Finally Home Animal Haven in Scottsville, Virginia

We noticed Tommy had been drinking an unusually large amount of water recently as if he was just always thirsty. We voiced our concern with the vets and additional lab work was required to get to the root of the cause.

We discovered that Tommy had a UTI in addition to now being newly diagnosed with diabetes. This past week he has been receiving a small dose of insulin (two times daily) until we settle on the correct dosage for his body. He is so good for his shots but we hate this for this sweet boy!

Having lost his only owner at 92, she never wanted him to go to a shelter. He hates cages and he literally falls apart when put in one. The other option? He was going to be euthanized instead. That wasn’t a life he deserved either.

Luckily he didn’t just got to a regular shelter and he was able to come to ours where he is cage free and is able to roam a small shelter openly.

However we are not quite sure whether Tommy will ever be adopted. Not what we had hoped for this handsome boy. He deserves a home. He would need someone willing to adopt him and take on the expense of giving an adorable and loving 10 year old daily insulin shots and feeding him a prescription diet.

We wish we could tell you Tommy has found his forever loving home…but in our opinion, this news is so much better!

Rewind to February: Tommy was receiving a prescription diet for his urinary crystals and insulin shots. Our hearts hurt for him-a scared 15lb senior who lost his beloved owner, transferred from place to place to avoid euthanasia and a newly diagnosed diabetic requiring twice a day insulin. We knew it would be hard to find him a home, much less a home that was willing to pay for his required insulin and prescription diet, as well as keep his medication on a schedule.

At FHAH, we always try to do whats best for the animal, so we begin researching as a whole how we could help Tommy become healthier. We discovered that his prescription diet (although pricey and highly recommended by vets) had been rumored to cause diabetes in cats. We went to a local vet for recommendations, but was immediately shot down when we wanted to change his food. “Diabetes remission is extremely rare and I want you to know it will probably never happen for him.” Even talking about it was not an option.

That wasn’t a good enough answer.

We got a second opinion at The Integrative Veterinary Center of Richmond who welcomed us with open arms. We discussed healthier options that we could try while safely monitoring him. They gave us a list of foods that were low in carbs and we agreed to frequently check his blood sugar and urine for changes. We knew it was unlikely we would cure his diabetes, but in our hearts we knew we needed to try.

Fast foreward to present (3 months later): Tommy lost a couple of pounds and he began drinking less water. He no longer had sugar in his urine and for the first time had normal values…days turned into weeks, then months and suddenly… his blood glucose began to DROP!

We removed his insulin and monitored his blood glucose closely which continued to drop to a healthy value and stayed there-day after day, after day…

This past Monday we got the confirmation from the vet, they reviewed his long list of blood glucose values and agreed-

TOMMY IS NO LONGER A DIABETIC!

Remission is possible in cats, although not common! Thanks to a couple of our followers and friends who suggested we keep trying- we do listen and welcome different options. We are all in this together and have a common mission.

Tommy has been adopted!!!!

He joined his loving home last week and has been busy exploring his new space and (as you can tell from pictures below) learning how to kick his paws up and relax!

This sweet boy enjoys hanging out and getting all the attention and love that his new family has been giving him! We are so excited for him to have finally found such a caring home to call his own.