November is Pet Diabetes Awareness Month, so take this opportunity to learn a little more about this disease in our four-legged friends.

What is Diabetes?

About 1 in 500 dogs and cats suffer from diabetes. With the disease being common in people as well, just about everyone has some idea of what it is.

Diabetes mellitus, the most common form of pet diabetes, is an endocrine disease that occurs when the body does not make adequate insulin or is unable to respond to the insulin properly. The first scenario is most common in dogs, while cats more frequently suffer from the second.

Insulin is important because it helps the body use glucose (sugar) as an energy source. When the body cannot absorb glucose from the blood stream into its cells, trouble begins.

What Should I Look For?

Most of the signs we see associated with diabetes happen because of the buildup of glucose in the blood stream. Animals who have diabetes will experience:

  • Increased thirst
  • Increased urination (sometimes with accidents)
  • Increased (often ravenous) appetite
  • Weight loss despite eating
  • Urinary tract infections
  • Cataracts (in dogs)

If you think that your pet might be exhibiting signs of diabetes, it is important to have him or her examined right away. Untreated, diabetes can become very serious.

Many different diseases can look similarly to diabetes. We will often recommend diagnostic testing in order to determine if your pet is diabetic. Using our in-house laboratory, we can often diagnose your pet within minutes.

If a pet is diagnosed with diabetes, insulin therapy and a specialized diet are required to manage the disease.

Precautions Against Pet Diabetes

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, our pets will still develop diabetes. In dogs especially the condition seems to be somewhat genetic, with older female dogs being at higher risk. Certain breeds such as Schnauzers, poodles, and Dachshunds being more likely to become diabetic. There are, however, some things you can do to protect your pet from diabetes.

  • Encourage a healthy, active lifestyle
  • Provide your pet with a good quality diet
  • Help your pet to maintain a healthy weight
  • Keep your pet’s wellness appointments
  • Allow routine screening tests to be performed as recommended

Thankfully, once diagnosed most pets respond very well to treatment for diabetes. Being an informed pet owner goes a long way towards preventing this disease and addressing it early when it does occur, though.

As always, we are glad to help you if you have questions or concerns about pet diabetes, or any other pet issue you might encounter!