Feline diabetes treatment and supervision in Hua Hin?

[blanes2007]

Hello everybody

I'm going to move to Hua Hin and rent a house for a long period. But I have quite old (12 yo) cat ills with diabetes. He needs special care: I feed him special diet food and give an insulin injections twice a day.

So my questions are:

1) Is there any good vet clinics which treat for feline diabetes in Hua Hin?

2) Is it possible to buy a food for diabetic cat (Purina DM, Hills CD) somewhere in Hua Hin?

...or, may be, it's not a very good idea to move the poor old sick cat at the other end of the world?

Thanks in advance

[matthewnoel]

[Mod Edit] Comment removed as being totally irrelevant.

[PeteC]

From your last sentence I can see the stress you're going through. If a dog a bit more certain as even with a small breed you won't get much more than 14 years. I've read though that cats can go 18 if well cared for.

The trip in itself over to here may be too much for him. Many vets give an animal a light sedative but yours may be ineligible for that given his condition. As air freight it would be 48 and perhaps 72 hours in his carrier box end to end given there are no problems this end upon arrival with Customs and/or the animal quarantine people. All of that needs careful arrangement and pre-planning your end well in advance.

If me I'm afraid I'd have to say I would leave him in the care of someone where you are now and not risk bringing him here. Pete

[PeteC]

EDIT: I'll change my above numbers to be fair. 24-36 is probably more accurate unless a few layovers/plane changes are necessary. I've never brought an animal in, only out. In the crate to out of the crate in Honolulu was 30 hours. This was with a friend meeting the cat at the cargo terminal at Narita during the layover to change litter, water, food, and a sponsor at Honolulu to take her to the quarantine facility. Pete

[hhfarang]

A new government sponsored veterinary teaching hospital opened up here (Takiab, just south of Hua Hin) last year. I would guess they can care for nearly any animal with any ailment as it is one of the biggest animal hospitals in Thailand.

[barrys]

The new veterinary hospital is Kasetsart Veterinary Teaching Hospital and we've found them to very good with our cats & dogs - highly recommended and really the only reliable place to take your pet in the Hua Hin area.

[PeteC]

Hills Science diet is available in Thailand but I've only seen it at Veterinary offices/clinics and not in retail stores. I haven't checked Macro though. I don't know if anyone would have the Hills CD that you state as sounds very specialized for cats. Many reviews don't rate Science Diet too highly, at least for dogs, and one website actually ranks it below Pedigree.

I just did some pricing today from our Vet. A 3KG Science Diet puppy kibble (a few flavours) sells for 540 Baht. Pedigree Puppy 3KG is 189. Science diet 15KG bag is 2,000+ and special order for that size bag. Pedigree is 860-900. Pedigree is made locally in Malaysia and Vietnam so I'm sure this reflects in the price. I think I'll stick with Pedigree for now and supplement it with a cooked chicken or some rare beef from time to time.

Sorry got off onto dogs but didn't want to start a new thread about a small issue. Welcome to the forum by the way. Pete

EDIT: I've never seen any Purina products anywhere.

[blanes2007]

Thanks for welcoming, prcscct

This was my first post in this forum, though I read the forum for a long time - as I'm thoroughly planning my moving to Thailand for permanent living.

Also thanks a lot for the brief market analysis. Probably I could buy required clinical nutrition in local vet clinics.

Actually transporting my cat doesn't seem to be the biggest problem in this case. I reckon the journey from Moscow (I'm Russian) to Hua Hin takes approximately 15-18 hours door to door. During this time a cat can be carried in a passenger cabin if he weights less than 5 kg (my cat das) and is contained in a pet plastic pack. Aeroflot airline allows it.

The most serious problem I'm worrying about is could this cat in his age and health be able to acclimatize to a new exotic home, climate, smells etc?

[PeteC]

Great stuff! You are the first Russian poster that I know of, and has announced he/she is Russian.

Things get easier now that you have explained the transport options. In cabin with you is the best solution. Once here yes, the climate is different but if you keep him mainly in a cool part of the house with the aircon on during very hot times, I don't think he'll have a problem and he'll slowly get used to the heat. I would not let him roam outdoors though and get mixed up with local street cats. At his age I'm sure he'll be happy just to lay about and watch the world go by.

I can't help you with the web site or paperwork needed to import an animal into Thailand. Hopefully someone will speak up who has experience or knowledge. If you'll be renting a residence you'll also need to begin checking if they allow pets, although from experience many seem more agreeable concerning a cat than a dog. Pete

[blanes2007]

Yes, you are right

I can't help you with the web site or paperwork needed to import an animal into Thailand. Hopefully someone will speak up who has experience or knowledge.

As I understand, it's really simple to bring pets into Thailand. Just get an "International Health Certificate for Pet Travel" from veterinarian in your home country and show it to Thai veterinarian at the customs. They'll look at the paperwork and ask you to pay 200 baht fee for the Thai national license / certificate.

[dotx]

It's not that easy. You need proof of vaccination as well. And the papers should list the animal's microchip number on them. The import certificate must be obtained BEFORE you get to Thailand. Either via email or by phone, at least 7 days in advance.

I flew in with three animals. Let me know if you need more details.

As for food, Royal Canin has prescription food available for almost any condition, including liver disease, kidney disease, joint problems, etc. I'm pretty sure they have something for diabetes as well. It's not cheap, but that's what I buy for my dogs (they both need special diets). Only available at vets/animal hospitals, not in stores.

[hhfarang]

Barry wrote:

The new veterinary hospital is Kasetsart Veterinary Teaching Hospital and we've found them to very good with our cats & dogs - highly recommended and really the only reliable place to take your pet in the Hua Hin area.

Barry, (or anyone else who can answer) one of our dogs has a persistent skin problem. The missus has taken him to several vets around town over the years and after they treat him, he is ok; but the problem returns in a month or so. She wants to try the new hospital thinking that maybe they will have a more permanent or longer lasting treatment, but having no experience with them personally, I was wondering what the pricing is like. Is it comparable to the other vets around town or much more expensive.

[PeteC]

It could be food HHF. If they're on dry kibble as a steady diet, try another brand for awhile and see what happens concerning the rash. I've read that the higher the vegetable content like corn, wheat, rice, and the lower the meat content, many dogs get skin rashes. Makes sense as dogs are not meant to be vegetable eaters. Pete

[barrys]

Barry wrote:

The new veterinary hospital is Kasetsart Veterinary Teaching Hospital and we've found them to very good with our cats & dogs - highly recommended and really the only reliable place to take your pet in the Hua Hin area.

Barry, (or anyone else who can answer) one of our dogs has a persistent skin problem. The missus has taken him to several vets around town over the years and after they treat him, he is ok; but the problem returns in a month or so. She wants to try the new hospital thinking that maybe they will have a more permanent or longer lasting treatment, but having no experience with them personally, I was wondering what the pricing is like. Is it comparable to the other vets around town or much more expensive.

We find Kasetsart to be cheaper than the local vets overall.
For example, we have 6 new-born husky pups and one of them was born with a slight leg deformity.
Took her to Kasetsart, examination and dressing, plus antibiotic medicine, sterilising agent, swabs etc. 180 baht.

However, the key thing there is that they diagnose and prescribe correctly and don't make you keep going back so that they can prescribe more and different (normally more expensive) medications.
They are very professional - give them a try!!

[PeteC]

Are these your guys and gals Barry? Pete

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