How do cats get diabetes and how can you avoid it

You may know some about people who are infected by diabetes and how they could prevent or treat this illness, but you may know a little or nothing about the possibility of your cat to get diabetes. In fact, cats are like humans, they could also be infected by diabetes and you can observe symptoms that ensure the existence of the disease. Luckily, diabetes is not a dangerous disease and it could be treated easily by using insulin injections and by modifying the diet of your cat. But, all of these treatments should be based on the recommendations of your veterinarian. A special diet that is supported by regular doses of insulin will be enough for your cat to restore her appetite and to gain her old activity. In this topic we will tell you how do cats get diabetes and hoe you can avoid it.

How do cats get diabetes?

In normal situations, insulin is produced be an insulin hormone to move glucose through the bloodstream of cats to reach their cells. When a cat becomes less sensitive to this hormone, less amounts of insulin will be produced but they will not be enough to move glucose from the bloodstream to cells. So, glucose levels will increase in the bloodstream. This case happens usually for older cats or overweight cats because they less sensitive to insulin hormone. Symptoms of diabetes are easy to detect, you will find your cat always thirsty and her urination levels will increase. At first, it will be easy to treat diabetes by your vet. But if you ignored this disease and delegated treatments, it may lead to more serious conditions that will threaten the life of your cat.

Another important thing to consider is that diabetes is not only related to lack of insulin, there are other diseases that could lead to diabetes if not treated such as hyperthyroidism and pancreatitis. You should also be cautious about some medications that are linked to developing diabetes such as corticosteroids, they shouldn’t be taken without the permission of your veterinarian.

How to avoid diabetes

You may not want to allow diabetes to reach your cat then make her suffering and make you worried about her treatments. So, prevention is better than modifications. The following steps should be followed to make sure that your friendly cat is protected against diabetes.

Watch weight of your cat

The guys from Petpractice says that while fatty cats are attractive and funny, they would be more exposed to the risk of diabetes if compared to other cats. That’s because of the effect of obesity. Obesity is considered the first factor that could be linked to the risk of diabetes. You may like the cute look of your fat cat, but you should consider health risks related to this fatty look. Watch weight of your cat and feed her according to food instructions regarding the type of food and how many times you feed your cat. This will make you avoid overweight for your cat.

Check your cat regularly

To carry your cat and go to the veterinarian for a checkup may be a waste of time and money for you, but in fact you will be obliged to waste your money and time on the long run if you didn’t do that not only for checkups but also for treatments.

An annual or semi-annual regular checkup will help to discover if your cat is putting on weight or losing weight. This will also help to detect any possible problems that could happen to your cat which in turns will enable you to take precautions according to the recommendations of your vet to prevent these problems. Believe that the money you spend on a regular checkup will save you a lot of money by avoiding diseases instead of costly treatments.

Prepare the appropriate diet for your cat

Once you have a cat, you may be told to feed her by the same way she was fed in the rescue organization or wherever she was living. This works better at the beginning but you should regularly change this diet to protect your cat from diseases like diabetes. Carbohydrates are considered the main reason for diabetes because of the high levels of sugar content.

So, you should prepare a low-carbohydrate diet for your cat. But you still need a main source of energy for her. Because cats are carnivores, protein will be the most appealing for them. You should also make sure that the food of your cat is free of grain. A short tip is to focus on canned food because this type balance between protein and carbohydrates content in a healthy way for your cat. If you need more details about the best diet, you can discuss the matter with your veterinarian.

Make your cat practice exercise

To have a daily routine of playing with your cat will be so helpful for her. Exercise will not only prevents putting on weight that is considered the primary cause of diabetes, but also it will reduce levels of stress and strength the relationship between you and your cat. If you can also provide an atmosphere of environmental enrichment such as outdoor catios and catification projects, this will be a better option for your cat because your cat will be given things to play with while you are outside home.

Reduce the use of steroids

There are some diseases that will depend on steroids as a medication for your cat, these diseases include asthma, allergies and inflammatory bowel. Steroids are approved to be effective against these diseases but they will also work against the effectiveness of insulin in the bloodstream of your cat.

This dilemma should be closely discussed with your veterinarian who will monitor your cat’s blood to determine the right doses of steroids to be used without causing problems to pancreas especially if your cat is overweight.

Once you follow the previous precautions, you will not worry about diabetes for your cat is it will be avoided from the beginning. To stick on them, think about suffering that would be avoided or insulin injections and diabetes supplements that would be saved.