Formerly referred to as 'sugar diabetes' this is a failure of your cat's pancreas to regulate blood sugar.
There are two types of diabetes mellitus:
- Type I (also known as Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus) Requiring Daily shots of insulin.
- Type II (Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus). Dietary changes usually reverse this condition.
Feline Diabetes Mellitus can often be managed, but it will require a significant amount of dedication on the part of the cat's owner.
The most common symptoms of a cat with feline diabetes mellitus:
- weight loss combined with a dramatically increased appetite,
- increased or excessive water consumption,
- increased or excessive urination.
Your veterinarian can diagnose the disease by taking into account the symptoms just described & confirmed by tests on the cat's blood and urine.
Feline Diabetes Mellitus occurs in cats of all breeds, ages, and genders, and the exact cause of the disease is unknown. However, it is known to most commonly affect older, obese cats, and males are more commonly afflicted than females. Therefore, attempt to keep your cats at a healthy weight, particularly older cats and males, and take any cat to a veterinarian at the first sign of symptoms.
As a herbalist, we look at Diabetes as being much more a reflection of a metabolic imbalance than of a diseased pancreas as such and by using herbs this condition can be rebalanced with a focus on metabolic harmony and tonics for the Liver and Pancreas specifically.
Such is the blend of herbs in my Feline Conditioning Mix.
As eye problems are often associated with diabetes the addition of the eye wash will assist in reversing this condition by maintaining the health of the eye itself.
Dietary changes are really important as your cat will require to eat a raw & natural diet to assist in balancing the Blood sugar levels & reducing the weight if obese.
Choose minced chicken, chicken wings, fish, fresh not tinned & keep them small like pilchards, sardines, whiting, liver 1 x a week only for the wonderful Vitamins it stores.
- Vegies, cook some extra for your cat, mashed sweet potato, pumpkin, creamed corn or put a selection of raw vegies through a food processor & make it more palatable by mixing in a little oil which they find tasty.
- The other simple food which is helpful in these cases is rolled oats like the porridge breakfast cereal. This may be soaked in water and added to feed which should preferably be raw and consist of meaty bones (prefer not beef) and nothing much else.
- No processed food if possible.
