05/06/2025
Exciting News 🎉
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. 💙
We may be hardheaded and make more work for ourselves. We don’t like being told “no” or “you can’t” without a reason to back it, but we do it for the animals! You may not change a thing-but you can lay down your head at night knowing at least you tried! Animals need us as their advocates… and YES it is always worth it. 🐾
(👇P.S. This is the face of a HAPPY cat-who is no longer receiving insulin!) 😂🫶
