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Diabetes Awareness Month – Is your pet at risk?
by on August 14th, 2013
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Is your dog or cat excessively thirsty or do they need to urinate more than normal? Is your pet increasingly lethargic or losing weight, despite a healthy appetite? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then it may be suffering from diabetes mellitus or sugar diabetes.
This month we are offering a free in-house urine test to all our patients.
It is estimated that approximately one in 500 dogs and cats in the UK develop diabetes, which is caused by either the pet’s pancreas producing insufficient amounts of the body’s naturally occurring hormone, insulin, or the failure of its body cells to respond to insulin. This in turn means that glucose from food doesn’t provide enough energy to the pet’s body.
Middle aged to older dogs are more prone to developing the condition and un-spayed bitches are most commonly affected, however certain dog breeds such as Labradors, Springer Spaniels, Golden Retrievers and Old English Sheepdogs are at an increased risk.
In cats, all ages and sexes can be affected, however older cats are particularly susceptible and it has been reported that diabetes is particularly prevalent in the Burmese breed.
If your pet does have diabetes then help is at hand. As well as a consistent and carefully controlled diet, regular injections of insulin, should be administered twice daily to help control the condition. In cats up to a third of diabetic cases treated with Caninsulin go into remission and may therefore come off treatment altogether. Although this is unusual in dogs, a good quality of life can be restored for the majority of diabetic pets given insulin treatment and appropriate care.
For further information on diabetes, simply phone the practice on 01903-713806 to book a pet health check. You can also visit the website: www.diabeticpets.co.uk
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