Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.
This is a picture of B.K., taken two months ago.
I've been trying to think what to say about B.K., and what I wanted people to remember about him. I thought about telling some of the funny stories he played no small part in, but truthfully, I'm just not up to that, yet. Then, as I was re-reading some of your posts, I received a card from his vet; she referred to him as the "venerable B.K.," and went on to say how much she had learned from him and how much she will miss him. I knew then what I wanted to say, and it's this: Never give up on your super sweet kitties or yourself! Our sweet fur-people are remarkably resilient (probably more so than any of us), and are willing to tolerate us and what we have to do in the name of this disease unconditionally. I know how overwhelming this can all seem sometimes, but you and your kitty can get through it
When B.K. was diagnosed, I'd never even heard of feline diabetes. My learning curve was steep. How steep? One day I found him laying in his litter box drooling; he'd never behaved that way, so I called the vet's office. Unfortunately, his regular vet was out that day, so another vet told me that cats drool sometimes for basically no reason and I shouldn't worry, so I did nothing. I'll never know how B.K. survived a hypo without any treatment or assistance from me, but he did. He and I made it through changes in insulin, dentals, hectic schedules, vacations, boarding, and all the usual cat stuff that happens to all of us every day.
I'd also like to think that, in the course of caring for him all these years, B.K. did his part in helping educate vets and vet techs regarding feline diabetes.
Lastly, I want you (especially the newbies) to know that B.K. passed from a stroke that was likely a result of age and had nothing to do with his diabetes. The day he left, he'd been outside climbing trees, visiting with his BFF's (human and feline), and had antagonized at least one large dog. He was happy and not at all debilitated by diabetes. I wish the same for all of you.
