Anyone else have a diabetic pet?

[Tina]

My 15 year old, Kimba, recently lost a great deal of weight (2 pounds in 2 months) and began drinking huge amounts of water. I took him into the vet last Monday and he was diagnosed diabetic (his glucose was 560!). So now I have to pill him twice a day, in addition to insulin shots twice a day. He seems to be handling it ok so far, and the water drinking (and the filling of the litter box!) has diminished greatly. I'd love to hear feedback from others with a diabetic pet. One upcoming dilemna we have: we have plane tix for 3 nights in Vegas in only 2 weeks. We are torn whether or not to go. We've always had our neighbors watch our 'boys' while we vacation, but I could never ask them to pill and inject him twice a day. It was hard enough for me to get the nerve to do it (the injection part). How do you handle your vacations with your diabetic pet? Do you use a pet sitter? How do you know you have a 'good' one?

 

[horseshowmom]

Is it possible to board him with your vet?

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

We had a dog that was epileptic and on anti seizure meds 2x a day. We would go on vacation but it took a bit of advanced planning.
I wold try to get Kimba in a kennel that deals with medicated pets, we found some that wouldn't do it. Ask your vet if they have one they recommend or if they can kennel him. We also tried to find one that was connected to a 24 hr care vet so if they needed help they could get it.

The only way to know if they are good is to go check them out in person. We saw one that people recommended and looked good on paper but I didn't get the warm fuzzies when we got there. Popcorn was my baby so I was very picky when it came to who watched him. Ask them how many times a day they are in to check on them, will someone be there to give meds after hours(some close by 6pm), have they dealt with other diabetic animals, can you bring in special food if he is on a certain type. Just those few basic questions will give you an idea of how the place is run.

Good luck!

 

[Tina]

It might be... but he's way too spoiled for that. I would hate leaving him there. We boarded them once about 10 years ago and it was horrible. They wouldn't eat the entire time we were gone (luckily, it was only 3 days). He's got me wrapped around his little paw.

 

[scubamouse]

our cat is diabetic - dx about a year ago. it's an odd karma since FIL, BIL, niece are type 1 diabetics and DH and DD carry the gene for Type1. My FIL gives us his needles and sometimes lantis. we all over the fact that they use the same needles and insulin.

for a weekend we leave Maui w.a regular sitter. his blood sugar isn't so wacky and our vet ok'd it for him not to get shots while we're away. we just make sure he gets a shot as soon as we leave and again when we get home.

for our upcoming trip to WDW we'll board him and his litter mate at the vet for the week. they're not happy there but it's best for them medically.

 

[horseshowmom]

It might be... but he's way too spoiled for that. I would hate leaving him there. We boarded them once about 10 years ago and it was horrible. They wouldn't eat the entire time we were gone (luckily, it was only 3 days). He's got me wrapped around his little paw.

I had that problem when I boarded one of ours at our vet too (and I know that we have wonderful vets!). It took a week before she was back to her regular self.

I had decided not to board her anymore but had an emergency come up and wound up using a pet boarding facility that turned out to be wonderful (the owner actually used to work as a technician for our vet, so she could probably have done what you need done). Maybe you can find somebody like that.

 

[alliecats]

Hi! I have been dealing with diabetes (plus two other chronic conditions) in my cat for a year this week. I see that you say "pet" but not whether Kimba is a cat or dog? At 15, I assume cat.
What does your pet eat?
What pill and insulin is your pet on?

 

[Tina]

Yes, Kimba is a cat - I guess I forgot to mention that. His insulin is Lantus and the pill is Glipizide. He used to eat Science Diet, but is now 'testing out' 2 prescription diets, both canned. We are alternating between MD and DM. He seems to like both, as does our other cat.

 

[alliecats]

What is his dose of Lantus? My cat is on 3.5 units of Humulin U, twice a day.

Why do they have him on insulin and glipizide at the same time? I have never heard of that before (with a cat, I mean!). We had a bad experience with glipizide, but I have heard great things about Lantus. That is good about the diet change--Science Diet is not a good food, esp. for a diabetic.

My best advice for you (and I got it on the DIS when I posted almost this exact same thing a year ago!!) is to check out www.felinediabetes.com and read the faqs and all that. There is also a message board full of wonderful people who can offer years of experience taking care of diabetic cats...while trying to take vacations, too. Please go check it out!!

Sounds like you are a wonderful kitty mom. Diabetes is really not that hard to deal with, the other two conditions my kitty has are much harder to treat.

 

[Shelby5514]

See if any of the vet techs at your vets office pet sit on the side. We are going to WDW in Feb. and I asked the vet about boarding and he told us that a few of his techs pet sit. Since my female cat is on thyroid meds I feel MUCH better about leaving her knowing an experienced tech will be giving her the meds on schedule.