Feline Diabetes – Causes

Feline diabetes mellitus (sometimes referred to as sugar diabetes) is a complex disease that ultimately affects every organ in a feline diabetes patient’s body. Its symptoms and effects differ with every patient and often take cat and caregiver on an exhausting, physical and emotional roller coaster ride. However, feline diabetes can be managed successfully for many years, provided the
caregiver establishes a close working relationship with her veterinarian and commits to a daily scrutiny of her cat’s physical condition. Only a caregiver has the opportunity and the ability to recognize the subtlest of changes to the health of her animal companion.

In healthy feline bodies, blood sugar (glucose) enters the blood stream for conversion into energy; the presence of glucose in the blood signals the body to secrete enough insulin for the conversion. A healthy pancreas secretes just enough insulin to prevent blood glucose levels from raising too much (hyperglycemia) or lowering too much (hypoglycemia). Feline diabetes develops when the beta cells in a cat’s pancreas either (i) fail to produce a sufficient amount of insulin or (ii) fail to respond to normal insulin amounts in order to balance glucose levels. In both cases, blood glucose rises to unhealthy levels because the body cannot process the sugar into energy that the cat can use.

The use of certain medications in cats, like steroids, has been known to induce diabetes (secondary diabetes) by impairing the natural insulin secretion process or insulin’s effect on tissues; however, some veterinary experts believe that the steroids actually unmask a pre-existing tendency toward diabetes rather than induce the disease themselves. A cat caregiver’s veterinarian is the best source of information on the risks of steroid medicine therapy for an otherwise healthy cat. Genetics (particularly in Burmese cats), obesity, pancreatitis, hyperthyroidism and hormonal imbalances may also either mimic or play a part in the development of feline diabetes, but the exact cause of the disease in cats, in general, is unknown. Obese neutered males over ten years old and weighing greater than 15 pounds appear to be the most disposed to the disease.

Feline diabetes takes one of the following three forms:

• Type I, in which diabetic cats are insulin dependent and require daily insulin injections to supplement insufficient insulin production by pancreatic beta cells;
• Type II, in which natural insulin production functions normally, but the body lacks the capacity to metabolize the insulin properly; and Transient
  diabetes, in which Type II cats re-regulate themselves to the point where they no longer require insulin treatment. Re-regulation can be accomplished through a change to a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet.

Feline diabetes occurs in approximately one out of every 400 cats; Type II feline diabetes (which closely resembles Type II human diabetes) is the most commonly occurring form of the disease. Some Type II feline diabetes patients require insulin, while others are treated with a combination of dietary and insulin therapy.