Poor eating habits can and do contribute to the cause of diabetes in humans and this is also the case with dogs and cats that are fed high carbohydrate dry or canned food diets.
Do commercial pet food companies cater to the optimal health of our feline companions? Do they help us to nurture our cats with the best products for vigor and longevity? Do they have the best of intentions to honor and respect these animals? Does their mission adhere to the dignity and love that these sentient beings deserve? Or do they simply bow to the bottom line, to business as usual? And do these multinational corporations threaten the very existence of our chosen pets? According to Elizabeth Hodgkins, DVM, "All pet food companies have enormous investments in their current dry formulations and the long-term purchase of ingredients that will make up those foods. All have huge dry cat food plants and a customer base that they will not willingly convert to better types of food with smaller profit margins. The ingredients and macronutrients of the different forms of cat food are dictated by the requirements of food technology, not the science of feline nutrition." It is money, not ethics that determines the constituents of the dry commercial cat kibble, that has been touted as a complete and healthy 'food'.
Consider the significant and growing population of cats that are faced with debilitating chronic illness, due to the dry junk foods which they are fed on a daily basis, for a lifetime. One case in point - feline diabetes. The cat has developed over the millennia, as a meat eater. It is not adapted to eating a diet that is high in carbohydrates, but rather a diet that is mainly protein. Our domesticated feline has too often become obese, due to the consumption of cereal based foods, very often resulting in cat diabetes. Today, about one percent of cats will be diagnosed with feline diabetes, and in most cases the diagnosis is completely preventable. Some of the causes which have been determined by the veterinary professionals include pancreatic disease, hormonal imbalances, certain medications, and obesity. In actual fact it is usually diet that is the culprit. Cats, in their wild environment, do not contract this illness because they do not hunt a diet that is grain-based! The cat has a unique metabolic machinery designed for high production of energy from protein and near exclusion of carbohydrates as energy source.
Obesity is not the culprit, but merely the result of incorrect diet. Obesity is just a warning signal that the cat's diet is biologically inappropriate. A fat cat is not a healthy cat.
The cat's satiety signals have evolved in an environment of wild prey consumption, and are prompted through the eating of meat. These signals are prompted only when the cat has consumed enough of a protein/fat-based diet. These satiety signals have not evolved through the consumption of carbohydrate intake. This results in the cat exceeding its nutrient requirements. Energy requirements are met with the consumption of carbohydrates, but these energy requirements can be readily exceeded. The result is that the consumption of these inappropriate nutrients creates glucose overload, and makes insulin levels spike repeatedly, which puts a strain on the pancreas. The pancreas will ultimately become exhausted, because it was not designed to produce the quantity of insulin needed to handle a high glucose diet, and diabetes will result.
There is good news!
According to the information that we have gleaned from the holistic veterinary community, there is light at the end of the diabetic tunnel, particularly in the case of the feline form of this disease. Most cats can recover from this ailment, insulin shots can usually be reduced and ultimately eliminated, and the diabetic cat can be returned to a balanced state of health. The exhausted feline pancreas has the ability to recover remarkably well to the point of once again, making its own insulin, once the high carbohydrate diet has been eliminated, and replaced with a high protein/fat intake. This is very exciting news! Diabetic cats can be cured of this illness.
One important note here: It is very important to monitor glucose levels when making any kind of diet change, for the diabetic cat. An overdose of insulin can be life-threatening, therefore, insulin levels must be lowered in accordance with glucose levels, and this can be accomplished, using a standard glucometer at home.
If your veterinarian is recommending that you feed a dry kibble, diabetic diet, perhaps it is time to take matters into your own hands, inform your vet about the dangers of feeding this inappropriate food, and if you must, go your own way for the sake of your companion animal.
Diabetes in our feline population can be blamed almost exclusively on dry commercial pet foods.
