Need thoughts for traveling with diabetic kitty at home

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Mariella & Simba

Mariella & Simba

Member Since 2018
Hello everyone. Our Simba was diagnosed in August. About ten days ago we hoped he was in remission. His AMPS blood glucose numbers trended up from 113 on Monday to 193 on Saturday, when we put him back on insulin, 1 unit. My husband's mother in Colorado (we are in Delaware) is in hospice, and we don't know when she will pass, but it is thought she has "weeks" rather than months to live. I have a pet sitter couple we used years ago "on deck", but they may not be available when we need them. The woman is a vet tech, so could maintain Simba's glucose shots. She says if she is not available, she will refer us to one of her vet tech work associates.

We will do another glucose curve on Simba this Sunday to see how he is doing back on insulin. His readings the first two mornings after we restarted him were in the mid 150's. While I am not wild about testing his blood glucose, we have done a lot of it lately, and I am more comfortable with it. Our vet now supports me using half unit syringes (she didn't at first, but has come to trust me), so I could actually put Simba on tight regulation. But, I don't feel I can expect a vet tech that I haven't seen for years to do that.

I was wondering, if when we have to go to Colorado, Simba is stabilized in the low 100's, how horrible would it be to let him go for 4-5 days without insulin? My reasons for considering that would be to 1) it would be a sure way to avoid him going hypoglycemic, and 2) he climbed from 113 to 193 in six days a week ago. While not great, it wasn't so bad either, and he seems to have quickly recovered. I would be gone only 4-5 days, hubby would probably stay longer. And, if for some reason I end up having to use a pet sitter who isn't a vet tech, then Simba would have to be in medical boarding at our vet, and he would do very poorly there. He was a feral I trapped 7 years ago, and doesn't like dogs, and they board and groom dogs too at our vet who bark all the time. I can't board him at our specialty center, as he eats freeze-dried raw food for his IBS, and they won't feed raw food to animals in their care. Being gone during the trip, with probably only two pet sitter visits a day, nobody could watch him for hypoglycemic symptoms. It just seems safer and more comfortable for him to consider suspending his glucose treatments during when I am away.
I really appreciate your thoughts. I don't know what damage can come to his progress by see-sawing around with/without insulin. Our vet said yesterday he can still go into remission, and said that because he came close, that is a good sign.

Thanks for your thoughts in advance,
Mariella & Simba
 
I taught my friend to give shots while I was gone for 3 weeks (I paid her, too). I lowered the dose, and my cat isn’t prone to steep drops in blood sugar.
My friend wasn’t willing to test, so it wasn’t completely free of risk, but he did just fine and his neuropathy improved quite a bit.
A warning: my cat’s previous owners left him without shots on vacations and he deteriorated so badly he could barely walk after 3 months. Skipping shots has serious consequences and can reduce your chances of remission.
 
Thanks for everyone's comments. I am still quite new at this (he was dx'd in August), and realize I haven't paid enough attention to ketones and the risk of ketoacidosis. He only pees 2-3 times a day, and lives upstairs because he is hostile to other cats, so it is next to impossible to catch his urine or put a strip in the stream. I am considering a blood ketone meter. There is one that measures both glucose and ketones, but it would have to be on different strips, I believe, so two pokes to test both at the same time. I will just hope/pray that one of the vet techs is available to visit him when we have to be away. Depending upon how his numbers are trending at that time, I may lower the dose to guard against hypoglycemia, although I should observe how he reacts to a dose reduction for a few days, rather than reduce and "fly away", shouldn't I? My husband and I haven't traveled together for years because of sick cats, but I must be with my husband when he buries his mother. He was there for me when I buried mine. Both are/were in a state far away.

Thanks again for all the ideas and cautions. When my vet said about a week ago, when his numbers were going low, to just take him completely off 2u of Lantus and "see how he does", he was undoubtedly at risk of ketoacidosis at that point, and I wasn't testing, so we were lucky. He should have been tapered down, which at that time she wasn't supportive of, but as of this week has said she has no problem with it.

Mariella & Simba
 
Margie and Jackson said:
I taught my friend to give shots while I was gone for 3 weeks (I paid her, too). I lowered the dose, and my cat isn’t prone to steep drops in blood sugar.
My friend wasn’t willing to test, so it wasn’t completely free of risk, but he did just fine and his neuropathy improved quite a bit.
A warning: my cat’s previous owners left him without shots on vacations and he deteriorated so badly he could barely walk after 3 months. Skipping shots has serious consequences and can reduce your chances of remission.
Click to expand...
Oh Margie that poor kitty , his previous owners leaving him without insulin shots.
How can someone do that to an animal.Jackson is such a handsome boy @Margie and Jackson
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Oh Margie that poor kitty , his previous owners leaving him without insulin shots.
How can someone do that to an animal.Jackson is such a handsome boy @Margie and Jackson
Click to expand...
We love our Jackson. The vet had to talk the owners out of euthanasia and he ended up at our excellent animal shelter. They cared for him and even cleaned his teeth! All the staff members came to me and my husband to say hello and best Jackson wishes. :bighug:
 
Mariella Ross said:
Thanks for everyone's comments. I am still quite new at this (he was dx'd in August), and realize I haven't paid enough attention to ketones and the risk of ketoacidosis. He only pees 2-3 times a day, and lives upstairs because he is hostile to other cats, so it is next to impossible to catch his urine or put a strip in the stream. I am considering a blood ketone meter. There is one that measures both glucose and ketones, but it would have to be on different strips, I believe, so two pokes to test both at the same time. I will just hope/pray that one of the vet techs is available to visit him when we have to be away. Depending upon how his numbers are trending at that time, I may lower the dose to guard against hypoglycemia, although I should observe how he reacts to a dose reduction for a few days, rather than reduce and "fly away", shouldn't I? My husband and I haven't traveled together for years because of sick cats, but I must be with my husband when he buries his mother. He was there for me when I buried mine. Both are/were in a state far away.

Thanks again for all the ideas and cautions. When my vet said about a week ago, when his numbers were going low, to just take him completely off 2u of Lantus and "see how he does", he was undoubtedly at risk of ketoacidosis at that point, and I wasn't testing, so we were lucky. He should have been tapered down, which at that time she wasn't supportive of, but as of this week has said she has no problem with it.

Mariella & Simba
Click to expand...
I was surprised how many of my friends and family offered support. You might try asking around. I also want to add that Jackson is sometimes aggressive with my other kitties, but I’ve been working on it and it has improved drastically. I used a lot of Jackson Galaxy hints and made sure there was more food, water, toys, litter boxes and high places. Good luck!
 
Margie and Jackson said:
We love our Jackson. The vet had to talk the owners out of euthanasia and he ended up at our excellent animal shelter. They cared for him and even cleaned his teeth! All the staff members came to me and my husband to say hello and best Jackson wishes. :bighug:
Click to expand...
I'm so glad you took him, why would someone want to put their kitty to sleep just because of diabetes, that's awful
 
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