Diabetes

Not only humans can suffer from diabetes, also dogs and cats regularly suffer from this condition. We would like to tell you more about this disease and give you tips on how you can support your pet.

Diabetes is caused by a shortage of insulin or a reduced effect of insulin, which results in problems with the regulation of sugar levels in the blood. Because sugar is not absorbed from the blood, blood sugar levels are too high.

Forms and causes

Diabetes comes in several varieties, but type 1 and type 2 are the most common. In type 1, the pancreas makes (too) little insulin and this variant usually appears during younger years. In type 2, the pancreas does produce enough insulin, but the body does not respond as well to it. For example, as a result of obesity or old age. In addition, diabetes can also occur as a result of another condition or by treatment with certain medications. Whatever form of diabetes an animal has, the treatment always aims to bring the blood sugar back to a normal level. Insulin, a diet and more exercise are of great importance!

Symptoms

These are the most common symptoms of diabetes. Do you recognize one or more symptoms with  your dog or cat? Contact your veterinarian to check whether your pet is suffering from diabetes. 

• More drinking.
• More urination.
• Increased appetite.
• Emaciation despite eating well.
• Poor coat condition.
• Decreased stamina.

Do you recognize any of the symptoms? Contact your veterinarian.

Important tips

• Provide a complete diet, preferably a diet food tailored to animals with diabetes.
• Give as little supplementary food as possible to avoid large fluctuations in blood sugar.
• Make sure you always have dextrose in the house.
• The amount of exercise affects the amount of insulin needed daily. It is therefore wise to plan walks for your dog that are approximately the same length every day.
• Sometimes your dog or cat will not eat or will spit out his food. For this reason, veterinarians recommend administering insulin after meals, so that you can still reduce the insulin dose if necessary.
• Never increase the insulin dose on your own initiative. It is better to give too little insulin than too much.
• Always contact your veterinarian if symptoms such as increased urination and drinking worsen.

Is your animal suffering from obesity? If so, contact the Prins CareTeam for tailored nutritional advice.

Nutritional tips

The amount of insulin that your animal receives is adjusted to the amount of food that your animal needs and ingests in a day. It is therefore important to feed regularly and to ensure that your animal receives the same amount of food with the same composition every day. To keep the blood sugar level stable it is strongly advised against to change the food too often. If you do want to change something in the diet of your animal or if you want to switch to another food, always do this in consultation with your veterinarian so that the insulin dose can be adjusted.  

High quality diet foods

We have five high quality and balanced diet foods in our range that are especially suitable for dogs and cats with diabetes. In these foods we use so-called "slow" carbohydrates that give a slower and lower rise to blood sugar and extra dietary fiber to regulate blood sugar levels. To prevent obesity, these feeds have a reduced fat content and an increased protein content.

For cats:

• Prins VitalCare Diet Weight Reduction & Diabetic (crispy kibble)
• Prins NatureCare Diet Cat Weight Reduction & Diabetic (wet food)

For dogs:

• Prins ProCare Croque Diet Weight Reduction & Diabetic (crispy kibble)
• Prins ProCare Diet Weight Reduction & Diabetes (pressed kibble)
• Prins NatureCare Diet Dog Weight Reduction & Diabetic (wet food)

Do you need advice?

Does your pet suffer from diabetes and are you looking for the right food? Or would you simply like to know more about it? The Prins CareTeam is ready for all your questions!