Treating cats with diabetes is so effective when you understand why your cat has this problem. It is so much more effective (and logical) to address the cause of any problem. This normally leads to the cure.
Diabetes is becoming increasingly common in cats today. Far more common than it was 50 years ago.
The organ that is responsible for diabetes is the pancreas, an organ situated just below the stomach. It regulates the amount of insulin produced. When there is a deficiency of insulin production, there is also a deficiency in glucose and then diabetes can result.
Diabetes mellitus, or sugar diabetes as it is commonly called, can be caused by a variety of factors, including obesity, injury to the pancreas, a pancreatic disease and drugs, particularly hormones and steroids.
Cats with diabetes will tend to have an intensely increased thirst, production of a large amount of urine (usually pale in colour), an increase in appetite and slow healing. A veterinary test will show a high sugar content in the blood and urine.
Later, symptoms can include weight loss, lethargy and weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea, rapid breathing and eventually death.
Veterinarians will prescribe insulin and this can bring the sugar back to normal and allow the cat to lead a normal life. However, few cats enjoy the regular insulin injections, just as few people care to give them.
Another problem with insulin treatment is that it can contribute to sudden swings in insulin levels. When this drops too low, your cat can become hypoglycaemic. Symptoms include shaking, disorientation, staggering, falling, salivating, even seizures.
You may never know this has happened if it occurs when you are out, although there may be some evidence that something occurred.
Veterinarians also like to change the diet for cats with diabetes. This is a must, but their choice of diet is one that is high in carbohydrates. However it is carbohydrates that are converted into sugar, providing the excess amount so common in cats with diabetes. Instead, the diet must be changed to a quality, natural one that is in keeping with their evolution.
The veterinary advice tends to advocate many small meals a day. Cats cannot cope with frequent meals. It upsets their digestion and puts a strain on internal organs. This leads to further complications sooner or later.
It is generally considered that diabetes cannot be cured. However, many cats on daily insulin injections have been cured simply by a change in diet.
