Young Again food and auto feeder?

[DaisyPaws]

We're going to have to travel soon and will be gone for over a week.
We don't have any place where we feel comfortable boarding, but we've found a dependable cat sitter hired who can give shots with confidence. However, she probably won't be familiar enough to our diabetic kitty for glucose testing success.
We've been playing with every possible angle to manage her needs while we are gone.

She is currently "threatening" to go OTJ - testing too low for a shot about every 2-3 days, so we worry that dosing without testing could be a disaster.
We currently do canned food every 6 hours, including overnight with PetSafe timer feeders.

The last time we tried to have a cat sitter use these feeders there was a user error of some sort and two of the feeders never opened. The need to reset the lids "just so" and press the right, small button each time they are filled makes them high risk for this sort of problem.

We're considering having the cat sitter do a half dose of insulin and feed our usual canned food morning and night, and then using the simpler, drop-down style feeders with the Young Again zero carb for "in-between" snacks.
It seems like that would keep Daisy's sugars from going sky-high and also prevent the more dangerous lows.
Not a perfect plan - but maybe the best we can do?

What do you think?
How do you manage time away from your diabetic kitty?

 

[katiesmom]

Well, we never leave for longer than evening out, so we put out an automatic feeder to open. I realize I am no help to you for a week long trip.

I DID want to tell you and others here what we do that helps us with peace of mind while we are out-

We installed a "security" camera. It's like a baby monitor with video. Link to camera we have-http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ZP8UOW/?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20.
We turn it on before we leave and we can watch the girls in real time while we are gone on a app on our phone. It has audio to hear and speak to them if you want. Has night vision too. You can hook up more than one if you like, we just have one in the living room where they spend most of the time.

It soooooonice to check in on them and see all is alright. And if for some reason something appeared wrong, we can hightail it home or in your case, call someone to get over to your house. Well, worth the $77 it cost.

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

What dose /type of insulin is she on and hoe to you define "too low to shoot"? That will help me make recommendations. Would love to see a spreadsheet too as it sounds like she could be bouncing: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

When I go away I get a pet sitter to come feed and shoot. She cant test Tiggy so we give him a reduced dose but in your case I would wonder about how safe it is to do that - depends on your answers to the above questions though.

Wendy

 

[DaisyPaws]

I have to admit we keep our numbers in a notebook rather than on a spreadsheet. I would prefer to go the other route, but our kitty's actual owner is very much a paper and pencil kind of guy, and I pick my battles.

Her AMPS and PMPS numbers have been ranging from 65 - 195. Most days, numbers range from 85 - 125. She is technically on one unit of Lantus, twice daily, but we typically do a reduced dose if she is below 115 and no dose if she is below 85. Nadir numbers are consistently 55- 85. In the years we've been treating, she has only been worrisomely low a few of times - and that was on a higher dose.

My hunch is that a reduced dose would work well enough if she was eating from the timer feeders in addition to daily meals. Her numbers would likely by higher than optimal, but not critically so - and I would far prefer that to a serious low.

Has anyone tried the Young Again food? We wouldn't consider it for everyday feeding, but think it could be handy for this situation.

I love the suggestion of a camera. That would give us an idea of how it was going with the sitter as well as a chance to check to see whether the feeders were working.

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

Well you could try 0.5 unit.

I have seen a few people here feed YAZC. Actually it works out at 5% carbs. whats the carb % of your current food?

Wendy

 

[Deb & Wink]

Some cats like the YAZC at first (Dara & Bob over in Lantus TR) and then refuse to eat it. I'd give it a good trial before you go, to make sure your cat eats it.