Hospice foster possible?

Here's the situation:
I work at an animal shelter where we have a really, really lovely, friendly, wonderful boy named Moby. He was adopted out and when his adopter took him to the vet they discovered he had diabetes. His adopter returned him, having just lost a cat to diabetes and not wanting to go through it again. Unfortunately, the shelter is pretty small with an equally small budget so ongoing and likely long-term treatment for diabetes (since we don't really have adopters for special needs cats) is not financially feasible.

What I'm wondering is, would it be realistic for me to take him in as a hospice foster? Basically that would mean I'd take him home and let him live here until the diabetes takes a toll on his quality of life, and then I'd help him pass. I do this with other cats with varying conditions, like cancer. I don't (and can't) provide treatment, but for these cats they still have some time left before their illness starts to really affect them. I feel it's kinder to let these cats live out their last days/weeks/months/years in the comfort of a loving home and be with someone they know when they're ready to pass than it is to euthanize them while they're still feeling fine at the shelter. However, I've never had a diabetic cat so I have no idea if he's already experiencing a poor quality of life or if he can live a decent life for a time without treatment before he starts to go downhill.

I do have a fabulous vet who helps me keep these cats as comfortable as possible and helps me determine when it's their time. I intend to consult with her as well, but she's gone until Tuesday, and I really wanted to get the input of those who have experience living with a diabetic cat on a daily basis as well. Any input is appreciated!

 

IMHO it would be cruel to keep a diabetic cat untreated and just wait for it to get really sick before being pts - none of the ends for untreated diabetics are pleasant. If all adoption/treatment avenues are exhausted my feeling is that it might be better to spend a few days giving the kitty the time of its life and then pts before it gets horribly ill.

 

Diabetes is not a death sentence, it is very treatable. Without treatment, the cat basically starves to death while eating lots. I also believe it would be cruel to do this with diabetes. If treated properly, a cat shouldn't 'die of diabetes'. Many long term diabetic cats on this board die of other things, not diabetes. People even adopt cats already diabetic! Like me...my current sugarcat has been here almost 2 years, been diabetic for 4 years. My last one crossed this last August from other conditions. Where are you and sweet kitty located? We can help you learn to care for him too! If he has no other issues, just diabetes, there's no reason for him to be PTS, just treat.

HUGS and headbutts too!

 

Thank you for your honest opinion, that's exactly what I wanted to know. Although I do want to clarify that I don't keep these cats alive until they're on death's door. They stay with me until they reach a point where their affliction *starts* to negatively impact their quality of life. They aren't here to linger and suffer by any means.

 

Sorry I didn't mean it to sound like that of course you don't! The problem with untreated diabetes is that they can go from a bit lethargic to hugely sick and on deaths doorstep with DKA in a Very short space of time so that was where my mind was at - you may not get a point in between. When Vyktor was first diagnosed his vet at the time didn't want to treat him because of his age (he was only 15!). I started researching and home testing. At that point his only symptoms were lethargy and excessive drinking but within a couple of weeks, before I'd made the choice to ditch the vet and start insulin, Vyktor was hospitalised and fighting for his life. It was pretty literally that he seemed ok one minute and was absolutely stuffed the next. I wouldn't have wanted him to end on that note.

 

Can you feed a low carb, over the counter canned food diet like Friskies pates which are relatively inexpensive? That may lower the glucose 100-200 mg/dL right there.
Can you post on your local Craigslist and ask for donations of Levemir or Lantus for the diabetic cat? If someone can provide you the insulin (initially prescribed per vet), we can help you with testing and shooting.

 

Alternatively, if it's the practical side of giving treatment that you don't have the time or resources to cope with rather than the cost, are you sure no-one would adopt him if they were told about his diabetes before they did? You might be surprised at what the right person would be prepared to do for him if they fell in love with him.

 

Where are you located? I would take him in a heartbeat. Might as well take care of two sugar babies

 

I would have offered too if we didn't already have 6 cats - one diabetic, one with CKD, one semi-feral and one that just has 'issues' with normal behavior (so 1 in 3 are relatively normal...not bad for a bunch of cats I guess ). I'm not sure I could do justice to another special needs kitty right now. But Lori, your response is exactly what I was wondering when I asked if there was no way anyone would take him on - there are people out there who will gladly adopt cats with known medical conditions.

 

Hello, and welcome to FDMB.

It sounds like you're doing some wonderful work. Bless you for doing that.

As others have said, 'diabetes is not a death sentence'. It is very often a manageable condition, and, with care and a bit of good luck, a diabetic cat can live as long and as healthily as a non-diabetic cat. (My cat has been diabetic for 8 years now). Also, some lucky cats will go into remission (ie, can recover to the point where their diabetes can be diet-controlled)
However, untreated diabetes is a death sentence...

I fully understand that the shelter can't afford to treat all the animals in it's care. (I foster cats for a charity and do understand that they have to work with very limited funds.)
But there are some things you could do initially that wouldn't cost a whole lot of money.
As BJ suggested in her post above, you can make sure that Moby is eating a low carb wet diet. Diet can have a big impact on blood glucose levels.
You can get a tub of Ketodiastix from a pharmacy and monitor Moby's pee. Ketodiastix test strips can show how much glucose is spilling into the urine, and most importantly, they test for ketones.
If you feel able to, it would be great if you could learn to test Moby's blood glucose. Most of us use ordinary glucose meters made for humans. This shouldn't hurt the kitty at all, but it may take a few goes for you and Moby to get the hang of it (just like learning anything new)

If you could find out what Moby's blood glucose levels are once he's been on a low carb wet diet for a few days, that would give us a much clearer idea of how 'advanced' his diabetes is.
Is that something you might be able to do...?

Here is the link to the FDMB page of hometesting info, tips and tricks, and example videos:
Hometesting Links and Tips

Best wishes,

Eliz

 

Please let us know what the outcome is for sweet Moby