Diabetes in Pets
Learn more about Diabetes in Pets
Diabetes affects the insulin secreting cells in the pancreas resulting in your pet having an abnormally high blood glucose. This affects the body's ability to retain water so the first sign an owner will notice is that their pet is urinating more than normal, and therefore, also drinking more than normal...
This disease can affect both dogs and cats and the symptoms are very similar. Where the two species differ is how the insulin cells are affected, which means if caught early and treated aggressively, cats can be cured of the disease; but dogs will be on therapy for life. If left untreated, animals lose weight and muscle mass since they lack the ability to use the glucose in their blood, and can go rapidly blind due to the formation of cataracts. Cataracts can drastically affect you and your pet's happiness and quality of life since they have to adapt quickly to having no vision so care has to be taken to make sure they do not injure themselves by colliding with furniture or falling down stairs. Unless controlled quickly, cataracts will occur, so contact your vet if you have an concerns.
Diabetes mellitus can be easily diagnosed via a urine and blood test which we can perform in-house. It should be borne in mind that initial stabilisation will be costly as repeated blood tests and dose adjustments will need to be made until diabetes is adequately controlled.
Owners must also appreciate that a diagnosis of diabetes in their pet will require much effort on their part and strict control of the dietary and monitoring advice given to them by their vet in order to manage this disease. This will get easier with time but we will do all we can to make this transition as easy as possible.
Book your Appointment
- Please note this service is not available to book online. Please call the practice directly on 01 885 3253 and specifically ask for James our Vet so that he can give you all the necessary information.
- *If your pet is sick, please book in for an Illness Consultation when booking online or call us directly to book.