There are a lot of diagnosed diabetic cats who require twice daily medication for the rest of their lives. We love our pets and want to do what’s best, but how do we ever leave town for more than a day without our cat missing their medication?

  • We can train a friend how to do it and hope they have the time and the skillset.
  • We can hire a qualified pet sitter
  • We can board with our veterinarian if they board cats
  • We can board with a private boarding facility who accepts diabetics

So, which is right for your cat? It depends on the individual situation. We need the cat to eat at least some of their food on cue in the AM and PM prior to their shot, and then they need to eat enough in between shots to avoid an insulin crash. Cats that do this well at home in the presence of their owners, don’t necessarily behave the same way in the presence of strangers. Cats that do well at home may not immediately adjust to a boarding situation. Our September post Did My Cat Eat While Boarding covers this subject in detail.

What is the solution? Well, it depends.

  • Is your cat shy or outgoing?
  • Does he come out to visit company, or does he hide until they leave?
  • How does he react to vet visits or any sort of travel outside of his immediate environment?
  • How is his attitude with strangers in general?
  • Is he food motivated or a picky grazer?

Based on our experience, these are our suggestions:

The Shy Scaredy Cat: Does your cat run off and hide when company comes over, and cower in the carrier during their entire vet visit? This cat either needs a familiar friend of the family to take care of him in the home OR he needs to board with an actual Veterinarian. They have all the tools to give calming drugs, appetite stimulants and adjust insulin doses as need be to get your cat through their stay safely. If you Google, Cat Boarding, the local vets who board cats come up on top. In our opinion, that is the scaredy cat’s best option for a safe vacation.

The Outgoing Food Lover: These cats tend to do okay in a boarding environment or with a pet sitter. If your cat is go with the flow and doesn’t really take exception to insulin time and LOVES to eat, well this is a good boarding candidate.

The On the Fence About Strangers Cat: Does your cat hide from strangers for the most part, but comes out eventually if you are around? This cat may be a better boarding candidate than a pet sitter cat. If they get all their confidence from their owner’s presence, then the pet sitter is going to spend all their time trying to get them out from under the bed. At the boarding facility they are in an enclosed space where we can always find them and access them for their medication administration.

Have you decided you are going to use the pet sitter or boarding facility? Okay. One decision made. Next step is let’s see if your plan is going to work. Have the pet sitter come over and see how your cat responds to them. Maybe go outside or leave the room and let the pet sitter assess how the cat is responding to them. If it looks good, then give it a try! If you chose boarding, let’s bring the cat in for a couple of day stays. Bring the cat in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon, just to give them a chance to assess the facility and see how they react. If we can get the cat to eat snacks or some sort of food while they are here on a day stay, then it’s probably going to work out for a longer stay. If the cat seems completely out of sorts with it’s new environment, then let's try a few day stays and see if it gets better. We can work together to assess if a boarding stay is going to be your best option or not.

The Backup Plan: It can be VERY difficult to speak to a veterinarian in a pinch. They are all very busy and overloaded with their regular schedules. That being the case, let’s have a proactive plan for “just in case the cat won’t eat”. My first suggestion would be a hand feeding plan: Have your doctor give specific instructions for in the case your cat won’t eat on his own:

  • How much and of what food should we hand feed?
  • Should we reduce the insulin amount, and by how much in this case?
  • Should we do a blood glucose test prior to administering insulin?
  • If so, what numbers do we need to see to feel confident in the prescribed dose?

This is a simple plan for a veterinarian to write out for us. Denise is a Certified Tech, which is roughly the equivalent of a Registered Nurse. She is certified to follow treatment orders as prescribed by a doctor. She is NOT certified to decide on changes in insulin doses on her own. If we have a plan for when things get complicated, then we should be able to overcome difficulties and keep your cat on schedule.

Caring for your diabetic cat is not a task we take lightly. You are trusting us with a family member with special needs, and we want to make sure we are ALWAYS making the right decisions for your cat’s best health. If you have a diabetic you are considering boarding with us, please e-mail or give us a call and we are happy to discuss the plan that best fits your cat’s needs.

Until next time!
Kendrick and Denise