Even cats are not spared from the dangers of diabetes. Feline diabetes is a complex yet common disorder in cats caused by insufficient insulin production or the cat?s inability to respond to insulin. Feline diabetes is very similar to diabetes and how it affects humans, disabling the body fron using blood sugar properly and resulting in high blood sugar levels. Diabetic cats are also observed to have sugar in their urine and are likely to urinate excessively and thirst more than cats without diabetes. Diabetic cats also lose weight because of their body?s inability to produce or use insulin, despite having good appetite. Feline diabetes may eventually lead to more threatening problems such as vomiting, appetite loss, weakness, and dehydration and should serve as a cause for alarm to their owners.

Diabetic Cat Types

Feline diabetes may affect cats of any breed, sex, or age. It often occurs in older, obese cats. Male cats are also more likely to have feline diabetes than female cats. Although the exact cause of feline diabetes is not yet known, factors such as genetic predisposition, obesity, hormonal imbalances, and pancreatic disorders are looked into as possible causes of feline diabetes.

Signs of Feline Diabetes

In the early stages of feline diabetes, cats may exhibit few signs of the disease and may seem healthy and active. Weight loss despite increased appetite, excessive urination, and extreme thirst are the basic signs commonly related with feline diabetes. As the disease progresses, poor skin conditions and unhealthy hair become apparent. Liver diseases and bacterial infections soon follow, becoming more and more common. Ketocidoses, a dangerous condition, if untreated, may also develop in some cats. Appetite loss, vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration, lethargy, and weakness are some of the signs related to ketoacidosis.

Treating Feline Diabetes

The treatment of feline diabetes depends on the severity of the disorder. Insulin or oral medications may be given in proper doses to diabetic, but otherwise healthy, cats. Diabetic cats with ketoacidosis may require fluid therapy for hydration aside from insulin treatments. A healthy diet consisting of high fiber and high complex carbohydrates will also do diabetic cats well.

Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes share the same diabetes symptoms, although the onset of the diseases can be quite different.

Because Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, symptoms develop rapidly, often after a flu-like illness, intensifying over the next few weeks. In many cases, cell destruction could have been occurring for months or years earlier.

Type 2 diabetes symptoms tend to develop gradually and are not as pronounced or severe as the same symptoms in Type 1 diabetes.

Symptoms of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes include increased thirst and urination, hunger, unexplained weight loss, blurred vision and extreme fatigue. Type 2 diabetes symptoms also include slow-healing or non-healing sores, frequent infections and increased urination at night.

Regardless of which type you may have, a doctor will want to do one of several blood sugar level tests: the fasting glucose test, a two-hour glucose tolerance test, or a random blood sugar test. Each test has its own range for normal and high levels, and your doctor will be able to guide you through the readings and explain diabetes care that can reduce high levels.

You should also consider your risk for diabetes. Certain risk factors increase your chances of developing diabetes, including: pre-diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance identified by a medical professional; age 45 or older; high blood pressure; being overweight or obese; history of gestational diabetes; or being of African American, Hispanic, Asian or Native American descent.

Detecting diabetes early is an important component of controlling the disease, although it often goes undiagnosed because symptoms of the illness can be easy to overlook. You should see your doctor if you have any of the diabetes symptoms listed.

Additionally, once diagnosed with diabetes, you need to monitor any potential symptoms of high glucose levels (hyperglycemia) or low glucose levels (hypoglycemia). Both conditions occur at different times, depending on whether your body has too much or too little blood sugar. If blood sugar is low, you may feel tired, confused, shaky, sweaty or cranky. If your blood sugar is too high, you’ll experience a recurrence of the initial symptoms of diabetes extreme thirst, increased urination or blurred vision.