Pet Diabetes Month

[Phoenix]

I've been reading the latest Your Cat magazine lately and there's an article in there about Diabetes (November is Pet Diabetes Month apparently)

From the article apparently Dylan's at risk of diabetes. In a nutshell these are the signs to watch out for (so you are aware of what to watch for in your own cats).

If he drinks more than usual (sometimes he does drink a little bit more than usual, it fluctuates)
If he urinates more or messes in the house (he's only messed in the house once)
If he's always hungry but loses or maintains his weight (Dylan down to a T!)
If he's less active or sleeps more (Dylan 90% of the time when he's not eating!!!)
If he has thinning, dry or dull fur (not Dylan)

(Should I be worrying about Dylan yet )

[tilly]

you can get a blood test done to check if you are worried. here is a good site to read.
http://www.sugarpet.net/index.html
Cats can get two types of diabetes type one is because of a problem with the pancreas.
type two is caused by a malfunction in the brain. Which mean the pancreas never get the message to send insulin out.

I am currently trying to work out if buster is diabetic or if it is just his steroids causing the symptoms. He had high glucose but then it went back to normal. I am going to retest in a few week to be sure he is OK. I have only just found out about diabetes so don't quote me on the facts but the web link was very helpful for me.

any sorry to go off topic. the best way to be sure is to take a blood test and go from there

good luck
Tilly

[pinklizzy]

RCR- I know at our practice we are giving out free urine dipsticks which will pick up any loss of glucose in the urine.
You can also monitor water intake over a week-fill his bowl with a set amount of water then after 24hrs, re-measure the water remaining to calculate how much he has drunk. This will give you a more accurate idea of his water intake.
A blood test will pick up indications of a high blood glucose level, however cats are particularly susceptible to a stress-induced hyperglycemia. For this reason it is best to have a urine sample as well to confirm/rule out diabetes.
Obviously if you are worried about Dylan you need to pop him into your vets to be checked. x

[angieh]

It is always good to be aware of the possible problems that we or our lovely friends may face.

In Dylan's case, I would think the picture could be distorted by his recent change of home, which would unsettle anyone. But as the others have said, if in any doubt ........

[farthing]

I was going to say what pink lizzy said- a urine test will show sugar in the urine. We had free dipsticks to give out last year and very few people took up the offer.

[Phoenix]

Dylan has always been hungry and always been lazy (he needs encouragement to play), it's only recently he sometimes drinks a little more than usual. Some days he drinks a little more than usual, some days he drinks normally and other days he doesn't seem to drink at all.

I always thought his eating was down to him being a greedy oink.

[audweb]

I think you have any doubt, get him checked out. Our Oban was recently diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, we almost lost him, as we didn't notice any of the signs. He suddenly became lethargic, dehydrated and lost weight quickly. The vet advised us however that cats are very very good at hiding their illness. Oban had always drunk a lot of water, but because we got him this year from a rescue we just thought he was a big drinker cat! His eating had been normal. He's ten, and not overweight - the vet said it's a common problem in middle aged males! Poor Oban.

He's now on insulin twice a day and getting better, but now knowing what I know, I would get him checked out if you have any concerns at all. Hope Dylan doesn't have it though!