Commitment: A Story of Rascal

First of all, let me just say THANK YOU to those of you who have reached out to us about the situation in Jamaica.  We have been able to dig around a little more and are basically faced with the reality that NO adoption agencies in the U.S. facilitate adoptions from Jamaica.  L  If we were to pursue the little girls in Jamaica, it would involve going about it independently (new paperwork, hire attorney, wait for the girls to be “paper ready” to adopt, travel to Jamaica, etc).  We are not closing the door on this option, but honestly it terrifies us. 

We will have to wait and see what God leads us to do.  Continued prayers are VERY appreciated!

On another note- - let me catch you all up on what’s been keeping us busy the past several days….  This is a story of our cat, Rascal…

Last Tuesday evening, Rascal urinated on the bathroom rug.  (yuck!)  I freaked out to say the least and googled why he might have done such a thing.  After my “research” I concluded that he probably had a Urinary Tract Infection, considering he had no other symptoms.  The next day, I took him to the vet “real quick”.  I assumed that they’d check him out, give us a little pill for the UTI and we’d be on our way. 

(How silly of me to think it was going to be so simple.)

During his check-up, the vet wanted to do a urinalysis (I didn’t ask how they got a urine sample from my kitty…. Shew.  I don’t want to think about that).  After a few short moments, she came back into the room and said with a smile, “Do you want the good news or bad news first?”  I was like- - “whaaaaaat??.. uhm…. Bad news?”  She said, “Rascal is diabetic.”  It felt like my mouth dropped to the floor.  “And the good news?”  She smiled again, “He doesn’t have a UTI?”

She apologized for always having to give me “information overload” when I come in (refer to earlier posts about Zoe and her big vet ordeal).  She said, “I know you and your husband would not fall into this category because you all seem to be very dedicated pet owners, but a lot of times when people hear that their cats are diabetic, they choose to put them to sleep because of the level of commitment it requires.”

Again- - I was like- - “whaaaaaaat?!”  My sweet, sweet, Rascal!!  He was completely himself, just had a little accident on the bathroom rug!  He’s FINE!!  Right?!?!

Oh, and we all know Rascal is a chunk.  EVERY TIME we take him to the vet I ask if he’s obese, if he’s okay, etc.  I’m always told, “Oh, Rascal’s just a big cat.”  So I asked Mrs. Vet….. “Is this because Rascal is fat?? Because…”  She cut me off and smiled and said, “No,… not necessarily.  It’s mainly his diet.  Dry food is all carbohydrates.  So it converts to sugar.  That’s the problem.”

WHY didn’t they tell me this sooner?!?!?!  Grrrrrr…..

Anyway, after my millions of questions about what this really meant, she informed me that he needed to stay overnight, begin insulin shots, she needed to monitor him every 2 hours to make sure his blood sugar didn’t get “dangerously” low- (meaning lethargy, seizures, etc), he needed to start eating only soft/canned food and we would have to start giving Rascal insulin shots twice a day!!  

She said there was no alternative treatment for our sweet kitty.

Long story a little shorter:  I left and called Erik.  Through my tears, I gave him the news.  Immediately we started making calls and doing a little research.  Well, guess what?  There is a holistic vet in our area and he recommends a raw food diet to reverse the diabetes and some supplements too. 

So….. guess what?  We picked Rascal up from the vet a couple hours later and have decided to try raw foods and supplements to try to reverse the diabetes.  We’ll take him back to check his blood sugar in 2-3 weeks to see if we’re making progress.

So far, Rascal is enjoying his raw diet.  I forget that my sweet kitty is a carnivore.  Mrs. Vet thinks we are committed to our pets??....  She has no idea.  J

Commitment is this:  Pureeing raw turkey and mixed veggies for your cat’s food. 

He’s so worth it.