Hi everyone. The cats have generously allowed me to take over this week’s column to write a letter of my own. To help BlogPaws celebrate Adopt a Shelter Pet Month, I want to talk to the people who adopted Belladonna before I did.
First of all, thank you for adopting a cat from your local shelter. You could have gotten a cat from anywhere, but you chose to stop by your local humane society. And you didn’t just adopt any cat — you adopted a black cat, and we all know that black cats can have an awful time finding forever homes, thanks to an array of stupid superstitions that have no place in 21st-century life.
I’m sure you thought you’d spend many happy years with your new baby. When you took her for her first post-adoption checkup, everything looked great. Other than ear mites and an innocent heart murmur (only grade 1 out of 6), she was a perfectly healthy 6-month-old kitten.
But only a couple of months later, things started going wrong. You took Bella to the vet, reporting that she was lethargic and you weren’t seeing anything in the litter box. Strangely, though, she was also ravenously hungry and she had a special fondness for getting into bread and licking the grease out of used frying pans.
The vet did a thorough exam and found that poor Bella was dehydrated and that she was looking a little too skinny. She gave Bella some subcutaneous fluids to help resolve the dehydration, and because she suspected parasites or a possible infection, she gave Bella a deworming pill and gave you a prescription for metronidazole. She had you put Bella on a bland diet because her stools were soft.
Six days later, you were back at the vet. Bella’s condition hadn’t improved despite the medication. This time the vet drew blood and sent the sample off to the lab for a complete “senior blood screen,” which checks pretty much every chemical and cell value there is. The vet noted that Bella’s blood was very lipemic — it had a lot of emulsified fat particles in the serum. This can be a sign of any number of issues from liver disease to starvation to diabetes.
The vet ran a quick blood chemistry in house and found that Bella’s blood glucose was 513 mg/dl. Judging from the exam notes, the vet was shocked, too. It’s very rare for a kitten to be diagnosed with diabetes, and what little literature there is on diabetic kittens paints a pretty gloomy picture.
When the vet told you about her findings, I’m sure you felt like you’d been hit by a truck. Diabetes can be a devastating diagnosis to receive. I’m sure all kinds of things went through your head — “What kind of life could this poor kitten expect with such a bad disease? What does this mean for me? Can I afford to treat my cat’s diabetes? Can I deal with the extra care required? Should I feel bad that I don’t think I’m capable of caring for a diabetic cat? Should I have her put to sleep? But she’s only a baby! I adopted this cat and made a lifetime commitment, and should I feel like a schmuck for even thinking these things?”
Your vet may have had to talk you out of having Bella euthanized. She told you she’d do whatever she could to make sure Bella had a safe home. She called the humane society from which you adopted Bella, and they advised that they don’t have the facilities to take care of a diabetic kitten. But your vet didn’t give up: she called two other shelters — and she found one that could take Bella in. And that’s where I met Bella — at HART of Maine, on my volunteer orientation tour. It was love at first sight for both of us.
Since she’s been a member of my family, Bella has gained fans all over the world. She’s traveled 3,000 miles from Maine to Seattle, in the back seat of my car. She’s been in remission from her diabetes since January of 2013. And she’s got a super snuggle-buddy in the form of Thomas.
Bella loves running around my house like a monkey on crack. She’s brought me, and all of the Paws and Effect Gang’s fans, so much joy with her antics and silliness.
So, I’m writing this letter just to let you know — Belladonna is happy, healthy, and brilliant. Thank you for adopting her, and thank you for trusting your veterinarian to find a place for her where her diabetes could be managed when you realized you weren’t going to be able to manage caring for a diabetic cat. I’m sure it was a gut-wrenching decision, but I want you to know you made the right choice by realizing you were in over your heads and placing your trust in your vet and whatever higher power you believe in, to ensure that Bella would be all right.
Blessings to you, from me and from Belladonna.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by BlogPaws. I am being compensated to support Adopt a Shelter Pet Month with an educational post, but Paws and Effect only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. BlogPaws is not responsible for the content of this article.
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Love Bella. She is a character.
So we’ll said. I think so many times people are overwhelmed….and then embarrassed that they don’t know what to do. Not every adoption works out….at least they did the right thing and got help.
This is proof that it is not always a bad thing that a home is not meant to be forever. I’m sure Bella’s prior humans thought they were adopting a healthy new kitten, and they are no doubt perfectly suited for that type of situation. There was probably a lot of heartbreak and guilt in the realization that they didn’t have the ability to cope with a kitten with a chronic disease. But they did the right thing by Bella, and now she is in the perfect home, with you.
Loved reading about Belladonna, She’s a beautiful black cat. I too have a black cat, I chose my Noel who was one yr. old at the time, and a polydactyl 20 week old kitten, I purposely chose a black cat, I find the superstitions ridiculous! On the other hand, perhaps Noel is my “familiar”. Hmm….. the place I adopted my babies from wouldn’t let me have Noel as it was October, and the rescue people thought they couldn’t give a black cat to anyone in October. I didn’t like this, but I understood – just disappointed that I couldn’t take her right away – she had such sad eyes….. she had been up for adoption for awhile, and I thank God for that as she is truly a gift from God, She is energetic, funny, and so social. She is now aprox. 12 and one half years old. Enjoy the newest member of your kitty family, and thank you for being the kind of person who was willing to take on a sick cat – I’m sure there were some difficult times, Great, happy ending for all.
My poor Nellie passed away last year when she was 16, She struggled most of her life with thyroid disease and other ailments. My husband & I did everything we could for her, including buying diapers for her for the last 3 months of her life. She enriched both are lives as she was with us for seven years. Nellie & I had a lot in common. We both had many of our teeth extracted, took thyroid medications, and charmed the males of the household (Sammy, our pink-nose tabby, and my hubby, Rick.)
What a wonderful ending for little Bella Donna.. Jane, you are such a kind person and a wonderful entertaining writer. This kitty has the best mom it could ever have. You and your fur friends are the best and your column is one I look forward to.
Yay! A happy ending. That is wonderful. What a beautiful kitty.
What a great post! I’m thankful that Bella’s first family made the right decisions for her, even though it must have been painful. And I’m thankful that fate led you to her and that you’ve given her such a loving home. Thanks for sharing Bella’s happy ending!
This is a beautiful post. You were both blessed to have found each other.
I got Gracie when she was a year old, after she had been surrendered by her first family. At the time, I didn’t know that she already had cataracts in both eyes. To say she was a hellcat was an understatement. She spent the first six months attacking me every night. My vet suggested I might give her up, as not all adoptions work.
I decided to give her another six months since I wasn’t sure anyone would want her. I’m happy to say that Gracie has turned into a very loving cat who occasionally allows her evil twin to come out and take a swipe at me. She’s now 11 and I’m so glad we’ve had this time together.
P.S. I also had a diabetic cat. It was expensive and time-consuming to do all the tests and administer medication, but she did well for awhile. She cycled out of diabetes at one point but cycled back in later in a more severe form and eventually died from complications. I still miss her.
Great story! What I found *almost* as great as Bella getting a home was her vet that actually took the time to not only suggest her finding another home/shelter, but that she/.he actually followed through on that. I’ve yet to meet a vet that would go out of the way like that! Win-win situation.
What a beautiful love story! Bella is lucky to have found you and you be lucky to find her!
Oh, and welcome to Seattle! Nice to find another local cat-blog!
I love a good love story! It’s an amazing spirit you have to be willing to take in a diabetic cat miles away from home. I’m glad she’s doing much better and getting along with the other furry family members.