Diabetes And Weight Loss In Cats

Additionally burmese cats seem to also be at a higher overall risk.

Diabetes and weight loss in cats. Other symptoms that commonly appear include loss of appetite lethargy and hiding. Diabetes is typically managed with insulin and a diet change. It seems counter intuitive that less is more but in the case of insulin it usually is. Your veterinarian may recommend a diet change to help regulate your cat s glucose levels and promote weight loss as obesity complicates diabetes management.

This often involves switching your cat to a high protein low carbohydrate diet. In addition to unexplained weight loss diabetic cats typically drink an abnormally large amount of water and urinate large volumes as well. This is potentially the scariest thing on the list so let s get it out of the way first. Diabetes is very common in cats and will require immediate veterinary care and ongoing treatment.

Nutrition is a very important part of managing diabetes in cats. This endocrine disorder affects the ability of the pancreas to produce insulin a hormone needed to regulate blood glucose. In both type i and type ii diabetes the cells in the body are unable to absorb glucose from the blood and they become starved of energy. An alarming number of cats are developing diabetes mellitus which is the inability to produce enough insulin to balance blood sugar or glucose levels.

Signs of diabetes include weight loss increased appetite thirst and urination and lethargy. The condition is most common in overweight neutered male cats over 8 years of age and those that exclusively eat a high carbohydrate diet which includes pretty much any diet of dry cat food. Diabetes mellitus is another common ailment that can affect cats. To get the energy it needs the body turns to other sources breaking down fats and proteins to feed glucose starved cells.

Obese diabetic cats should be fed a diet that promotes 1 to 2 loss of body weight per week. 8 common causes of sudden weight loss in cats. Diabetes and type ii diabetes specifically is a very common disorder in cats. Overtime without treatment diabetes is a fatal condition.

Weight loss is an important sign of diabetes in cats. Left untreated it can lead to weight loss. So when i joined fdmb back in 2005 i quickly learned that diabetic cats do best on a low carb diet and that the symptoms i saw weight loss excessive urination and hunger were probably due to too much insulin rather than too little. Although not all cat weight loss is caused by cancer it is a relatively common culprit.