Adoption Return Because of Diabetes Diagnosis

Hi there!

I’m looking for advice, and to see if I’m doing the right thing here. I found out today that the FIV+ cat I adopted also has diabetes, and I’ve made the very difficult decision to return him to the shelter.

TL;DR I’m a flight attendant and after working out the financials and getting advice from friends and vets, don’t think I’m the best person to care for my buddy.

For background, I adopted him on October 9th and was aware of his FIV diagnosis when I adopted him, and felt really prepared to manage that (truly he seems to have had no complications from it aside from an URI while he was there.) He also had had surgery to repair a large laceration around his neck that he was brought into the shelter with. For all he’s been through he’s such a sweet cat and incredibly well behaved. I am a flight attendant and have been working diligently to organize a great system for him at home while I’m away on trips (these don’t usually last more than an overnight but sometimes 2 nights.) and he seems to have handled this really well. No signs of stress, maybe just a bit more cuddly when I get home.

For the month I’ve had him he’s been experiencing diarrhea off and on, he’s been to a few vet appointments now to try and remedy this, (prescription foods seemed to help temporarily, A GI antibiotic, and had a stool samples taken which came back clear). Then the last couple of days I’ve noticed he is urinating frequently and drinking tons of water. I was ready to just chalk this up to him really loving his fountain but went back to the vet again just to be sure. They took blood and called me back today with the result that he has diabetes.

I discussed at length my situation with the vet and what treatment might look like, we also discussed possible solutions to address me being gone, primarily boarding him while I’m away. While I would be absolutely happy to do this, the cost per month with my schedule would come to almost $500 a month which is an expense I simply can’t afford in the long term. I live alone and recently transferred to my current base so haven’t really gotten to know people well yet to maybe have someone care for him while I’m away.

After taking everything into consideration, I’m leaning on returning him to the shelter, I just feel that given the care he needs, the best shot at comfort he has is with someone who is home every day and has the resources to manage his condition. I’m truly heartbroken and feel like I failed him somehow, but I just don’t see a good way out of this. What do you guys think, am I doing the right thing here? Also, would the shelter let me cover his adoption fee for someone else to adopt him? I just want him to have the best chance at a great home because he truly deserves it. Thank you all in advance for your advice and support.

EDIT: Thank you all so much for your kind words. It’s been a rough last 24 hours for me and I’m sure for him too being back in the shelter, but I keep reminding myself it’s what’s best for him. The shelter let me sponsor his adoption fee thankfully, so hopefully that helps him find a great home that much faster 🙂.