Diabetes Mellitus

What Is Diabetes in dogs and cats?

Diabetic Medical terms: Ketones, PUPD, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Insulin, Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is an illness caused when sugar cannot enter the cells. The cells must use other sources of energy and consume fat and muscle proteins to make that energy. Using fat for energy releases ketone byproducts that create a dangerous condition where the acids in the body are too high (metabolic acidosis). With high acids, the brain doesn’t function and your pet can lapse into a coma. In addition, your pet’s body is harmed by the free radicals released as fat and proteins are consumed. Blood vessels, nerves, eyes, heart, and kidneys are often damaged.

Why is Diabetes so awful?

Diabetes predisposes pets to comas, cataracts, blindness, bladder infection, nerve deterioration, paralysis, gangrene, and kidney disease.

How does Diabetes cause comas?

Diabetes can cause a coma from too much sugar; and the treatment for Diabetes, insulin, can cause a coma.

Too much insulin causes the blood sugar to plummet. If blood sugar falls so low that the brain doesn’t receive what it needs to function, the pet falls into a coma. This insulin-shock coma is treated by getting sugar into the pet. The opposite problem, too high a sugar level in the blood also causes a potentially fatal coma. When the blood sugar level is too high, sugar pulls water from the cells and the pet becomes dehydrated. The pet develops acidosis and loses sodium, chloride, potassium and other electrolytes it needs to keep functioning. These pets lapse into a coma. Pets with a sugar-caused diabetic coma are treated with fluids, electrolytes—especially sodium and potassium—and insulin.

What’s the difference between type 1 and type 2 Diabetes Mellitus?

Pets with type 1 Diabetes require insulin injections, but those with type 2 Diabetes do not need insulin. Instead, type 2 Diabetes is controlled with diet, weight loss, and oral medication. Most diabetic dogs are type 1. Cats develop both type 1 and type 2 Diabetes. The tendency to develop type 2 Diabetes is inherited so that many in the same family develop it. Type 2 Diabetes is often associated with obesity.

In humans, Type 1 Diabetes is called juvenile Diabetes; Type 2 Diabetes is called maturity-onset Diabetes.

How does your pet regulate its blood sugar?

Blood sugar is regulated by the pancreas—working with other organs, such as the liver. Sugar is absorbed into the intestines and moved into the blood, but sugar doesn’t become useful to your pet until it actually enters a cell where it can be burned for energy. Your pet’s pancreas secretes insulin to move sugar from the blood into the cells. This lowers blood sugar levels. The pancreas is also able to raise blood sugar levels by releasing glucagon. Glucagon mobilizes glucose from storage sites in liver cells and allows it to be released into the blood.

Are there other forms of Diabetes?

Yes. There is another disease, Diabetes insipidus, that doesn’t involve the pancreas. Diabetes insipidus is caused when the pet’s brain or kidneys aren’t conserving the normal amount of water. Pets with Diabetes insipidus lose so much water in their urine that they drink and urinate excessively. It is easy for these pets to become dehydrated. Fortunately, Diabetes insipidus is a very rare disease and it is treated with drugs that can be dropped into the eye or injected under the skin.

Who gets Diabetes?

Any pet that has a pancreas and has sugar in its body can get Diabetes. Veterinarians treat dogs, cats, rabbits, and horses for Diabetes. Pets most likely to have problems are overweight (obese cats are 4 times more likely to develop Diabetes than are cats of a normal weight.) and receive high carbohydrate diets.

Female dogs are more likely than males to develop Diabetes. With cats, the opposite is true: male cats are twice as likely to develop Diabetes compared with females. With dogs, miniature poodles and dachshunds have a high incidence of Diabetes; but no cat breeds are genetically predisposed to develop Diabetes.

Why do diabetic pets develop cataracts and go blind?

The high concentration of blood sugar activates a sorbitol-polyol pathway in the lens, which affects proteins in the eye. This causes the lens to be come cloudy so that your pet has hazy vision, and possible eventual blindness. Many diabetic pets navigate well even though they are blind, but for those that don’t, lens replacement surgery is an option.

Does diet affect Diabetes?

Yes. Feeding a high-protein, high-fiber diet benefits pets with Diabetes because this Diabetes diet lowers blood sugar concentrations by 15-20%. When blood sugar is lowered, less insulin is needed. On the other hand, feeding a high carbohydrate diet predisposes pets to develop Diabetes. For many diabetic pets receiving home-cooked meals, ideal diets are 50-70% meat and fish with the remainder fats, and complex carbohydrates from grain and vegetables. The best grains for diabetics are barley or sorghum because they have low glycemic indices, which means they are digested slowly and don’t create a sugar rush.

Can herbs and minerals help diabetic pets?

Yes. Gymnema, chromium, vanadium, fenugreek, ginseng, rehmannia, and Omega 3 fatty acids may be helpful.

Gymnema stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin. Chromium increases the cells’ sensitivity to insulin. Vanadium acts like insulin and lowers blood glucose. Fenugreek, ginseng, and rehmannia also lower blood glucose. Antioxidants help protect the heart, blood vessels, and eyes from free radical damage that occurs with Diabetes. Alpha lipoic acid improves nerve deficits, especially helpful with cats who are made lame by diabetic neuropathy. Omega 3 fatty acids, especially those from fish, increase cells’ sensitivity to insulin, and protect the kidneys and nerves. Chromium increases lean body mass, and would be helpful in obese diabetic pets. Green tea may help obese diabetic pets because it may increase weight loss. The more weight an obese diabetic pet loses, the more sensitive its cells become to insulin. Often obese diabetic cats can reduce or stop their insulin after losing a significant amount of weight.

We recommend that diabetic pets receive antioxidants, Omega 3 fatty acids and extra fiber, such as that found in Missing Link. Missing Link contains a large amount of molasses, but the sugar has been removed so that your pet receives only the vitamins and minerals.

For more information, read these articles about Diabetic Dogs from the American Diabetes Association.

The articles here were answered by a variety of pharmacists and veterinarians   Date Category Topic 02/21/08  Heartworm Medicine  WEIGHT LOSS IN A CAT. 02/12/08  Other  DRINKING LOTS OF WATER 02/11/08  Other  EXCESSIVE THIRST WITH LOSS OF URINE CONTROL 02/04/08  Other  WEIGHT LOSS 01/30/08  Urinary Tract/Kidneys  FREQUENT DRINKING AND URINATION 01/30/08  Urinary Tract/Kidneys  SAMOYED 01/27/08  Hormonal/Endocrine  DIABETES 01/26/08  Urinary Tract/Kidneys  FREQUENT URINATION 01/19/08  Urinary Tract/Kidneys  INCREASED THIRST/URINATION 01/16/08  Other  AGING DOG SIGNS 01/10/08  Wormer  WORMER OR DIABETES 01/10/08  Other  DIABETIC CAT - EATS TOO MUCH! 01/06/08  Other  MY DOG APPEARS TO BE SICK 01/06/08  Other  DIABETES 01/02/08  Other  INSULIN DOSE 1 2 3 4 5 »»

 

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