may be an FDMB person in the vicinity. They will know how to test and shoot.
• Consider seeing if there's a vet tech who can take care of your cat.

If you page through Gabby's spreadsheet, you'll see when I was traveling. I lowered Gabby's dose. My petsitter came in twice a day to shoot. Gabby would not permit anyone, and I do mean anyone except me to test. She clearly warned people off -- she was a tortie with all of the attitude attributed to those kitties, a momma's girl, a diva, and fundamentally disliked most people with only a few exceptions. I was happy my sitter could get insulin in her without an argument.

 

[Snickers and Chrissy]

A couple of thoughts....

• Post with the area where you liven in the subject line. There may be an FDMB person in the vicinity. They will know how to test and shoot.
• Consider seeing if there's a vet tech who can take care of your cat.

If you page through Gabby's spreadsheet, you'll see when I was traveling. I lowered Gabby's dose. My petsitter came in twice a day to shoot. Gabby would not permit anyone, and I do mean anyone except me to test. She clearly warned people off -- she was a tortie with all of the attitude attributed to those kitties, a momma's girl, a diva, and fundamentally disliked most people with only a few exceptions. I was happy my sitter could get insulin in her without an argument.

Thanks so much! I'm glad to hear you figured something out with your sitter and it worked out ok. That makes me feel better

I checked with the vet techs at my vets place but no one could do it. My brother will be checking her BG and my neighbor is giving the shots. So it's all working out I guess. I'm still nervous though.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

when I was traveling. I lowered Gabby's dose

I did this as well. There's a clever saying about this but I cannot recall it right now. Basically it was easier for me to deal with a few days of higher numbers than one hour of borderline low. I never did get Noah regulated but he had multiple health issues too long to go into here.

 

[Snickers and Chrissy]

I did this as well. There's a clever saying about this but I cannot recall it right now. Basically it was easier for me to deal with a few days of higher numbers than one hour of borderline low. I never did get Noah regulated but he had multiple health issues too long to go into here.

Thanks so much for your input! My husband and I have decided to cut our trip a little shorter and go low with the dose while we're away. My brother will help check the BG, though he can't be here 24/7. I think it will work out though.