Introduction
Managing diabetes in cats requires maintaining the right balance of glucose in the cat’s blood using insulin therapies and a special diet. Too much glucose in the blood causes hyperglycemia to occur; too little glucose causes hypoglycemia to occur.
Diet and Insulin
The first part of managing diabetes in cats requires veterinarian care and monitoring to bring the cat’s blood glucose levels under control using diet and insulin therapies. The second part of managing diabetes in cats involves the cat’s owner. The owner will be responsible for giving their cat insulin injections, feeding the cat the right diet, and bringing the cat to the veterinarian for regular blood glucose and urinalysis tests. Pet owners will also need to educate themselves on how to recognize early signs of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia in their cats.
Most cats with diabetes need insulin injections, twice a day, for the rest of their lives. The cat’s owner will need to learn how to give the injections, how to measure the right amounts of insulin, and the owner will need to administer these injections at the right time of the day. This requires some effort on the owner’s part, but many pet owners find that after the first few weeks they are able to adjust to this new routine.
Pet owners will also have to be vigilant about their cat’s diet. A prescription diet is normally fed to the cat for the rest of the cat’s life, and the cat’s weight must be brought under control and maintained at a healthy level.
Regular Check-Ups
Pet owners who have cats with diabetes will also need to bring their cat in for regular blood glucose and urinalysis tests. Blood glucose tests may be needed once every week for the first month, and then can taper off to once every two weeks, once a month, and then once every three months. Blood tests, and urinalysis tests, which check for underlying infections and kidney health are generally recommended on a twice a year basis.