? Really need Advice!!

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Summers Mom

Summers Mom

Member Since 2017
Summer is on a high dose of 13 units. I am stay home mom so i get to test her often but now i have a problem. I have another cat that is NOT diabectic but just got diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism. I have to take him to a specialist for a consultation on friday. I have never left summer no more than a few hrs since her diagnosis. She is starting to show more green and that is a good thing but here is where my problem is. Friday when i take my other cat to the specialist, i will be gone all day. That terrifies me. I have to leave here by 7:30am and probably wont get home till late evening. No testing and no food for summer will not be good. I have nobody that can come help out so thats not an option. I thought about taking her also but she would be super stressed in the car that long and i really dont want to take her because of her condition. Her diabetes for one and possibly cushings and her skin has raw places on them and i dont want her exposed to the public. She is on a raw diet so i cant just leave food down. And if she drops while i'm gone i will no nothing about it. So, what do you guys do that have to go off for the day in situations like this?? I am so worried that i don't even want to go but my other needs to go to the specialist. HELP! What do i do or what would you do??
 
I'm sorry to hear your other cat has hyperthyroidism. May I ask why you need to see a specialist? My cat never saw one when he was diagnosed. He was put on methimazole 2x a day (1.25mg) and we did another blood test 3-4 weeks later to see if the dosage had to be adjusted. So.. I'm just curious why you must see a specialist?
 
Kris & Teasel said:
You can probably leave out the raw safely if you put a cold pack under the dish.
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You can also leave out frozen raw food to thaw over time, or if you mix her food with water, leave raw food with ice cubes in it to melt over time and add water to the food. I put ice cubes in the overnight food in the auto feeder for Asia, she eats raw, it has worked very well so far, but caveat: she's eating a commercial raw food (Radcat) that is treated with HPP (high pressure processing). You can also add some honey or Karo to the food you leave out to keep her numbers higher all day as a safety measure (you would only have to know in advance that she would eat sugar tainted food, Asia will not, but she will eat it in junk food gravy, which if I were in your situation I might out gravy/Karo in ice cube trays and leave a couple of those out).

Other options, of course, you can skip the shot that day, or decrease her dose, starting tonight or tomorrow, until after the appointment is over.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
You can probably leave out the raw safely if you put a cold pack under the dish.
Click to expand...
Stacy & Asia said:
You can also leave out frozen raw food to thaw over time, or if you mix her food with water, leave raw food with ice cubes in it to melt over time and add water to the food. I put ice cubes in the overnight food in the auto feeder for Asia, she eats raw, it has worked very well so far, but caveat: she's eating a commercial raw food (Radcat) that is treated with HPP (high pressure processing). You can also add some honey or Karo to the food you leave out to keep her numbers higher all day as a safety measure (you would only have to know in advance that she would eat sugar tainted food, Asia will not, but she will eat it in junk food gravy, which if I were in your situation I might out gravy/Karo in ice cube trays and leave a couple of those out).

Other options, of course, you can skip the shot that day, or decrease her dose, starting tonight or tomorrow, until after the appointment is over.
Click to expand...
Mandy & Rex said:
I'm sorry to hear your other cat has hyperthyroidism. May I ask why you need to see a specialist? My cat never saw one when he was diagnosed. He was put on methimazole 2x a day (1.25mg) and we did another blood test 3-4 weeks later to see if the dosage had to be adjusted. So.. I'm just curious why you must see a specialist?
Click to expand...

It all sounds good BUT these ideas wont work for summer. She would just eat all the food at once.
I am taking my hyperT cat to a specialist because my cat is not on meds. I am going to get the Radioactive iodine treatment to cure his thyroid.
 
Yes, the raw food issue can be solved by freezing a few portions and leave them out for her to thaw and eat later. Or as Kris said, sit the raw food bowl on an ice pack.

And as Stacy said, you can reduce her dose starting tonight to drain the depot some. Her greens of late haven't been low ones.
 
Summers Mom said:
She would just eat all the food at once.
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Any chance to score an auto feeder before Friday? I know what you mean, my best friend's cats would inhale the food right then and there, frozen or not! If the auto feeder isn't an option, you will probably have to decrease, in advance so you don't have to worry about depot action, or skip the shot. I hope all goes well for your civvie, Debra, vetty vines to him! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
Yes, the raw food issue can be solved by freezing a few portions and leave them out for her to thaw and eat later. Or as Kris said, sit the raw food bowl on an ice pack.

And as Stacy said, you can reduce her dose starting tonight to drain the depot some. Her greens of late haven't been low ones.
Click to expand...
Stacy & Asia said:
Any chance to score an auto feeder before Friday? I know what you mean, my best friend's cats would inhale the food right then and there, frozen or not! If the auto feeder isn't an option, you will probably have to decrease, in advance so you don't have to worry about depot action, or skip the shot. I hope all goes well for your civvie, Debra, vetty vines to him! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...

If i were going to decrease her dose, how much would i start with? I have been increasing by 1 whole unit here lately being she is such high dose. And what would be the lowest i should decrease too altogether?
 
Summers Mom said:
If i were going to decrease her dose, how much would i start with? I have been increasing by 1 whole unit here lately being she is such high dose. And what would be the lowest i should decrease too altogether?
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I'm not sure as I don't have a high dose cat and wouldn't be comfortable guessing, I think Wendy is away, but will tag some other high dose kitty beans to chime in: @Beenie (GA) @Bronx's dad @JeffJ @Chubba
 
I am by no means comfortable offering advice, but I can share what we did for Gizmo when we went on vacation. He was on 9 units at the time (getting mostly yellows and blues with a few pinks and greens mixed in). The advice I was given was to take him down to 8 units (but my mom was able to monitor some throughout the day). And by the time we returned, we reduced him to 7 units. He is on cabergoline so that might be part of the reason why his dose decreased rapidly. We also used an auto feeder. Gizmo never has been above 9 units, so I’m not sure by how much you should decrease. But I would think decrease or even a planned “fur shot” might be your best options.
 
Correct this summary if wrong:
- Summer gets fed meals during the day
- you will be gone Friday 7:30am-6pm
- you can't get Summer fed during the day, and Summer will eat all food that is out

On Friday, I would lower the dose to half - so 6.5-7.0 units. Then I would leave a bunch of food, even if it gets eaten right away. The protocol for surgery is to dose 1/2 and no food. The alternative is to skip the dose and let Summer go high for the day.

Since Summer is at 13.0 units, I recommend she gets tested for Acromegaly and IAA. That would be suitable if you were to pursue some treatment for acro. Even Cabergoline is somewhat affordable, and is effective.

Kudos to you for the diligent care you have been giving Summer. And for keeping up the spreadsheet. High dose kittehs are special, and they take a lot of extra time to get regulated. I can see how much you care for Summer, just by reading through the spreadsheet.
.
 
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The greens at this dose have been fairly high. I think you can reduce back to 12.0 units, but I would reduce 3 cycles ahead of the time you need her to be safe. So that would be starting either tonight or tomorrow morning. Good luck with your other cat.
 
Any chance even a neighbor could stop by and leave out more food or is there someone from your vet's office that pet sits on the side?

FWIW, Gabby was notorious for diving into low numbers. In addition, she categorically refused to let anyone except me test her. She would also eat everything that was in her bowl including licking at a frozen "catsickle" (i.e., frozen cat food) because it was in her bowl. She make travel challenging. I would reduce her dose and my cat sitter came in twice a day to feed her and give her her shot.

You can lower the dose as Wendy suggested or simply skip the AM dose. Skipping would be no different than if you gave a fur shot. It all depends on what makes you the most comfortable.
 
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