Diabetes in Pets

Diabetes in pets is fairly common, particularly in older dogs and cats. Although on occasion a young animal will contract diabetes. When this occurs, it is usually caused by genetic factors. A dog or cat that becomes diabetic suffers from what is scientifically known as diabetes mellitus, which is more common in female dogs and male cats.

For animals that do not contract diabetes when they are young, certain conditions can cause diabetes in older pets, in particular if they are overweight or if they have an inflamed pancreas which can predispose a dog or cat to contract diabetes. Certainly drugs, such as Glucocorticoids or cortisone-type medications may cause diabetes in pets if they are frequently used.

Diabetes in pets has similar symptoms to diabetes in humans. The lack of insulin causes sugar to build up in the blood and spill over to the urine. Pets then pass large amounts of urine and drink more water. Since the levels of sugar in the brain controls the appetite, the pet feels constantly hungry, yet may actually lose weight because they are not receiving or keeping enough nutrients. Diabetes in pets that go untreated will commonly have bladder, kidney or skin infections and some may develop cataracts because of the accumulation of water behind the eyes.

The gait of the animal will become weakened or abnormal due to the buildup of fat in the liver, which leads to nerve or muscle dysfunction. The two basic types of diabetes in pets start with “uncomplicated” diabetes, in which the aforementioned symptoms commonly occur and “ketoacidosis” diabetes which is more severe, symptoms also include vomiting and depression.

The diagnosis of diabetes in pets starts with a urine sample, followed by blood screening of the liver, kidney and pancreas. Such screenings also look for infections which may have developed, plus to detect which type of diabetes is present. Those with the “ketoacidosis” type may have more waste products in their blood, something that is normally removed by the kidneys.

Treatment of diabetic pets with “ketoacidosis” begins with intravenous fluids and rapidly acting insulin which stabilizes the pet’s sugar levels.  Long term treatment for both types of diabetic conditions is similar. Daily injections of insulin once or twice per day, cats can be treated by oral medications but those methods seldom work with dogs. The number of injections depends on the size of the pet as smaller dogs and cats may need two per day, while larger dogs only one.

Your vet will instruct you on the proper way to administer the insulin as well as putting your pet on the proper diet program. Generally the training to take care of diabetes in pets is fairly straightforward, it consists of what type, how much, and how often to give the insulin to your pet as well as when the best time is to feed your animal.

Plus, any changes should be reported to your vet as well as knowing how to store the insulin as it can become ineffective if it becomes too hot, too cold, or shaken before it is injected.