The body is no longer able to lower the blood sugar level or is unable to do so sufficiently. This disease is often the result of damage to the pancreas after an operation caused by a .
Factors that can cause diabetes mellitus or promote its development
Breed:
Certain breeds of dogs, such as Miniature Schnauzers, Miniature Poodles, Miniature Spitz, Wirehaired Terriers, Scotch Terriers, German Shepherds, Pugs and Dachshunds show a higher susceptibility than other breeds. There are no known breed-specific differences in cats.
Gender:
In dogs, un-neutered females are affected twice as often as males. In contrast, neutered male cats are much more susceptible to diabetes than female cats.
Age:
The can occur at any age, but there is a statistically relevant accumulation in the age group between seven to eight years.
Physical constitution:
Animals that suffer from are more likely to develop the condition of diabetes mellitus.
Hormonal changes:
In connection with the heat of the bitch, diabetes can be triggered by the hormonal changes, especially in the case of increased pregnancies. In some cases, they are also , which can trigger diabetes. It seems to be proven that young, immature male cats, younger than seven months at the time of neutering, are more likely to develop diabetes mellitus as they age.
Symptoms
An animal suffering from diabetes may show the following symptoms:
– Increased thirst – Increased urination with larger amounts of urine than usual (polyuria) – Weight loss – Change in food intake: Initially increased appetite, as the disease progresses, decrease in appetite. – Feeling depressed, easily fatigued after light physical exertion. – Frequent vomiting – cataracts (cataracts in dogs) can lead to blindness of the animal.
If these symptoms occur, your or a should be consulted in any case.
Diagnosis of diabetes mellitus
The diagnosis of the disease can only be made in the office of your veterinarian or a veterinary clinic. For this, after a general examination of your pet, the veterinarian will order a blood test as well as the urine test.
The level of glucose (blood sugar) in the blood can be measured directly. If a dog's blood sugar rises above 180 mg/dl, the kidneys are immediately activated to excrete the excess glucose. The body's cells need glucose for energy, but the sugar must enter the cells to be burned. For this purpose insulin is used as a "door opener" needed to transport the glucose into the. In the absence of insulin, the cells begin to "starve" and the body gains energy from other sources, such as fat tie and muscle tie (protein). This can lead to considerable disturbances in the. The changes are disturbances in the acid-base balance of the blood and in the salts sodium and potassium. The consequence of the disturbed metabolism is the formation of ketone bodies. But serious liver damage, kidney damage and heart muscle damage can also follow.
Glucose is detected in the urine by exceeding the renal threshold. Ketone bodies derived from metabolism may also be present. Give indications of the severity of diabetes. Since the urine of a diabetic animal contains larger amounts of glucose, additional colonization of the urinary tract by and/or can often occur, making urinalysis unavoidable.
A cat can be in a fearful situation, z. B. during a visit to the veterinarian, show a stress-related hyperglycemia of the blood. The stress hormone adrenaline causes a short-term release of glucose reserves, which can have the appearance of diabetes without the affected animal being sick. In this case, however, the renal threshold of about 200 mg/dl is usually not reached or just barely reached, so that no or only low glucose concentrations can be detected in the urine.
Two forms of diabetes can be observed:
Type 1 = insulin-dependent diabetes:
This type of diabetes mellitus is the most common and means that your animal must receive insulin injections!
Type 2 = insulin-independent diabetes:
In this type of diabetes mellitus, small amounts of the body's own insulin are still produced. One can possibly do without injections of insulin. The therapy can be based on an adapted diet. Build up to maintain a normal body weight.
In both forms of diabetes, control by the veterinarian is necessary!
Regular examination of the general condition of the patient as well as checking the normal weight are of crucial importance. Regular blood and urine status is necessary to detect early and metabolic disorders.