Diabetes and Your Cat
Diabetes mellitus occurs when your cat does not produce enough insulin, or when cells in your cats body don’t respond to the insulin that is produced. It results in high blood sugar, which in turn causes increased urination, thirst and hunger. On average, around one in 200 cats has diabetes. Luckily, with proper treatment, the fatality rate is low (less than 10%.) Diabetes has risen in incidence over the past 30 years. Part of this may be due to the fact that obesity has also increased in incidence, and today up to 40% of cat may be obese. Factors which increase the risk o diabetes include: obesity, age of older than 7 years, being male. Treatment for diabetes will include insulin therapy. Most cats will need insulin injections twice a day, because the duration of insulin is not long.
Diabetic cats are frequently overweight.
The best diet for a diabetic cat will be one that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. It is important to maintain optimal body condition in any cat, and this includes diabetic cats. The three things you want to accomplish in a diabetic cat are reducing excess body weight, reducing hyperglycemia after eating, and stimulating insulin secretions.
There are special diets available for diabetic cat in both canned and dry food varieties. IF you have a diabetic cat, it is best to feed them twice a day, and inject insulin just before or after meals. IT is important to understand that food must be available one insulin action occurs in order to prevent a life threatening hypoglycemia. If a cat will not eat after receiving a full dose of insulin, you should offer a source of rapidly absorbable carbohydrates, such as that found in honey. To prevent this situation from occurring you can administer insulin only after meals are eaten.
Royal Canin has a diet formulated specifically for diabetic cats!
It is important to check your cat’s blood glucose frequently. Additionally, it is possible to check the urine for high glucose concentrations (glucosuria) using glucose strips. In this case you may want to look into he smart cat box or a similar product which helps to separate the urine from litter, making testing easier.
Your veterinarian can help you monitor your pets blood glucose level.
Because you can’t control age or sex of your cat, prevention of obesity is the key in avoiding diabetes. Make sure your cat gets plenty of exercise, using both interactive play and toys designed to exercise your cat when you aren’t there to participate. While neutered cats are more likely to become obese, and therefore become diabetic, the benefits of neutering you cat far outweigh the risks. It is easy to maintain the weight of your neutered cat with portion control and exercise.
