More dogs have diabetes

When dogs are overweight they are at risk of contracting diabetes.  This is when the body has a shortage of insulin and as a result there is glucose in the blood.  It’s life threatening and a miserable condition for the dog with lack of energy, extreme thirst, cataracts, depression, liver problems and damage to the kidneys as a result.

In spite of the importance of keeping your pet at a healthy weight, there has recently been an increase of 900% in cases of obesity and subsequent diabetes according to pet insurer’s Animal Friends.

Your vet will check your pet for diabetes and prescribe a course of treatment if necessary.  Getting the weight down is essential but no crash diets, this can only be done with great care and under vet supervision.   You may have to inject your pet with insulin every day and the diet needs special management.

There are lots of tests to determine the level of damage and the exact cause, diabetes often has associated abnormalities so if your pet has this awful condition you will spend a lot of time at the vets.

Cats suffer from diabetes too and over the years we see more and more cats like cushions who are sufferers.  It’s an ‘if only’ condition and there is rarely a good outcome.  Both cats and dogs have a sweet tooth – more please! It would be good to know much sugar there is in pet food?  It’s pure, white and deadly – for them as it is for us humans.  Make sure what you feed has no sugar at all.

It’s true that prevention is better than cure and keeping pets slim and fit and healthy is the way to ensure they stay well and live to a healthy old age.    A holistic approach with plenty of exercise, natural food and no processed ready meals is the best way to do this.