Owner's Name
Tammy McKelvie

Please include a short paragraph that tells voters something fun or interesting about the cat(s) and other animals in the photo. Which cat is diabetic? Is one or more a DCIN rescue? How long have the animals been a part of your family? Give some interesting information about the animal(s) in the photo that will encourage others to vote for your photo.
"Mom, Keith is a member of our family and when I was diagnosed with diabetes nobody suggested killing me." Honest, true and profound words uttered by my autistic son, Noah, after our vet recommended putting our cat, Keith, down after diagnosing him with diabetes.

Her reasoning? "Tammy, your plate is completely full taking care of Noah's special needs and your other cats. You don't need the added stress and inconvenience of caring for a diabetic cat." I looked at Noah as his eyes filled with tears and adamantly said "NO." She walked out of the door and out of our lives.

I found DCIN who believed in Keith as much as we did who immediately put a plan in place. I joined the FDMB and read as much as my mind could take in. I found a community of wonderful people who had walked this path before and had mountains of advice. DCIN sent Wendy to us who came with syringes and a short course of Diabetes 101. Keith was sent a meter of his own and when he acutely developed an attack of pancreatitis, they did a fundraiser for him. We even eventually adopted Casanova (Kass), another diabetic cat on the DCIN page, whose time had almost run out and was going to be put down if no one adopted him. I cannot imagine our lives without Keith and Kass completing our family circle.

Is my plate too full? Yes, it is overflowing, but I would have it no other way. At the end of the day, I know two beautiful furry souls that make our world magical are still here because of an organization called DCIN composed of people with huge hearts who are on a mission to save these special cats one at a time. It is a mission I believe in and want to participate in because I teach my son that empathy and compassion are just useless words without action. I was asked by DCIN to help one person and that experience changed my life.

Now, that is a dream worth believing in.