How to recognize your cat’s got diabetes

The cause of diabetes is a lack of insulin (a pancreas hormone) or the inability of the body to use it effectively (i.e. the resistance of tissues towards insulin). And it doesn’t matter if you’re a person or an animal. With diabetes, the sugar is accumulated in blood and harms the organs and upsets the body balance. The plasma density increases which results in the reduction of fluids in cells and their dehydration and damage. The cells decrease the creation of proteins and it results in the reduction of body weight, decreased immune system functioning, impaired wound healing, etc. Moreover, the organism has to obtain energy from other sources, mainly from fats and therefore a lot of waste is accumulated in the body.

In dogs, diabetes is quite common and it can appear in cats as well. For example, Burmese cats have greater predispositions for diabetes, but any cat can have it. However, diabetes is more common in neutered male cats.

Other factors which increase the risk of having diabetes are higher age, obesity, chronic pancreatitis, metabolic diseases or hyperthyroidism. As I already mentioned, in most cases the diabetes is caused by a pancreatic disease, such as autoimmune reactions, inflammation or cancer.

Diabetes symptoms come one by one. At first, you will probably notice an increased intake of liquid an the related more frequent urinating. Then the cat starts to lose weight, even though it eats from the bowl as much as always or even more. In a more advanced stage, also a skin disease or urinary tract diseases might appear. Pay more attention if your animal is more tired than usual or breaths with difficulties.

If you ignore the symptoms for longer period of time or you don’t notice them (it’s usually more difficult with outdoor cats), the disease will develop to the terminal stage. The animal will gradually lose vision, suffer from vomiting, lack of appetite, apathy, dehydration, and shock and death may come. If you have a suspicion your cat companion has diabetes, have your cat tested and your concerns might be refuted by taking a blood sample or finding sugar in urine.

When diabetes is not cured, by skipping meals or before finding out the perfect insulin dose, a cat might suffer hypoglycaemia, i.e. the lack of sugar in blood (or insulin excess). You can recognize it when the animal is not calm, might have problems with movement or fall unconscious. In such moment, we have to provide first aid to the cat by supplementing sugar. If it is able and willing to eat, it’s enough to give her a bowl. If it’s not, put sugar to its mouth (grape sugar is a great choice) and if it’s not able to swallow, spread the dissolved sugar or syrup between its teeth and below its tongue. When your furry friend gets better, give it something to eat to balance the sugar level.

Diabetes treatment is for life, it’s the same as for people. It consists of diet and insulin doses. Fortunately, the market nowadays offers diet dry food for diabetics and even treats are made for them. So, also a pet with this disease can have a life almost like the others do when taking proper care.

Do you have experience with a cat with diabetes? How are you and your furry friend holding up?