My cat is diabetic and normally gets 2 shots per day. We are on vacation and now, on day 2, he’s fighting our house sitter. She’s trained to give shots, has had diabetic cats and dogs herself, and was recommended by our vet. But he’s trying to scratch her face and so far he’s winning.
How big a deal is it if he misses shots? For example should she fight him and take him to the emergency vet where they can house and treat him for around a thousand dollars a week? He normally gets 7 units of Vetsulin twice per day and it took a long time to get his dose right. Not sure how traumatizing or hospitalizing him might do more harm than good.
He has always cooperated with me. My usual vey is closed for the next 18 hours. He is currently 8 hours overdue for his 12 hour cycle.
There are vets that post on here. One of them may answer. I am not a vet.
I think you’ve answered your own question in part. You said it took a long time to get your cat’s dosing right. The more doses he misses, the more out of whack he’ll get. Just like a human diabetic, I imagine he’s on insulin because he needs it to survive.
Options: have him taken to the emergency vet for now, and speak to your regular Vet tomorrow. You can have your cat moved to a regular boarding facility that your vet recommends which can handle his shots. More expensive than you were planning, but less expensive than emergency vet for the whole time.
You can also leave him home overnight then move him after you speak to your vet. He’ll miss more shots, maybe. The house sitter can try working with him some more and see what happens during that time.
I’m suggesting a boarding facility if the house sitter can’t manage him, because they’ll keep him in a contained space and should be able to manage the shots. He shouldn’t go a week without his shots.
Well I’m not a vet either but I am a diabetic, and a cat lover (although I’ve never owned a diabetic pet). Going even a day without insulin will start to cause hypoglycemic symptoms (high blood sugar): lethargy, frequent urination, vomiting, loss of appetite, and a general (and strong) feeling of unpleasantness. I can only assume it is similar for any higher mammal, so no, I would not think this would be something that can be put off. If not treated it can very quickly become a serious problem, especially when it’s an animal (IOW when it doesn’t understand what’s happening). When cats don’t feel good they just curl up and hide until they do, and in this case they will only get worse.
Every cat is different, but the only quick solution I can think of is to grab the kitty quickly and firmly by the scruff and wrap them in a towel for better control while injecting. Cat’s do instinctively go for eyes so glasses would be a good idea too, as would a leather jacket and/or gloves. I know this sounds pretty traumatic for the poor cat, but the alternative (not giving the meds) is probably going to be worse.
See if your house sitter can contact her vet for advice.
The sitter and her son somehow got the cat into a big carrier and took him off to the emergency vet, who told me earlier this was enough of an emergency that we shouldn’t wait for the regular vet in the morning. Now waiting to hear back from emergency vet. I believe this means he’s going to be hospitalized for a while, and I’m afraid it means the hospitalization will last a week until I get back. I feel just sick about the whole thing and am now worried it will be some kind of significant setback for him. I wish I hadn’t left.
Next time, consider for 2 or 3 days before you leave having the pet sitter stop by and give the shots while you hold the cat. So that the cat gets used to the sitter, and getting the shots from them, while you are there to reassure the cat.
Didn’t mean to scare you. Hypoglycemia is easily and quickly remedied with insulin, without much in the way of complications. I think you did a good job of preparing by finding a sitter who also has diabetic pets and was recommended by your vet. Sometimes cats will just do whatever it takes to mess up the best laid plans. Cats are survivors though, they usually bounce back from upsetting things pretty well…
Next time ask your vet if one of the techs would be willing to come to your home twice a day to take care of your kitty. Many pet sitters don’t have the training necessary. I had a diabetic cat as well, but there’s no way I feel qualified to give someone else’s cat shots on a twice-daily basis. ONCE I could do and then the cat would be on to me.
As an aside, do you know about the Feline Diabetes Message Board?
ER vet tech here. Hopefully it won’t be too expensive if it’s basically boarding with a couple injections with his own insulin twice a day. If he was already stable before all this and has been eating and otherwise normal besides fighting the injections, he shouldn’t need much else in terms of treatment. I always recommend people to err on the side of skipping a dose of insulin rather than giving if they don’t know if the cat has eaten or giving too close together - if you have to choose, hyperglycemia is preferred over hypo.
Something the sitter could try, since she’s already got two slots a day (or more if she’s staying at your house) free, is come in to the hospital at injection time and see if she can get the cat amenable to her handling him again, in a place where she’s got help if she needs it. Maybe give him a break for a dose or two with her just coming in to give him food and attention for some positive time between them (hopefully he’ll let her just pet him, or she can work on that with him), while a tech does the evil part. Then she can give it a try with someone there and who can give suggestions if needed. If she can get him cooperative in the hospital, there’s a chance he can be discharged sooner than later.
Well, the situation has evolved, and I’m back home with the cat, who is now happy and doing great. My family is having our beach vacation without me, which is sad for me. But I couldn’t enjoy myself while he was caged and had an IV catheter and was getting Propofol occasionally to keep him manageable. I spent yesterday renting a car and driving home and picking him up.
I did just discover the FDMB, and joined, and got some useful advice and support. They even found members who lived close enough that they offered to come to my house and help with shots.
I did ask our vet about any techs willing to do that. They recommended this particular sitter, who is trained. That’s how we first met this sitter.
Actually, my cat is difficult for the regular vet to handle. In fact he is unfriendly to everybody in the world except for me, and he’s my constant shadow and likes to sleep with his head on my lap while i work.
We are contemplating bringing him on our next vacation. It is tactically doable to have pet friendly rentals, and we drive everyplace. I think the big question is how he would handle 800 miles in a week. I know some cats are fine with that, I just need to try him on some smaller trips and see how he does.
You did what I probably would have done, but would never suggest it to someone else because people just look at me like I’m nuts. It’s tough when your kitty is so very attached to just you. I had one like that, she attached herself to me at the shelter where she should have been socialized to lots of people, but I was the only one who could medicate her without getting maimed and could pick her up. I ended up taking her home because how could I not?
I think the idea of taking him with you could be great, him being that attached to you, he may do just fine as long as he’s in a place he knows you’re coming back to. Sorry your vacation got cut short. I hope you can do some local touristy staycation stuff maybe you never get a chance to when everybody’s home!
I looked at that FDMB and it is making me feel horribly inadequate. My vet told me I didn’t have to test kitty’s sugars at home as long as she got regular visits and glucose curves with him. She’s on one unit of glargine twice daily and he told me that since it was long-acting, if I had to only give it once daily because of my schedule it would be OK and it would be OK to give each dose between 10 and 14 hours apart. I went to that board and they are all testing sugars multiple times daily and looking at peaks and troughs and adjusting their schedules to give the medication exactly 12 hours apart. I thought I was doing OK because my kitty appears well and the increased urination had stopped and the last glucose curve was in the 100s but now I feel like the worst kitty owner ever? Should I be putting my baby up for adoption with somebody who can take better care of her? (I really thought I was doing OK; I have trouble getting my human diabetics to check their sugars even once daily).
Why would anyone else take better care of her? People aren’t lined up to take in used unfriendly diabetic cats. Plus you are the only person she likes, so even if someone else was both willing and able to give her better care, she would be away from her person, so would still be worse off.
Is testing sugars multiple times daily actually better? It sounds like it would be very annoying for the cat to be accosted and poked extra times and that this would significantly reduce quality of life. There is more to the cat than its diabetes management. If the cat is happy and seems well, you are doing an excellent job, even if more testing could potentially keep its sugars in a superior state.
Seriously, it sounds like she’s doing fine. If her curves are OK and her fructosamine is OK, you’re doing fine.
I counsel people with newly diagnosed cats and also potential adopters of diabetic cats. PM me if there’s anything you want to know that you don’t want to ask here. Yes, there’s a crowd out there who practice “tight control” - I did it, but only with the intention of attempting remission, which is glargine-feline-specific and not always possible, and also scary because they become biochemically but not clinically hypoglyemic for a couple days. (so the BG reads 29, but the cat is running around, playing and eating and appears fine) It’s not for everyone and there’s a big risk of full hypoglycemia and what do you do if that happens when no one’s home for 12 hours? Hospitalize if the cat’s still alive when you get home and start over from scratch. It’s not always the best idea.
Some people do go overboard, but there is good info there. Take what you can use and leave the rest. 