Feline Diabetes Mellitus
A blog from our resident Veterinary Surgeon Christina.
Recently, Clear Ridge vets was presented with a 9 year old neutered male DSH cat. It was admitted in our surgery with a history of polyuria (urinating more) and polydipsia (drinking more).
He was 5.4 kg (overweight) at the time of consultation and the rest of the physical examination was unremarkable. Haematology, biochemistry and urinalysis were undertaken and he was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus with secondary pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) he was admitted for intravenous fluids and daily glucose curve monitoring in order to find out the appropriate daily dose of insulin needed to keep blood glucose in normal range.
Obesity is a predisposing factor for many feline diseases including diabetes mellitus, pancreatitis, liver lipidosis (fatty liver deposits) etc. Cats are obligate carnivores and their body requires only a protein diet, commercial diets containing carbohydrates and grains in conjunction with no/limited daily exercise results in severe body weight gain and illness.
