Vernon cat left orphaned without its insulin now in Okanagan Humane Society care

Diabetic cat orphaned

Photo: Facebook/Okanagan Humane Society

Junebug

A diabetic cat left without insulin shots for an unknown period of time after its owner passed away is doing much better, according to the Okanagan Humane Society.

Junebug and another cat named Casey were orphaned after their owner passed away in their Vernon apartment last week. Junebug was rescued and is now in Okanagan Humane Society care with its partner vet clinic Central Animal Hospital being treated.

“Central Animal Hospital Staff were remarkable, taking him into their care right away Monday morning to work with us on getting him regulated again as we do not know how many days he was without insulin shots,” said OHS president Romany Ruvnalls.

Junebug is stabilizing with a glucose monitor and doing much better – he’s 10 years old and needs insulin shots given twice a day.

No pre-arrangements were made for the care of Junebug and Casey. For now, Junebug will remain with Central Animal hospital until a permanent adopter is found.

Ruvnalls says Junebug will make a perfect companion for people comfortable treating diabetic cats – a fairly common feline ailment due to over-feeding of kibbles.

“Supplementing more frequent feeding of soft canned food, and a lesser amount of dry kibble, plus lots of fresh cold water can help prevent diabetes, and urinary tract infections, and obesity among other health concerns, especially for indoor only cats which the Okanagan Humane Society encourages, but that tend to be less active,” said Ruvnalls in an email.

For now, Casey will remain with her and Junebug’s rescuer, Carol, who helped retrieve the cats alongside the Coroner.

“She cared for them for the first couple of nights until we could get them into care,” said Ruvnalls.

Junebug’s rescue comes off an extremely busy summer prompting OHS to enter “crisis mode.”

OHS says it desperately needs more kitten and cat fosters throughout the interior. The rescue organization supplies the vet care prior to fostering so animals are already vet checked, fixed, vaccinated, and dewormed.

People interested in fostering can submit a volunteer form on the OHS website. The organization can provide a starter kit with a litter pan, toys and small bag of food if needed.

Photo: Facebook/Okanagan Humane Society