VACATION PROTOCOL?!?! Ive never left her before and I'm going to try! HELP!

Mimis been diabetic now for 1 year and because of her 6 day hospital stay I was so scared to leave her, but I am really going to try and go somewhere.

Ill miss about 4 cycles with her-

What do I do?
Do you guys pre measure out the syringe? (I would feel more comfortable doing that seeing as how I am neurotic with the digital caliper but is that something that can be done?)

What about the feeding schedules? I have them on a raw formula and can see that being more annoying to administer than a canned diet- or thats just my control freak talking and its not that big of a deal.

Anything you got! Should I get tested? Am I risking her going DKA again by leaving or is that silly?

 

I was absolutely dreading the day I had to leave my girl - I was gone for 12 days! Luckily my friend did a great job with her. I never thought about it but a libre meter would have been a great tool to use during a vacation.

I went a little over-the-top but it made me feel better ... I made a tri-fold pamphlet with her medical info, emergency contacts, and FAQs. ... And also a 8 page spiral-bound novelette with pictures of insulin syringes, what to dose, how much to feed, how to use the autofeeder, instructions on how to log into FDMB if needed, etc etc. But 4 cycles is a lot less scary!

I was recommended to lower the dose while I was away - I would ask in the Lantus forum a few days before you leave for input. Some people take a syringe filled with colored water and leave it for reference, you wouldn't want to actually pre-fill syringes with Lantus because the coating inside would affect it.

I'll hang back on the DKA question, I'm not sure if vacation protocol is different in regards to dosing/stress with a DKA-prone kitty.

Do try to enjoy your vacation! Although if you're anything like I was ... you won't let yourself.

 

the syringe with the color water is brilliant! I am a very overprotective mama and I know I will be freaking out. I freak out when I go on day trips and leave her after her AM shot!! Im always within 20 minutes from home unless I do a day trip further than an hour or so and Im thinking about her a lot. The anxiety has definitely lifted when I see her being "fine" every time I come home. did you go out of the country when you left?
I have a lot of work to do then because I would want to be really prepared like you were! why did you have pictures of insulin syringes?

 

Im also so sorry about Panic.. how old was she?

 

@Marje and Gracie
@Wendy&Neko

 

Hi Rosa,

Mimi is soooooo pretty! That's a gorgeous picture of her in your avatar.

I'm housebound so I can't help with recommendations about insulin (never away).

Is someone looking after her who knows how to test her BG? If yes, then it might be a good idea to invest in a blood ketone meter. The ketone meters work the same way as BG meters, with a sample taken from the ear as usual. It might give you a little bit of extra peace of mind on the ketone front while you're having your break, and it would be much easier for Mimi's stand-in caregiver than testing urine every day.


Mogs
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I think covid is really getting to me. I was just skimming the thread titles on the main Feline Health screen and misread this one as 'vaccination protocol'.


Mogs
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and the heat me! Its supposed to be 108 and raining here today is that scientifically possible?

 

I was about five hours away, so it felt like I was out of the country.

At the time I was using U-40 insulin in U-100 syringes so I was scared the conversion would be confusing. Also I made pictures of the syringe "filled" to the correct mark, as well as token dose examples. I was REALLY nervous XD

Thank you, she had just turned 12.

 

Hahahaa

 

I never left Neko for more than a day - and then DH was in charge. @Sienne and Gabby (GA) had to travel for work.

Please describing your cat sitting situation. Live in or drop by. Testing or no, experienced or no? Does Mimi know this person or will she hide?

 

Since you didn't respond to Wendy's question above, I'm going to assume that you have a petsitter stopping by twice a day.

Also, a caveat... Gabby was a diva. She would categorically not allow anyone to test her except me and I had cat sitter's who were feline specialist vet techs who were my sitters. She also could dive into low numbers. I was very cautious. You can see when I was traveling on her spreadsheet.

Given that Mimi has been dropping into below 50 numbers on her dose of 1.75u, I do think your recent dose reduction made sense. However, I also don't know when you're leaving for vacation. It would be helpful to see how Mimi responds to the 1.5u dose. That said, unless. you know how well your sitter manages dosing, it often makes sense to drop the dose to a level that's actually on a line on the syringe and will give you a good margin for safety. I'd probably use 1.0u as a vacation dose and bring the dose back to 1.5u when you return.