Petco Foundation Grant--Bella and Julius

Bella and Julius--A New Home and New Names

Last year diabetic cats Bella and Julius both faced death. Diabetic Cats in Need (DCIN) found their forever home and moved them there. They live together now, and receive their life-saving diabetes treatments with some help from DCIN.

Will you save me?

Why was this kitty, always formally attired in black and white, named Bad Kitty (BK)? Her owners divorced. Her original Mom moved out, leaving BK behind and asking DCIN to find her a new home. BK’s Dad had little compassion for her or her diabetes. After two months, the couple set a week’s deadline or BK would be destroyed.

A ginger boy came into a high-kill shelter as a stray. Because of his many physical problems, including a missing eye, the shelter named him Cyclops. He wasn’t feeling well or eating, and the shelter’s outside vet diagnosed diabetes, which in that shelter (like many) is a death sentence. We later found that Cyclops had been owned and was diabetic since 2010.

When DCIN learned BK had a death sentence, we made her a 911 priority. Within a day, a former registered veterinary technician who adopts special needs cats stepped up. Within two weeks, DCIN flew BK 1600 miles home to her new Mom and she became Bella.

Julius after overdose, in foster care.

Three months later, on the day DCIN first posted him for adoption, Bella’s Mom applied to adopt Cyclops. DCIN worked with a local, diabetic-friendly rescue to pull him from the shelter. But, unimaginably, the shelter’s vet overdosed Cyclops’ insulin on his first injection, causing seizures and other life-threatening problems. The only information DCIN and the local rescue received for a few days was that Cyclops might die. As soon as it appeared Cyclops might survive, the local rescue insisted he be transferred to it, but that took several more days, very anxious days.

Cyclops moved to a foster home, and was happy to receive the additional medical and emotional care. He rehabbed for four months, and his foster Mom taught personable, 12+ year old Cyclops to play. His new Mom asked his foster Mom to start using his new name. No more monster’s name for Julius.

Thank you DCIN...

Julius would have flown the 1500 miles to his new home a month earlier, but Bella had a medical issue. Because she needed a high insulin dose that was occasionally ineffective, Bella’s Mom had her tested for Acromegaly and she tested positive. Acromegaly is a rare condition that causes an adult cat’s body to overproduce growth hormones, leading to enlarged internal organs and external features (giantism) and extreme insulin resistance. DCIN shared its knowledge of Acromegaly with Bella’s Mom, who took her to a vet university hospital for four days of treatment to kill the benign tumor on her pituitary gland.

...for bringing us home.

DCIN helps diabetic cats whose owners are unable or unwilling to provide the necessary care—or who have abandoned them altogether—by finding them loving homes. We are proud of our many success stories, including Bella and Julius!