Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Posted by Animals at 5:10 PM Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Caring for Your Diabetic Cat

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 09:01 AM PST

Dr. Larry I've got another excellent video recommendation for people with diabetic cats. This video is very similar to the chronic renal failure video from a few weeks ago and is made by the same group. You can view it here on the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Partners in Animal Health Website. The video is made possible by our friends at Purina Veterinary Diets. 

This video is an excellent companion piece to the pod casts Yvonne and I did with Dr Grace Long on caring for diabetic cats. The first installment was on last Monday and part two should be up next week.
What I really love about this video is how comprehensive it is and what a good job it does of graphically demonstrating what goes wrong with glucose metabolism in the diabetic cat. I also love the way the video incorporates snippets from actual owners of diabetic cats. 
 
The first chapter deals with diagnosis and an explanation of the disease process. The cat people describe the changes they witnessed in their own cats as the diabetes took over. It's a great primer in how to recognize the common symptoms of diabetes.
 
The second chapter covers treatment options and goes into detail on the phases of diabetes management and owner can expect. Both this chapter and the one on giving insulin injections should be very valuable for people with newly diagnosed cats. Bailey_in_basket
 
I was also struck by how well each owner adapted to the routine of feeding and daily insulin injections. It can be scary to get a diagnosis like this for many cat lovers and this video can help people deal with anxiety associated with the fear of managing a chronic disease where you are responsible for most of the treatment at home.
 
There is an excellent chapter on the role of diet in managing diabetes. Both how and what you feed can have a dramatic impact on successful diabetes management. PVD DM diet is a great example of a high protein low carbohydrate diet formulated specifically for diabetic cats.
 
The final chapter deals with recognizing and treating hypoglycemia which may result from changes in insulin needs in some cats. Severe hypoglycemia is a medical emergency.
 
I would highly recommend spending a half hour or so with this video if you have a diabetic cat. Understanding the disease and how treatment works can make managing diabetes seem like no big deal for most cat lovers.  

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