May be adding a diabetic kitty to the furfamily...
....or at least fostering her.
Hi Cat Side, LOL! Many of you may not know me...I'm a sporadic poster. I currently have one kitty. She's my childhood pet and has been with me since grade school (I'm 23 now).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...2-31-06010.jpg
Nipo ("knee-poe") is about 13 years old now, and not amenable to any feline additions. She already has to deal with a spastic 1.5 y/o border collie! However, I may be moving out by this time next year and Nipo will be staying here with my parents (she's very attached to my Dad and not so attached to the dog). Whether or not this new kitty joins the family will depend on how this "trial period/fostering attempt" goes.....it's hard to say yet.
Here's her background....Miss Tula is a diabetic kitty (8 y/o) that was surrendered to the animal clinic where I work part-time. The owner was at a loss and "could not" manage her disease. The primary option at the time seemed to be euthanasia ....however, one of the wonderful vet techs I work with could not stand by and let this beauty be PTS. She offered to take her in and try to find her a home! :)
Tula was in pretty bad shape.... too skinny and with wildly unmanaged diabetes. She has been living with my co-worker for a few months now (who also happens to be diabetic herself), and slowly her diabetes has become better controlled. She has also put on a few lbs. and looks great! However, she cannot be integrated into my co-workers 2-dog-2-cat household, and has been living in a bathroom with no promising leads on adopters. Although Tula is gorgeous, mellow & sweet...she has her age and a somewhat expensive & intimidating disease working against her.... :(
The only current options are.... A. if I am able to take her (I have to convince my parents!) or B. she is turned over to a local no-kill cat rescue. This rescue is stretched pretty thin, and we have seen some kitties come from there in less-than-ideal health. No-kill rescue is not an easy job and Hawaii is bursting at the seams with too many homeless pets and not enough facilities (we only have 1 large humane society facility on this island, human population 900,000!). Anyway, option B scares us a little. :(
A little voice inside me tells me that Tula might be a good match for my pesky dog. He is not a threat to felines in the least....he just lacks an understanding of their need for space. Nipo is stressed by this and her communication of displeasure only seems to pique his interest. :rolleyes: However, Tula is 10x more mellow than Nipo, and may be apt to ignore the dog's brattiness ....thus making herself uninteresting. Well anyway, that's my hope!
So now I'm still working on the parents....and it is their decision since I am still under their roof. Before I seriously consider adopting her I would also need to do the math and see if I can realistically afford her insulin in the long-term. I think we had to switch her to 100% beef insulin (the most universally effective for felines as well as the most expensive) and so the cost is definitely something that will require careful consideration on my part. I seem to have started a trend with collecting these 'special' animals....but hey, I'm in good company right?? You guys know all about that. I figure a diabetic cat and a dysplastic dog are sort of a matched set....or maybe I'm just nuts. :D
And in the case that she is not a good match for my canine spazoid, then I am pretty confident that I can find her a home eventually. I have a few leads already, and I think a few good pictures and a personal endorsement could go far with my contacts and their relatives, LOL! I can be very persistent and rather convincing, y'know! :)
Well, if my long-winded story has intrigued you, stay tuned to this thread....if I am able to foster her you can bet pictures will be forthcoming! She is a stunning brown tabby with very strongly contrasted striping and gorgeous lined eyes. I am BIG sucker for tabbies. :)
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned! ;)
P.S. Any ideas on how to win my parents approval are also welcome!!
