Transient-Feline-Diabetes

Transient Feline Diabetes.

Feline diabetes is fast becoming an epidemic. Studies in the UK show that one out of every 230 cats have insulin dependent diabetes.
Type I Diabetes means that the pancreas does not produce enough insulin.

The role of insulin is to transport sugar from the bloodstream into the cells where it is used as energy.

Cats have a very different metabolic pathway than we do, so where we use sugar, or carbohydrates, for our energy, cats use protein as their energy source.

Thus, cats bodies are not built to metabolize carbohydrates. When humans eat, there are enzymes in the saliva that immediately begin to break down the carbohydrates. Cats do not have those enzymes.

Most commercial kibble type food contain between 25-60% carbohydrates. The natural diet of a cat consists of 3-5 percent carbs. Every time a cat eats a meal of kibble, they are consuming 10 TIMES the amount of carbohydrates they should consume.

This leads to a dangerous rise in blood sugar levels after each meal, and the pancreas has to work overtime to try to metabolize an amount of carbs it was not built to do.

Does Your cat have Diabetes?

Some of the signs that your cat has diabetes is frequent drinking, and frequent urination.
If your cat is drinking a lot it needs to be seen by a vet sooner rather than later.

Other signs include greasy coat, lethargy, increased sleeping, and when the diabetes has been present for some time, a crouching appearance due to neuropathy of the hind legs.

The diagnosis is easily made by urine and blood tests at your vets office.

Getting the diagnosis of feline diabetes does not have to be a death sentence.
The first thing to do is to get your cat off of the kibble food. Feeding kibble to a diabetic cat is the same thing as feeding a diabetic child 25 twinkies for breakfast.

The cat needs to eat a food that has very little to no carbs. Changing the diet alone can normalize your cats blood sugar, even if she has been on insulin for some time.

Many veterinarians are quite resistant to reduce the sugar intake for a diabetic cat. If yours is not willing to work with you as you get your cat onto a more species appropriate diet, there may be other vets in your area more experienced in feline diabetes and diet control.

If your cat has been diagnosed with diabetes and you are currently administering insulin, do not change your cats food without proper monitoring of the blood sugar levels. Failure to do can send your cat into a coma.

Foods recommended for any cat, and diabetic cats especially, are canned foods with NO grains, or even better, a homemade or purchased raw food.

There are plenty of resources online. Holisticat.com is one of the most respected sites for a variety of health problems in cats. Highly recommended. Many of the “resident” cats there have been cured of their diabetes by doing a simple change in diet along with some herbs.

With the right treatment your cats problem could very well be a Transient Feline Diabates!