Natural Pet Health

Cat Dandruff is common among diabetic cats. A study shows that happens in 1 in 200 cats have what is known as Diabetes mellitus (DM) and if you want your pet to get better, here are some things you can do.

The cause of this problem is associated with poor nutrition. So, instead of buying one of those generic brands of cat food, maybe you should change it and go for a food of good quality even if it may cost a little more.

You can also give food supplements whichcontain fish oil. Omega-3 Fish Oils have been shown to help correct the Dandruff problem.  This may also come from canned tuna since it is rich in 3 fatty acids that will improve their hair in about a week. Before you add Fish Oils to your cat’s diet, please consult your pet health professional.

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Cat care and Diabetes go hand in hand to ensure that your pet cat can live an otherwise more normal life than usual. It may be unfortunate for pet cats to have their own version of Diabetes, also a serious affliction among humans. It is also important for pet owners to know how feline Diabetes affects cats and how they can help make life better for their pets by learning how to better care for them.

There are two types of feline diabetes that may affect your pet cats. Type 1 is caused by an insufficient production of insulin while type 2 diabetes is characterized by the inability of the cat’s body to process insulin more effectively. And just like in humans, diabetes can also strike cats at any age but is more likely to affect older cats.

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If your cat has been diagnosed for Diabetes, one of the major items that should be on your agenda during discussions with the veterinarian is that of home care. Make sure that you discuss monitoring diet and Blood Sugar Levels at home along with how to store, handle and administer insulin. Another thing that you should understand are the various symptoms of Diabetes in cats especially signs of hypoglycemia, low blood sugar.

Diabetes in cats can be managed for long periods with dietary management and oral medication without resorting to insulin. It is however, recommended that insulin be used first to control the sugar levels before an assessment is made about whether the condition can be managed only with home care and dietary modifications.

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Some of the important aspects of caring for your diabetic cat at home include understanding:

* Symptoms of Diabetes in cats
* Timings and regularity of check ups
* Quality, amount and timing of meals
* Testing Blood Sugar Levels at home and making a blood glucose curve
* Regularity of insulin injections and the manner in which to inject them
* Type of insulin to be used and the right syringe to inject it with
* The manner in which changes in diet and type of insulin should be made

While all the above are important, knowing the peak action of the insulin that has been prescribed is equally significant. Ignorance on this aspect of home care can lead to hypoglycemic episodes. Hypoglycemia is the opposite of hyperglycemia. It is abnormally low level of sugar in the blood. While hyperglycemia is manageable, hypoglycemia may be difficult to control unless immediate action is taken. A slight oversight can result in the death of the cat.

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Diabetes Mellitus is characterized by excessive urination and thirst. It is a metabolic disorder marked by a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin, a hormone secreted by the Pancreas. There is no major variation in the incidence of Diabetes in cats and dogs but recent figures reveal that the condition is becoming more common in cats. Roughly 5% to 20% of cases of Diabetes in cats are type 1 classifications and the rest experience type 2.

Both type 1 and type 2 have similar symptoms and consequences but have different causes. The end cause in both types is the inability of the Pancreas to produce insulin to prevent hyperglycemia (elevated sugar levels). Type 1 diabetes is often caused due to autoimmune responses that destroy the beta cells of Pancreas, which produce insulin. Although some disability of beta cells is necessary for type 2 diabetes, it is basically characterized by insulin resistance of the target tissue.

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While you may not mind a bi-monthly or quarterly visit to the veterinarian for check ups, the matter does not end there if the symptoms of Diabetes in cats and dogs have been confirmed and the pet shows high Blood Sugar Levels.

Treating Diabetes is a long process that sometimes may last a life time. If your pet has been diagnosed for Diabetes, there is a strong possibility that you will be required to take care of the pet at home. Home care of a diabetic pet involves monitoring Blood Sugar Levels and injecting insulin on a daily basis. This necessitates the need for some expertise in checking blood sugar and injecting insulin.

Diet modifications can help manage Blood Sugar Levels in many cases. However, administering insulin is almost a key aspect of the treatment of diabetes in cats and dogs. While you learn the process of injecting insulin from your veterinarian make sure to ask about the type of syringe that should be used for the injection.

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Male cats are more susceptible to Diabetes and so are obese cats of either gender. Genetic predisposition is usually suspected to be behind this condition but steroids and other clinical conditions like a Pancreas disease and steroidal drugs used for treating other diseases are also known to cause Diabetes. An increased incidence has also been observed in neutered cats above six years old.

Diabetes is a metabolic disease where insufficient Insulin Production causes the Blood Sugar Levels to rise. As the disease develops within the cat’s body, sugar is revealed in the urine as well. It is a complex disease and symptoms of diabetes in cats can remain concealed for a long time. Many times the disease is discovered when the cat’s blood is checked for another evident disease.

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Diet plays as important a role as drugs and insulin injections in treating Diabetes in cats. Actually, diet control and management must be concomitant to medication. It is futile to expect medication as a standalone treatment to provide an effective cure for Diabetes.

Diabetes is a condition where the Pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin for regulating glycogen and oxidizing sugar. There is always some amount of glucose in the food that you feed your cat. If the intake is not regulated, there can be no limit to the amount of exogenous insulin that the cat may require to process the glucose.

Moreover, it is only cats with pronounced and persistent hyperglycemia that require insulin injections. Symptoms of diabetes in cats, with Blood Sugar Levels only slightly above normal, can be treated with dietary management or oral pills only. Further, diabetic cats must be fed regularly to prevent a situation of overdose of insulin.

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If left untreated, feline Diabetes like Diabetes in all animals and humans can lead to complications. The complications that arise may be difficult and in some cases, impossible to treat. Continuous and abnormally high levels of blood sugar, hyperglycemia, can adversely affect the nerves, kidneys, retina and bones leading to complicated diseases.

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Diabetes in cats is treatable and normally has a good prognosis. Cats usually respond to lasting insulin and low carbohydrate diets. If Diabetes is detected early, treatment is usually successful in preventing nerve damage and in some cases, even remission. However, if left untreated it can lead to organ failure, blindness and even death.

Diet

In many cases diet alone is able to treat Diabetes in cats . A low carbohydrate diet lowers the requirement of insulin in diabetic cats. In cats and dogs, carbohydrates are converted to blood glucose must faster than fats and proteins. A low carbohydrate diet thus reduces the risk of extreme blood sugar highs immediately after meals. Home cooked food, however, is always the preferred option than commercial foods since canned food tends to have a higher proportion of carbohydrate. Try to get hold of a cat food calculator and determine the type and quantity of fats, proteins and carbohydrates that you can safely feed your cat with.

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