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It’s estimated that more than 1 cat in every 500 is diabetic and that the numbers are rising, so if you’re a cat owner there are a number of symptoms that you should look out for to ensure that your cat doesn’t have a major health problem that’s going unattended.
The four main symptoms are not unlike those you would find in a human who was showing signs of diabetes:
- Drinking too much, constantly thirsty.
- Urinating more frequently, and in the case of a cat, not always in an appropriate place.
- More hungry than usual.
- Not much energy
The difference with a cat is that you won’t really pick up on the signs immediately unless your cat is older and you notice that these symptoms occur over time – you have a knowledge base of your cat’s usually behaviour to use as a source of reference. If you have a cat that has always been this way, then you can be forgiven for believing that this is just the cat’s nature – it’s a hungry, thirsty cat who isn’t much into exercise.
You should always have a weekly health check with your cat to ensure that it’s always in a good condition. The fact that your cat’s coat isn’t looking very healthy is something that you need to investigate, is it a nutrition thing, does your cat have fleas, have you skipped grooming it this week, is there any other reason you can think of that would make your cat’s coat dull? If not, think about the other diabetes symptoms and your cat’s life, Does your cat drink a lot, urinate a lot – sometimes with “accidents”, always hungry but never really wanting to run around, perhaps sleeping a lot?
If your cat fits into this pattern, then you need to contact your veterinary centre. Diabetes is dangerous for cats if left unattended as if they get to a stage where they go into a coma, it’s not always possible to save them. Once diagnosed however, like humans they can live a seemingly normal life – you’ll have to watch their nutrition and exercise, plus you may need to administer medication depending on the status of the diabetes, but other than that your cat will be fine.
This article was submitted by Joeanne Belfitt, she is a regular contibutor to O.P.K.M. . Joeanne is building up herself up as a online specialist on microdermabrasion london. View her blog here.
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