Dr. Salochanee Saimen (BVSC) is our December Vet of the month. She graduated from the University of Pretoria and is certified in advanced small companion animal behaviour. She has 18 years of surgical experience and is presently the principal Veterinarian at Animal Zone Vet.
As we’ve chosen to focus on Diabetes this month, we caught up with Dr. Saimen to bring you the latest on the subject.
Diabetes Mellitus (Pet Diabetes) is a disease that is becoming more prevalent today. A common endocrine illness that affects both cats and dogs, with a reported worldwide prevalence ranging from 0.3% to 1.3%. Pet Diabetes is a condition characterised by a lack or relative deficiency of insulin, the hormone needed to store energy from food. This energy, which translates to glucose, is needed as fuel by the body to function properly.
1 in every 308 dogs is affected by diabetes and 1 in every 230 is affected in cats.
Dogs and cats can develop diabetes and may need care to manage this disease throughout their lifetime. In Type I Diabetes, often seen in dogs, blood glucose concentrations are high because of decreased insulin production. In Type II Diabetes often seen in cats, glucose levels are high because cells in the body do not respond appropriately to insulin. Therefore in diabetic cats, remission of clinical signs is a reasonable goal, whereas in dogs, not so much.
There are several risk factors and elements that predispose and contribute to the popularity of Diabetes in Pets. These influences can be made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements between Dogs and Cats. Gender, Breed, Age, Obesity, and precise disease processes like Pancreatitis and Cushings (hyperadrenocorticism) seem to be overrepresented in Diabetic Pets.
Early detection and low stress levels can lead to a longer and healthier life.
The sooner you recognise warning signs, the better your pet's chances of living a longer and healthier life. Diabetes is a reasonably simple diagnosis based on clinical symptoms and chronic fasting high glucose levels in the blood and urine. However, one factor that may confound diagnosis is stress. Stress alone can cause high blood glucose, with cats being more susceptible than dogs. As a result, veterinarians do particular blood tests in pets to differentiate between stress hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus.
In pets with diabetes, regardless of the source of the ‘sugar’ or the amount of sugar in the blood, there is not enough glucose transported into the body’s cells. As a result, there is insufficient energy for the cells to operate correctly, and the tissues become energy-starved, resulting in a fierce hunger with paradoxical weight loss.
Other common signs also include increased thirst, increased urination, occasionally cloudy eyes, as well as chronic and recurring infections, primarily urinary tract and skin infections. Advanced signs in more progressive cases of diabetes can include loss of appetite, lack of energy, depression, and vomiting. Diagnosed pets that are not well controlled succumb to the sometimes-fatal diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis is an emergency that requires immediate veterinary attention.
Lifestyle, dietary choices, and stress levels influence how diabetes evolves.
In Diabetic pets, appropriate exercise and targeted dietary recommendations by a veterinarian are key to maintaining a healthy Diabetic patient. A good fitness regimen coupled with a high fibre – low fat diet in dogs and high protein – low carbohydrate diet in cats forms part of the critical components of diabetic control.
Exercise programs for cats and dogs must be tailored according to each pet. Ideally, feeding schedules should be fixed together with times of insulin injections, which is generally twice a day. However, this can pose a problem more especially with cats, which are ad-lib eaters.
Flash glucose monitoring technologies are available that allow for maximum repeated glucose measurements without causing stress to cats and dogs. These tracking methods do not rely on the antiquated approach of twice-daily pin pricking. As a result, diabetic monitoring and control are now more efficient than ever.
Diabetic therapy in cats and dogs is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Your veterinarian may periodically need to adjust your pets’ treatment regimen based on the results from constant monitoring and the clinical signs your pet shows. Regulating diabetes in pets is done by treating with injectable insulin, which is the only treatment option available to halt or stabilise diabetes symptoms.
Don’t lose sight of the goal
Giving insulin injections might be daunting at first, but repetition builds confidence in owners, and most pets soon do not mind having their dose.
However, because of the aggravation pet owners face due to injecting their pets twice daily and doing home glucose tests regularly, it is all too easy to lose sight of the goal of maintaining a normal glucose level.
When this happens, the complications of the illness begin to manifest. These include cataracts, hind leg weakness (peripheral neuropathy especially in cats), high blood pressure, and lower urinary tract infections. If nothing else, the consequences highlight the seriousness of diabetes and its overall impact on a pet's body and life. While controlling diabetes is a challenge, it is not an insurmountable one. If your pet is diagnosed with diabetes, do not panic. Successful diabetic management in pets is achievable with owner commitment and appropriate veterinary care – even for those with other underlying disease(s).
Good veterinary support, coupled with positive pet owner engagement, is paramount to ensure pets and their owners can continue to enjoy many more happy years together.
Here at Animal Zone Veterinary Hospital, our standard of medical care for our Diabetic Patients is second to none. We pride ourselves on affording our clients the most up-to-date individualised treatment plans. Click the link for detailed information.
