Feline Diabetes Is Our Fault
Feline diabetes appears to be a new phenomena and it is on the increase and without a doubt feline diabetes is our fault. We forget that by nature cats are outdoor animals and live on small rodents, birds and mammals. In fact this is why the relationship between man and cat began.
The way humans used to live and in some cases still do created the perfect environment for rats and mice. This not only attracted cats but cats were welcome to help reduce the rodent population.
Over time however this relationship has developed into a more intimate one. Cats are now primarily kept for love and company and rodent catching duties are in most cases not even considered. But the relationship is mutually beneficial, whereas before cats had to hunt in a hostile environment they were now handed food on a plate in a safe environment.
In the wild the cat naturally hunts and eats raw food. So a mouse that is caught is eaten lock stock and barrel. So a cats natural diet in the wild is high in protein and low in carbohydrate. Compare that with high carbohydrate dry food or vegetable laden wet food that we now feed our domesticated cats.
Is it any wonder therefore that giving domesticated cats a poor diet and a lazy life style has resulted in feline diabetes becoming more prominent and a host of other diseases and illnesses.
The above facts are highlighted again in this post:-
“However they had to hunt for their food. Mice and rats can be fast and the cat had to be lean, physically fit, stealth like and to be in good cat health to survive. It was survival of the fittest. If a cat didn’t eat it died…or a better cat would replace it.
Their health was important. They had to counter prey internal pests and microorganisms with a good digestive system…and they had to get all their food from one source- their prey. If they couldn’t get the nutrients and resources from their prey, their health would suffer- so they ate the whole lot. Bones, internal organs, hair- the lot…but instead of being disgusting it actually helped them.
As time went on and the cat came more “domesticated” their colors started to change. Instead of hunting colors/ camouflage which was beginning to take a back seat, other colors started to develop and show. Black was the first color to emerge from this new relationship (stripes came from man-made breeding). Coats became denser if it was a cooler climate and thinner/ shorter if a warmer climate.
Cats now have been interbred within a small population giving some specific types of cat “inherited” disorders which were not present many years ago. Cats have now not become the lean stealth machine that they once were. They have become house cats with food on tap and their claws clipped.
They are no longer fed the food which created their internal systems- they are given factory made dry food and very little wet which can lie in a bowel for many hours.
Protein which was in abundance is now replaced with vitamins and minerals in dry carbohydrates- to which the cat is not used to. It can not utilize this for energy.
Meat has been replaced with vegetables which the can can not use within it’s diet. The cat becomes lazy, it enjoys the food even though it is not good for them.
Feline diabetes is predominantly found in cats who are overweight. Also stress causes the release of natural cortisol which makes the fat cells within a cats body even less sensitive to insulin.
So why hunt, why be active (climbing around the furniture gets a cat told off)?”
So giving our cats a western lifestyle has unfortunately meant that the growing incidence of feline diabetes is our fault. However by allowing your cat to exercise and feeding it a diet as close as possible to what it would eat int he wild we can not only help prevent feline diabetes but also in many cases reverse feline diabetes.
