Diabetes in Pets: How to Manage this Illness
Posted on Nov 21, 2013 11:46am PST
It is somewhat common for pets to suffer from diabetes. Typically, a veterinarian can diagnose your pet with this illness if you start seeing symptoms that seem to reflect this illness. Symptoms of pet diabetes include lethargy, frequent urination, drinking lots of water, and a large appetite. Also, a dog or cat may have unexplained weight loss. Normally diabetes is more common in obese animals, so one way to help reduce the possibilities of diabetes from the outset is to make sure your animal has a healthy, regulated diet. Thankfully, there have been excessive developments in treating animal diabetes in the past few years.
With new medications on the market, it is now easier than ever to regulate your pet's diabetes and keep your animal's glucose concentrations at a safe level. The first tip to care for your pet with diabetes is to monitor his or her blood. You will want to purchase a monitoring device. Some pet owners choose urine glucose and ketone test strips, whereas others will use blood glucose meters. You should consult your veterinarian to determine which of these methods is best for your pet. You will be able to make sure that there are no dangerous spikes or drops in your pet's blood glucose concentrations.
If your pet has diabetes, your vet may recommend using insulin to regulate the disease. You may have to give your pet daily insulin injections to restore your pet's insulin levels and manage his or her blood glucose concentrations. Each pet needs a customized dose and treatment regimen for this product, and there are even insulin products specifically made for cats and dogs with diabetes. You should consult with your veterinarian as which insulin product suits your pet the best. You will also want to ask for a tutorial on how to inject the insulin. It is important that you understand how to best perform this procedure in order to avoid confusion or infection.
You can also help to protect your pet from increasing his or her diabetes by feeding your pet a nutritious diet that minimizes fluctuations in blood glucose and maintains them at a healthy weight. These meals should consist of the same thing every day and should be fed at the same times of day. A healthy diabetes diet should be high in protein and low in fat. It should also contain complex carbohydrates and dietary fibers which will help the animal to absorb glucose into the digestive system. Your veterinarian can best recommend a sound diet for your diabetic pet, so consult him or her for more information.
You will also want to make sure to exercise your diabetic pet regularly. Overweight diabetic pets can use the exercise to help them with their weight loss. It is important to balance exercise, as diabetic animals may experience changes in glucose concentrations if they exercise too much. You need to consult your veterinarian about the amount and regularity of exercise needed for your diabetic pet. If your cat has diabetes, it is probably best to take some time to play with the animal every day. This should be enough to satisfy the cat's need for exercise.
Lastly, it is essential to give your diabetic pet regular checkups. This way, you can make sure that your animal is healthy and is doing well when it comes to his or her diabetes. If you do not have a local veterinarian that you can schedules these checkups with, us our directory to locate someone near you. With a caring veterinarian on your side, you will be able to rely on someone to help you work to achieve pet health.