See the American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA's) Guidelines for Responsible Pet Ownership.
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- Notify DCIN (venita@dcin.info) or the adoptive cat's case manager of your interest in adopting one of the listed diabetic cats, or another diabetic cat you have found elsewhere.
- Provide DCIN your full name, address, email address, and phone number(s).
- Discuss with DCIN what adoption application you need to complete and where to send it. You can download DCIN's adoption form from this page.
- Discuss with DCIN the financial arrangements for transporting your adoptive cat and for getting set up with insulin, other diabetic supplies, and vet visits and procedures.
- If a visit to the adoptive cat by an experienced FD caregiver has not yet been made and you would like to have that done, please inform DCIN.
- Be aware that DCIN or another appropriate party will be contacting your vet reference and may be contacting your personal references.
- Be aware that DCIN or another appropriate party may visit your home and pets to ensure an appropriate environment for the cat you wish to adopt.
- DCIN strongly recommends that you or your vet have a conversation with the adoptive cat's vet.
- DCIN strongly recommends that you have a conversation with your adoptive cat's current caregiver about the cat.
- You will need to work with DCIN to make sure that your adoptive cat will be appropriately vetted and documented for travel.
- You will need to work with DCIN to make sure that appropriate travel arrangements are made for your adoptive cat. You (or someone you recruit) may be required to drive further than the normal leg of a ground transport or fly to pick up the cat.
- Have your home appropriately prepared to accept your new cat. This usually requires arrangements to slowly integrate your new cat with your resident cats. This is DCIN's paper on Introducing Cats and this is a video on using babygates while introducing cats. This is Cornell University's paper on Feline Behavior Problems: Aggression.
- Be prepared to receive and give unconditional love with your new cat.
FOSTERING
This is information that a shelter with a diabetic cat facing destruction could send to local rescue groups to find a DCIN-sponsored foster home.
The foster caregiver(s) doesn't have to have prior experience with diabetics. They just have to be willing to learn it, and to invest a little extra effort in getting a cat healthy/stable.
The foster caregiver must be willing to enforce a strict "no dry food, low-carbohydrate wet" policy for the foster cat. This means no access to dry food, which of course, means that if the foster has other cats with free access to dry, the foster cat must be in a separate part of the house. Absolutely no dry food, wet food only. Also, the canned food should be low-carbohydrate (grain-free food is preferred) unless there are other, more-serious health issues to consider in choosing the cat's diet. DCIN will pay for low-carbohydrate canned food if the foster home or rescue needs that assistance.
The foster caregiver must be willing to learn to "hometest" the cats blood sugar, and then do this a minimum of twice per day (prior to shots). Preferably testing should be done more often, but that is a minimum. All this involves is pricking the cat's ear with a lancet device. DCIN may know a person local to the foster home with experience in caring for diabetic cats who can teach any foster how to do this. DCIN can provide all equipment needed to home test blood glucose levels.
The foster caregiver must be willing to administer insulin shots twice per day. This is very easy and the cat can hardly feel it because insulin shots are typically given in the loose skin of the scruff or in the fat layer of the side/belly. DCIN can provide all insulin and syringes.
The foster caregiver must be willing to monitor cat for signs of complications associated with diabetes. This can be explained.
The foster caregiver must be willing to coordinate closely with a veterinarian that has knowledge of the appropriate treatment of feline diabetes. The foster caregiver is encouraged to study the educational materials about feline diabetes on FelineDiabetes.com, DiabeticCatHelp.com, or DiabeticCatCare.com.
With conscientious care, diabetic cats can be very healthy and normal acting. They can also live just as long as cats without diabetes if their diabetes is kept under good control.
When DCIN facilitates the adoption of a cat from a PetFinder member shelter or rescue, DCIN will pay the first month of < href="https://pets.petfirsthealthcare.com/petfinder/enroll.aspx">simple pet insurance from Pet First Healthcare. It doesn't cover much, but there is NO 14-day waiting period for illnesses, despite what you read in the link. This will help take care of your new cat in case there is something wrong that requires medical attention (besides the diabetes and any other a pre-existing conditions).
