Treat Feline Diabetes

Feline diabetes mellitus, also known as feline sugar diabetes, is one of the most common hormonal disorders diagnosed in cats. It causes excess of sugar in your cat's blood stream because the pancreas does not work properly, which causes your cat to get sick. If you cat has been diagnosed, there are ways to treat feline diabetes.

Treating Feline Diabetes Without Insulin

 * 1) Treat underlying conditions. Your vet will look for and treating underlying illnesses that may be causing improper insulin production. The body responds poorly to insulin in the presence of certain illness, so the vet will look for and correct these underlying problems. These conditions include:[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 1.jpg|center]]
 * 2) *Dental disease, which is treated with antibiotics and dental attention under anesthesia
 * 3) *Hyperthyroidism, which is treated with thyroid medications
 * 4) *Reactions to certain medications
 * 5) Put your cat on a diet. Being overweight can cause diabetes. There is a chance that cats who are overweight may no longer be diabetic if your cat returns to an ideal weight. This should be done in a controlled manner to sustain your cat's energy levels. It also needs to be satisfying enough for your cat to feel full and happy.[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 2.jpg|center]]
 * 6) *This is so your cat is less likely to beg for food.
 * 7) *The vet may suggest a prescription diet designed for contained weight loss purpose. If you don't want a prescription diet, talk with your vet about a nutritional plan for your cat.
 * 8) *In addition to a diet, your cat should also get more exercise each day as well to help bring the weight off.
 * 9) Feed your cat in the right way. If you are not trying to help your cat lose weight, you need to feed your cat in a way that will help level out blood glucose levels. Your cat's diet should contain foods that releases energy slowly, which will help avoid peaks in your cat's blood glucose levels.[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 3.jpg|center]]
 * 10) *This can either be a high fiber diet or a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Ask you vet which is best for your cat if you are unsure.
 * 11) *If your cat is also undergoing insulin therapy, your vet will advise you on when you can feed your cat in relation to the timing of the insulin injections.
 * 12) *It is generally a good idea to make sure that your cat eats, so you can offer some food at the time of insulin injection.
 * 13) *If the cat doesn't eat, give a reduced dose of insulin so your cat can avoid an insulin overdose.

Treating Feline Diabetes with Insulin Therapy

 * 1) Get your cat stabilized. When your cat is diagnosed with diabetes and starting insulin therapy, your cat will be stabilized at the vet clinic. Your cat may need to board at the vet office for a few days until an appropriate starting dose is found. This allows your cat to be closely monitored by your vet for signs of overdose.[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 4.jpg|center]]
 * 2) *Your vet will also look for an unexpectedly sensitive reaction to the effects of insulin.
 * 3) Handle the medicine in the right way. Your vet will show you how to handle the insulin and administer it to your cat. Insulin is a delicate molecule, so you will have to roll the bottle your vet gives your between your hands to mix the insulin. Do not shake it.[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 5.jpg|center]]
 * 4) *Make sure you store it in the salad or crisper compartment of your fridge. Don't let it freeze.
 * 5) Start home insulin treatment. Once your cat's initial dose of insulin is identified, you cat can come home. You will need to continue the insulin injections from home. Your vet will give you tiny, hair-like needles, which are the best to use because they are small enough that your cat does not feel them.[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 6.jpg|center]]
 * 6) *Your cat may not like sitting still long enough for the injection at first, but it quickly will become part of the daily routine. To ease this transition, give your cat a small treat so he will cooperate.
 * 7) *The food you give him right after his shot will also make him want to stick around.
 * 8) Give the injections in the right way. You should find the right place on your cat's skin to give the injection. Find the spare skin around your cat's scruff over the shoulders. The area is large, so just pick any spot in that area.[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 7.jpg|center]]
 * 9) *Make sure you select a different spot than the day before when you give injections. Repeated injections in the same place can lead to the formation of scar tissue at that spot on skin, which can reduce the absorption of the insulin.
 * 10) Inject your cat at the right times. You cat may need insulin injections once or twice a day, depending your cat's response to treatment and the type of insulin you are using. Getting shots twice a day is more common than once. A typical day would go like this:[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 8.jpg|center]]
 * 11) *Give your cat a small amount of food at breakfast time and make sure your cat eat
 * 12) *Give the morning dose of insulin,
 * 13) *Repeat the same process in the evening
 * 14) *Leave any remaining food out for the cat to graze on during the day
 * 15) Monitor your cat. As the insulin therapy progresses, your vet will monitor your cat's progress to see if adjustments need to be made. Your vet will do this by running a blood glucose curve test, which involves giving your cat the normal insulin dose and taking blood glucose readings every one to two hours over the course of 12 to 24 hours.[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 9.jpg|center]]
 * 16) *Your vet will plots these readings on a graph to see if the insulin is having a sufficient effect on the levels. This will also let your vet know is dose is either too high or too low.
 * 17) Check your cat's ketone levels. Your vet may ask you to regularly check your cat's urine for ketones, which is excess sugar. This is an easy test done by immersing a dipstick in your cat's urine. You then tap the stick dry once it is removed and check the color of a pad against a reference chart that denotes ketone levels. [[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 10.jpg|center]]
 * 18) *There should be no ketones in the urine. If ketones start to appear, it is an early warning sign that your cat is becoming toxic and a dose adjustment is necessary.
 * 19) *If ketones are present, contact your vet immediately for advice on increasing the dose of insulin.
 * 20) Look for changes in your cat's demeanor. There is a possibility that you cat can receive too much insulin for their blood sugar levels. This will cause low blood sugar levels, which can be dangerous and should be corrected. If you notice this, give your cat glucose syrup or sugar by mouth and immediately call your vet for further emergency treatment. The symptoms common symptoms are:[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 11.jpg|center]]
 * 21) *Drowsiness
 * 22) *Lack of responsiveness
 * 23) *Twitchy whiskers
 * 24) *Lack of interest in food
 * 25) *Staggering around as if drunk.

Diagnosing Feline Diabetes

 * 1) Learn how feline diabetes affects your cat. When your cat has feline diabetes, the pancreas produces less or no insulin. Your cat's tissues will also be unable to respond to the insulin produced in the body. [[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 12.jpg|center]]
 * 2) *Insulin is important because the hormone facilitates the absorption of sugar (glucose) into your cat's body's cells. When there is a lack of insulin or the cells fail to respond, sugar stays in the blood stream until it is expelled in urine.
 * 3) Determine if your cat is at risk. There are certain risk factors that may make your cat more at risk for feline diabetes. Feline diabetes is more common in middle to old aged cats. Male cats are more likely than female cats to suffer from diabetes. Also, any cat who is overweight is more at risk regardless of gender.[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 13.jpg|center]]
 * 4) *Cats are considered overweight if they weigh 13 pounds or more.
 * 5) Look for increased thirst and urination. The most common and noticeable symptom of feline diabetes is increased thirst. This means that you will drink a marked amount more than usual. Your cat will also urinate more than before the diabetes. [[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 14.jpg|center]]
 * 6) *This is due to sugar loss in the urine, which drags an increased amount of water with it. This makes your cat need to drink more in order to make up for the lost fluid. Your cat will then have to urinate more.
 * 7) *Look for an increased need to fill up your cat's water bowl or dish. You will also have to scoop larger wet patches out of the litter box.
 * 8) Look for other symptoms of feline diabetes. There are other, less common and noticeable symptoms that may surface if your cat has diabetes. These symptoms can also be caused by other conditions, but the combination of them typically mean your cat has feline diabetes. These include:[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 15.jpg|center]]
 * 9) *Decreased interest in activities
 * 10) *Vomiting
 * 11) *Lethargy
 * 12) *Depression
 * 13) *Weakness
 * 14) *Breath that smells like fruit or nail-polish remover
 * 15) *Cataracts or opacity of the lens (if the diabetes is left untreated)
 * 16) *Unreasoned weight loss as a result of glucose loss
 * 17) Give your cat a home urine test. If you notice the symptoms of diabetes in your cat, you can do a home test before going to the vet. Buy a test that checks for glucose levels in urine. Grab a sample of urine from your cat in a normal, relaxed setting.[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 16.jpg|center]]
 * 18) *If you make your cat uncomfortable while trying to get the sample or do it at the vet, the stress causes a spike in blood glucose. This means that a positive urine test cannot be relied up.
 * 19) Have your vet run tests. If you want to be positive that your cat has feline diabetes, take your cat to the vet. Have your vet run blood tests to look for a spike in glucose levels. The first test will simply measure where your cat's glucose levels are at that moment to see if it is abnormal. The second test your vet can run is called a fructosamine test, which gives an average reading of your cat's blood sugar levels over the course of the past two to three weeks.[[Image:Treat Feline Diabetes Step 17.jpg|center]]
 * 20) *Blood glucose can also spike because of the stress, so your vet will either look for a very high spike or look at the additional test to be sure.
 * 21) *Your vet may also look for other problems that can make diabetes more difficult to treat, such as dental disease or overactive thyroid glands.

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