Diabetes in Cats
It is estimated that 1 out of every 400 felines suffer from cat diabetes. It is a disease that tends to be more prevalent in males than females and is most commonly found in adult and senior cats. Diabetes in cats is a serious disease that can become fatal if not treated. Similar to diabetes in humans, feline diabetes will typically require a life-long cat diabetes treatment and daily monitoring by the cat owner. A cat with diabetes can live a full and normal life as long as insulin levels are properly monitored and in some cases, cats have even gone into full remission.
What Causes Diabetes in Cats
As in humans, diabetes in felines is a result of the cat having too much sugar in their blood. Excessive blood sugar levels are caused by insulin deficiency, a hormone that is produced in the pet’s pancreas that is responsible for converting glucose (blood sugar) into energy. Thus, cat’s that have had a history of pancreatitis and other conditions of the immune system tend to be more susceptible to cat diabetes. There are a number of factors that are thought to increase a pet’s chances of developing diabetes including hereditary factors, obesity, the cat’s diet, and the age of the animal.
The Symptoms of Diabetes in Cats
There are a number of common symptoms of cat diabetes, most frequently, increased urination and water consumption. Other typical symptoms of feline diabetes can include a loss in weight despite having an increased appetite. If you notice any of these signs of cat diabetes in your pet, you should take the cat to a veterinarian for further evaluation.
How Feline Diabetes is Diagnosed
If your pet is displaying the symptoms of cat diabetes, a veterinarian will look for increased blood sugar levels by testing blood and urine samples obtained from the cat. If the blood sugar levels are found to be high, the vet will typically want to test additional samples obtained periodically over the course of a one to two week period since increases in blood sugar can also be the result of elevated stress levels and other conditions. If it is suspected that you have a cat with diabetes, these tests will help in determining the type of diabetes and also the cat diabetes treatment plan that will need to be put in place.
The Treatment of Diabetes in Cats
Even though oral medications have been successful in humans, it hasn’t been the case with cats. Oral medications such as Glipizide, which works by stimulating the pancreas to secrete insulin, has only shown limited success in cats . Research has also shown that it may cause additional damage to the pancreas and could even bring about problems in the liver. The preferred treatment for cat diabetes is insulin injections. The frequency and dosage of insulin will be determined by the veterinarian based on the blood and urine tests. This will need to be monitored closely during the early stages of the cat diabetes treatment, and may need to be tweaked some until a consistent insulin level can be maintained.
The cat owner can easily administer the insulin injections once trained by the veterinarian on the proper procedure. This feline diabetes treatment causes no pain in the cat as the needle is very thin. The cat owner will need to monitor the blood sugar level as additional adjustments to frequency and dosage may be necessary. This can be done by taking the cat to the vet periodically for testing, or by using a home test kit.
Natural Remedies for Cat Diabetes
More pet owners are now turning to natural remedies for cat diabetes as a preferred treatment option. Natural cat diabetes remedies, particularly GlucoEnsure, have been proven to be very successful at both managing and preventing diabetes in cats. Herbal cat diabetes remedies usually contain the ingredients Trigonella foenum, Goat’s Rue, and Chromium picolate which have been shown to be very effective at maintaining the cat’s blood sugar level. Herbal and homeopathic cat diabetes remedies can either be used as the sole treatment or may also be used in conjunction with insulin injections to better control blood sugar levels.
Cat Food for Diabetes
A vital part of any treatment plan is a special diet consisting of cat foods for diabetes that are low in carbohydrates. In less serious cases of cat diabetes, a change in diet may be the only form of treatment that is necessary. A cat food for diabetes that contains more proteins and fats is recommended as the pet is able to metabolize them more slowly than carbohydrates. The typical cat foods for diabetes that are most often recommended by veterinarians are high in fiber, low in fat and have low to moderate amounts of carbohydrates. By implementing a special diabetic cat food and a proper treatment plan, your cat will be able to live a long and normal life.
Filed under: Health Conditions
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