05-22-2017, 08:46 PM
Diabetes is a rising health problem among pets and other animals. Dogs, cats, horses, pigs, and even apes can get diabetes. To help you keep your animal companion in great health, here’s your go-to guide for pet diabetes prevention.
What is Diabetes?
Just like humans, pet animals (dogs and cats mainly) are susceptible to Diabetes Type I and Type II. In this blog guide, we’ll focus on Type II Diabetes and how you can prevent it.
Diabetes is a condition where the body doesn’t process glucose (sugar) properly, and glucose is the energy source of the cells in the body. Insulin, which is produced by the pancreas, is used to transfer glucose throughout the bloodstreams to nourish the cells. However, if your pet has diabetes, the glucose isn’t being circulated normally. Instead, the glucose overflows into other areas of the body, causing problems such as frequent thirst and urination, kidney failure, and low energy levels. Pets that are elderly and overweight or obese tend to be more at risk for diabetes.
Common Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes
Here are some of the most common signs and symptoms to look out for in case your pet has diabetes:
What is Diabetes?
Just like humans, pet animals (dogs and cats mainly) are susceptible to Diabetes Type I and Type II. In this blog guide, we’ll focus on Type II Diabetes and how you can prevent it.
Diabetes is a condition where the body doesn’t process glucose (sugar) properly, and glucose is the energy source of the cells in the body. Insulin, which is produced by the pancreas, is used to transfer glucose throughout the bloodstreams to nourish the cells. However, if your pet has diabetes, the glucose isn’t being circulated normally. Instead, the glucose overflows into other areas of the body, causing problems such as frequent thirst and urination, kidney failure, and low energy levels. Pets that are elderly and overweight or obese tend to be more at risk for diabetes.
Common Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes
Here are some of the most common signs and symptoms to look out for in case your pet has diabetes:
- Increased urination and thirst – This is one of the most critical signs of diabetes, but it’s also a sign that indicates other health conditions; it doesn’t necessarily mean that, if your pet pees or drinks water more often, that they have diabetes. It’s best to go to your vet to determine if it’s diabetes or another health problem.
- Increased appetite – If your pet is eating more frequently, it’s possible that they may have diabetes. Since the body cells aren’t getting enough glucose and amino acids or your pet’s body isn’t processing the glucose and amino acids properly, your pet will most likely feel hungrier and increase their eating. In some cases, though, pets can experience decreased appetite.
- Abnormal weight loss – The reason for weight loss is because the energy and nutrients from the food aren’t being absorbed properly by the body. Although your pet may have an increased appetite and eat more, they can still lose weight.
- Lack of energy – When a diabetes-susceptible animal like a dog or cat gets diabetes, their bodies won’t be able to absorb the glucose and amino acids in foods, which results in reduced energy levels. If your pet is sleeping more often or doesn’t want to engage in normal activity (e.g., playing outside), it can be a sign of diabetes.
- Kidney failure – This is a common secondary symptom mostly found in cats. Kidney failure occurs when sugar in the bloodstream enters the kidneys, which will damage them greatly. Look out for an increase in drinking and urination.
- Rear limb weakness (Plantigrade stance) – This is a unique sign of diabetes that only occurs in cats. Cats usually walk on the pads of their paws, but the plantigrade stance causes cats to walk on their back ankles. Once diabetes is properly managed, this side effect will reverse itself.
- Blindness – This is one of the more severe symptoms of diabetes that happen more often in dogs, but blindness can also occur in cats due to diabetes cataracts.