You've studied the disease. You've purchased a glucose meter. You altered your schedule to ensure someone is home every 12 hours to give your diabetic pet insulin. And you run periodic glucose curves. A surprising perception of some diabetic pet owners is that the pet's blood glucose is the same day to day.
In over 2 decades of practice, I don't recall many skinny diabetic pets. Sure, oftentimes a diabetic pet might lose a dramatic amount of weight at the onset of disease, but most often these pets started off tubby.
Recently one of our readers asked me to chat about how urinary tract infections (UTIs) can affect diabetes. She said that her senior kitty’s diabetes management kept getting derailed by his urinary tract infections. This reminded me of the brain teaser, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Let me explain.
Today, one of our readers emailed me to share her story of her cat. He had been diabetic for 4 years, but recently lost a battle against cancer, completely unrelated to his diabetes. The owner said that she learned that despite the fact that during his 4 years with diabetes, sometimes things “acted up” (the occasional […]
This week I received a question for a reader asking what medications can affect insulin and glucose regulation. Heaven knows I harp at you all about avoiding steroids in diabetic pets often enough, but are there other medications that can derail a diabetic? Nothing came to mind, but I figured I’d investigate.
This week one of our readers wrote in that she recently moved and is now using a multi-doctor practice in her new town. She said her prior vet’s humorous yet brief advice regarding diet was, “Don’t feed donuts” to her diabetic dog. At her new hospital they were strongly advising her to change to a prescription […]
This week one of our readers asked me what the normal blood glucose range is for dogs and cats. One of her vets told her it was up to 170 mg/dl for cats. I agree! It can be that high if taken in a clinic environment where a cat may feels stress. Evaluations in a pet’s […]
It’s Saturday morning as I write this. My cats are in “cat jail”, the bank of cages that I keep in my family room should I need to bring home a patient from my general practice. They aren’t pleased, but I have contractors here replacing some windows. I’ve got them kenneled until the fellas finish the […]
Last week we talked about anesthesia and the role that it plays when your sweetie has to have something done that extends beyond a routine examination. This week, we will dig a little deeper and discuss how you and your pet need to prepare when you have a scheduled appointment that will require the use of […]
Last week one of our readers wrote me that even though she is very anxious about anesthetizing her sweetheart, she is going to let her veterinarian clean her diabetic dog’s teeth. I’m very proud of her. Many people have fear of anesthesia, yet the benefit to ridding a diabetic of oral infection with respect to diabetic […]