Cat Diabetes & Vomiting

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. Carrie Burhenn and I'm a Veterinarian at the Feline Medical Clinic in Vancouver, Washington and I'm here today to talk to you about diabetes in cats and vomiting. Diabetes as it turns out is a common illness in cats, just as it is in humans and it is becoming more common especially as our cats become more overweight. The most likely cat to become a diabetic is usually a middle age to older overweight male cat. In human beings it's often women who are most affected by diabetes. So people don't always think of it in their male cats. It is of equal incidence in many populations though so there's no breed predisposition to this; but what the Veterinarian is going to be looking for is a history where the cat has been losing weight, drinking more, urinating more and sometimes vomiting. Some of these cats are very lethargic as well because some of them can be quite sick from the diabetes. A cat who is not very ill with diabetes may simply have a few signs and so it may require some blood tests that may take a day or so to run to actually detect this, but they're actually quite simple test of blood sugar test and urine test and if both are positive, then the cat probably is diabetic and would require treatment. This is not so daintiness that once was, many insulin forms are actually quite usable in cats and there's appropriate protocol that most Veterinarians will try and follow that's tailored to the needs of your cat; your Veterinarian can recommend the best protocol for your cat and you based on what they see. And again, some cats can be quite sick with diabetes so there maybe some additional treatment that has to occur before you even start managing the cat at home. It's important to realize that there are many other illnesses that can mimic diabetes in cats and so your Veterinarian can recommend the best test to make sure that they are adequately screen not only for diabetes but other illnesses and then can treat appropriately based on this. If you have questions or concerns that you think your cat may have diabetes, call your Veterinarian's office and they can setup an exam for you."