Letter #111

Almost 2 weeks ago, we took our 9 year-old cat, Bella, to the vet with the expectation of having her put to sleep. She wasn't able to walk or use the litter box. Things did not look good AT ALL. She had been diagnosed with diabetes less than a year ago and we thought it was progressing. After an examination, the vet couldn't figure out what was going on and we discussed the options. The vet wanted to see if her blood sugar was regulated with her current insulin dosage before making the decision to euthanize her and we agreed. After we left the vet's office, I decided that I would give Bella about a week to either get better or worse. It was just too painful to watch her suffer so badly. I was actually hoping the test would reveal a problem with her blood sugar because that might explain what was going on. The vet also mentioned that the leg Bella couldn't bear any weight on had almost no muscle. When the test results revealed that her blood sugar was fine, I really became worried about her lack of muscle and thought that her diet was my last hope. She had been eating dry food for the 8 years we have had her because that is what she was being fed at the shelter when we adopted her. I never thought it was a big deal, especially because I ALWAYS bought the most expensive natural or organic dry food I could find. I thought I was feeding her healthy. I figured with a week to make a life or death decision, we had nothing to lose. I decided to buy some canned food. After a lot of research on foods high in protein and low in carbs, I went to the store hopeful to find something to help build her muscle back. While at the store, I noticed Freshpet in the Whole Foods pet aisle. I liked that it appeared to be less messy and more convenient than canned, so I bought it along with some canned varieties of other brands. I started switching her over to FreshPet that night. The day after having some Freshpet mixed with her prescription diabetes dry food, she was walking better. Within 5 days she was on 100% Freshpet. On the second day of 100% Freshpet she appeared to no longer need insulin. I was absolutely SHOCKED to see her go into spontaneous remission just from her diet. She is still insulin free and is being monitored very closely. We see no signs that her diabetes is going to return. She is walking better than she ever has before and appears to have ALREADY built muscle in her hind legs. Remember, this has all happened in less than TWO WEEKS! Thank you Freshpet for not only saving my cat's life, but improving it to the best she has ever been. We will be forever grateful and will keep you updated on Bella's progress. _Nova and Bella