Symptoms Of And Treatments For Cat Diabetes
A few years ago cat diabetes was seen as a rare affliction however over the last few years there has been a surge in cases and it is important to be aware of the symptoms of and treatments for cat diabetes. Here is a good easy to understand article:-
“Like diabetes in humans, diabetes in cats is also caused by the body’s inability to produce or use insulin properly.
What does feline diabetes mean for your pet? Does it mean that your cat will have a lower life quality or a shortened life span? The good news is that even if your cat has been diagnosed with diabetes, proper management will ensure that your cat lives a healthy and long life.
Symptoms of feline diabetes
Symptoms of this condition are usually noted in cats over the age of 7 years.
Many of the symptoms of diabetes in cats are the same as those in humans. Your cat may show a sudden weight loss or in cases weight gain. This is usually the first sign or symptom you may notice.
Also your cat may want seem thirstier and hungrier than usual. Your cat may suddenly start to consume as much as thrice the amount of food it ate earlier and since it is drinking a lot more water as well, it will also urinate that much more often.
If your cat suddenly appears to have thinner skin or appears more fragile this could be a sign that the body is breaking up tissue to compensate for not getting enough energy for survival.
The back legs of cats often become weak due to feline diabetes. They may appear wobbly or stilted while walking.
Treatment for feline diabetes
Diabetes in cats is important to detect and treat, because otherwise it could become a life threatening condition. It can damage the nerves, and even cause death in cases.
It is also seen that proper treatment could send the disease into remission, so timely detection and treatment is very important.
Treatment of this condition can be a two pronged approach, much like human diabetes treatments. A low carb diet is very important to keep cat diabetes in control.
In fact one study was able to demonstrate that when cats were put on low carbs diets, they stopped needing insulin treatment.
For this experts recommend a healthy canned diet rather than dry cat food which tends to have the highest carb content. Secondly long lasting insulin is usually needed to form an effective part of the treatment for feline diabetes.”
An interesting point is made at the end of this article on symptoms of and treatments for cat diabetes and any of you who have read my other posts will know what I am talking about.
The article mentions a low carbohydrate diet as being important but also mentions that in some cases where a low carbohydrate diet is administered insulin is no longer required. In other words the cat diabetes has reversed!
