How do cats end up with diabetes?

Is it common for a cat with diabetes to vomit?

It’s not difficult to recognize the more common diabetes symptoms in cats. They drink a lot of water, urinate more frequently and lose weight. Treatment of diabetes involves regular injections of insulin to keep blood glucose levels within normal limits. Vomiting isn’t one of the most common feline symptoms of this disease.

What happens if a cat with diabetes is not treated?

If untreated, diabetes in cats can lead to severe issues, including weakness in the legs (diabetic neuropathy), diabetic ketoacidosis, infections, cataracts, nausea, kidney failure, severe dehydration, seizures, coma, and even death, explains Koble.

What causes diabetes in cats?

The primary cause of diabetes in cats is that the insulin that their body produces is either insufficient or ineffective. This means that insulin is either not helping glucose get into the cells to supply energy or that there is not enough insulin to do its job efficiently.

Can a cat with diabetes go into remission?

Some cats, when you start treating their diabetes and you get their blood sugar under control and get them on a reasonable diet and get them in a better body condition, their diabetes actually goes into remission or partial remission.

What is the most common type of diabetes in cats?

Diet, Exercise, and Obesity. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes in cats, which is good news since, in many cases, it is preventable.

What causes insulin to be destroyed in cats?

Autoimmune Destruction of Insulin-Producing Cells. In some cases, a cat’s own immune system can attack and destroy the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. This is the typical cause of Type 1 diabetes, which is more common in dogs than it is in cats.

Is it possible for a cat with Type 2 diabetes to recover?

If the cat has type 2 diabetes (often caused by obesity, a diet that is high in carbohydrates and a sedentary lifestyle), remission is possible and highly likely. However, in order to get to a remission phase, the cat needs to: Get regular insulin shots, with the doses required by the body to assimilate the glucose in the blood.

How can I help my diabetic cat stay healthy?

Make sure your cat gets enough exercise. Encourage your cat to play and be active in order to help it remain in diabetic remission. This is one of the best ways to help your cat stay healthy and strong in the face of a diabetic diagnosis. Provide your cat with various toys to keep it entertained and active.

Is it normal for a diabetic cat to have accidents?

If your cat seems to be having accidents, you might want to bring it in to the veterinarian’s office for some test to determine whether or not diabetes is affecting the cat again. Urinating outside of the litter box could also be a sign of a urinary tract infection, which is also a symptom of feline diabetes.

What is diabetic remission in cats?

“Diabetic remission occurs when a cat maintains a normal glucose level for more than four weeks without insulin injections or oral glucose regulating medications.”. The primary goal of treating diabetes is to regulate blood glucose quickly and reach a point where the cat no longer needs insulin therapy.

What are the treatment options for newly diagnosed diabetic cats?

Treatment of newly diagnosed diabetic cats with glargine insulin improves glycemic control and results in higher probability of remission that protamine zinc and lente insulins. J Feline Med Surg. 2009;11 (8):683–691. 14. Rand JS, Fleeman LM, Farrow HA, Appleton DJ, Lederer R. Canine and feline diabetes mellitus: nature or nurture?

What are the risk factors for feline type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM)?

Slingerland LI, Fazilova VV, Plantinga EA, Kooistra HS, Beynen AC. Indoor confinement and physical inactivity rather than the proportion of dry food are risk factors in the development of feline type 2 diabetes mellitus. Vet J. 2009;179 (2):247–253.

What kind of diabetes does a cat have?

Abstract Diabetes mellitus is a common endocrine disease in cats. While type 2 diabetes is the most common form seen in cats, other underlying causes may contribute to insulin resistance. Guidelines for diagnosis vary and often do not take into account prediabetic cats.

What causes insulin resistance in cats?

Insulin Resistance. Although most cats respond favorably to insulin, few develop insulin resistance, which occurs due to bodily changes or inability of the body to respond to insulin.

What is cat insulin?

Cat insulin is a synthetic form of insulin that’s administered to cats suffering from diabetes mellitus. Cat diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce sufficient insulin or if the body doesn’t respond appropriately to the amount of insulin produced.

What happens if you give a cat too much insulin?

Insulin overdose can cause your cat to use too much of its body’s blood sugar. This is a condition called hypoglycemia, and it can become fatal very quickly. Symptoms of Hypoglycemia Look for signs of disorientation, unusual hiding behavior and crying or yowling. Drooling and a ‘glassy-eyed’ look are common.

Why does my cat have diabetes type 2?

Not dissimilar to type 2 diabetes in people, most cases of diabetes in cats occur when a cat’s blood sugar rises because its body is no longer responding to insulin in a normal manner. While diabetes is more likely to happen in obese, middle-aged, indoor cats, it can affect any feline at any age and weight.

What to do if your cat has diabetes and needs insulin?

Early intervention with diabetes, as with so many other diseases, gives your cat the best chance of a better life, and possible remission. Daily insulin injections, along with watching what the cat eats, can help get blood sugar levels back on track and allow the cat to act normal. 2. Sometimes diabetes in cats is reversible — it goes away.

What do I need to know about diabetes in cats?

Here’s what I’ve learned about diabetes in cats so far: 1. Diet is crucial when dealing with diabetes in cats Ensuring that your cat is on the right diet is crucial to managing diabetes in cats. Photography ©sae1010 | Thinkstock. Diabetic cats shouldn’t eat dry food.

Can a diabetic cat eat a low carbohydrate diet?

Some diabetic cats also have other health problems, such as kidney disease, that may not be an ideal fit with low carbohydrate diets. Low carbohydrate diets, especially dry diets, are often very high in calories.

Can diabetes in cats be reversed?

2. Sometimes diabetes in cats is reversible — it goes away. With proper diet and the correct insulin therapy, a significant number of cats can go into remission or have their diabetes reversed. We don’t completely understand this, but we are getting better treatment results with low-carb/high-protein diets and early insulin intervention.

What is diabetic diabetes mellitus in cats?

Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the body cannot properly produce or respond to the hormone insulin. This results in elevated levels of the sugar glucose in the blood, which is the main source of energy for the body. Like the human body, the cells in a cat’s body need sugar in the form of glucose for energy.

What does it mean when a cat is in remission?

Diabetic remission occurs when a cat maintains a normal glucose level for more than four weeks without insulin injections or oral glucose regulating medications. Not all cats go into remission, but those that do may stay that way for months or years.

What are the risk factors for cat diabetes?

The most important risk factors identified for the development of diabetes in cats include obesity, increasing age, physical inactivity, male gender, and the use of glucocorticoids (steroids) to treat other illnesses such as feline asthma.

What are the protective factors against diabetes mellitus (DM) in cats?

Access to being outdoors was also protective against DM and should be considered in light of the shift from a former mainly outdoors to today’s indoor confinement of domestic cats; a change in lifestyle that has occurred during the last decades.

What is the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in cats?

Veterinary Medical Data Base records of cats with diabetes mellitus (DM) from 1970 through 1999 were reviewed to identify trends in hospital prevalence of DM and potential host risk factors. Hospital prevalence increased from eight cases per 10,000 in 1970 to 124 per 10,000 in 1999 (P < 0.001).