What To Look For In A Cat Sitter Who'll Dispense Medication

[emilesc]

Hello -

My little Allie Cat (pictured in my profile on the floor) is now 16 years old. I posted last year that she was diagnosed with mast cell cancer and lymphoma. And this month, we can now add pancreatitis to the list. She's been at the hospital for a flare-up the last couple of days, and she's doing better. She's stopped vomiting and has been eating, and has been switched from IV medication to oral meds, which I'll need to continue giving her.

The problem is, I've never been able to pill her. I can give her liquid meds and even shots just fine, but pilling has proven impossible. So I need to find someone who'll help me, as I live alone. I have a neighbor who'll feed my cats when I'm away, but I wouldn't ask him to help with medication. I've sent a couple of inquiries to cat sitters through Thumbtack, and I was wondering if anyone here has advice on questions to ask/what to look for.

Thanks!
Emile

 

[CosmoBot]

Hello -

My little Allie Cat (pictured in my profile on the floor) is now 16 years old. I posted last year that she was diagnosed with mast cell cancer and lymphoma. And this month, we can now add pancreatitis to the list. She's been at the hospital for a flare-up the last couple of days, and she's doing better. She's stopped vomiting and has been eating, and has been switched from IV medication to oral meds, which I'll need to continue giving her.

The problem is, I've never been able to pill her. I can give her liquid meds and even shots just fine, but pilling has proven impossible. So I need to find someone who'll help me, as I live alone. I have a neighbor who'll feed my cats when I'm away, but I wouldn't ask him to help with medication. I've sent a couple of inquiries to cat sitters through Thumbtack, and I was wondering if anyone here has advice on questions to ask/what to look for.

Thanks!
Emile

Are you looking for someone to give her meds during the day when you are out, or someone to look after her when you are gone overnight?

I'm sorry your sweet sweet girl is having health problems

 

[emilesc]

Thank you so much. I looked through my old posts, and I've been tracking Allie's progress on this board since she was a kitten. It's so strange to think of her as coming towards the end of her life.

I'm looking for someone who'll either help me pill her before work, or can do it themselves. I do have a weekend where I'm supposed to be at an in-town conference, so depending on if I can find someone, I'll either stay at the hotel as I originally planned, or drive back and forth. Since this was all sudden, I'm flexible on that. The main thing is the pilling I'll have to do on a regular basis.

Emile

 

[verna davies]

Is there someone at your vets that could come and help. They should have some experience in administrating pills. If not, perhaps they might know someone . Im sorry you and Allie Cat have to go through this, its hard.

 

[emilesc]

Thank you. My comfort is that she's in the best hands. I really like the staff at this hospital and at the cancer speciality center next door. I'm going in to visit Allie there today, so I'm going to ask for referrals or see if any do house calls. I have a feeling no on the latter.

Emile

 

[CosmoBot]

I agree with Verna Davies, it would be best if they have experience. That would be my main question. Disclaimer, I have not had this issue and think that someone who has successfully navigated this could give you the best advice that you and your Allie most certainly deserve.

My opinion:
If you can't find someone with pilling experience, I would ask what is their experience with cats in general?

I've never had to pill my cat, but I do feel like I would be a good helper because I realllly love cats and I have had to deal with some health issues like syringe medicine, stitches, etc., and so have that general awareness of how difficult it can be, and how to safely handle a scared cat. However, I wouldn't feel confident doing it on my own.

So maybe you can find someone who will do it with you for awhile and then be ready to do it on their own.

If you need someone to do it on their own right away, I would suggest you look for someone with experience and who also really loves cats. You could determine that by asking them 1) their experience with pilling (obvi) and 2) their experience as a cat owner. I think by the the way they answer to #2 you can gauge a lot about how good they are with kitties. Hope that makes sense/is helpful.

Good luck!!

 

[cat princesses]

You might want to ask at your vet clinic or the cancer care clinic you like - lots of the techs usually pet sit on the side - so you can probably find someone from one of those places and the plus side is this is what they do for a living so heaven forbid something urgent comes up when you're gone, they know what to do and can take them to the clinic immediately. Not sure if you have this where you live but we have a site here called next door and it's an app that allows you to communicate with people in your immediate neighborhood or surrounding neighborhoods. We often share info on that site like pet sitter info etc.

 

[emilesc]

I did find someone on Thumbtack who said they specifically have experience administering medication, so I've reached out to them. And hopefully the vet will have referrals when I see them this evening. I've heard of Next Door, I'll look in that too.

 

[CosmoBot]

I did find someone on Thumbtack who said they specifically have experience administering medication, so I've reached out to them. And hopefully the vet will have referrals when I see them this evening. I've heard of Next Door, I'll look in that too.

Next door is a GREAT idea!! Someone may even know someone personally they can suggest. Just be prepared to realize how nutty your neighbors are

 

[LTS3]

Can the medicines be compounded into a liquid form or something like a chew treat? You can take a look at Wedgewood Pharmacy to see what your cat's medicines can be compounded into: Veterinary Medications, Wedgewood Pet Rx A local compounding pharmacy can also do this.

Have you tried Pill Pockets and similar doughs to hide pills in?

 

[daftcat75]

A lot of vet offices have vet techs who do in-house/house call pet sitting including giving medicines. It helps them earn some extra money doing what they already love. A lot of vet techs are vet school students so it gives them more experience too. Ask your vet or vets in the area if there are any techs like this looking to make some extra money.

 

[emilesc]

Thank you for your kind words and advice, everyone. Unfortunately, Allie took a turn for the worse, and it wasn't fair to make her keep fighting. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge an hour ago.

Thank you, again, though. It's so helpful to know this community is here when I need it.

Emile

 

[verna davies]

That's sad news. I'm so sorry.

 

[betsygee]

So very sorry to read this news. We'll close this thread now out of respect for your loss.

Allie's tribute thread is here.