What is Daibetes?

Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine disease that commonly occurs in dogs, as well as cats and humans.  Diabetes is caused by a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin.

Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use glucose for energy. When your dog or cat eats, the body breaks down all of the sugars and starches into glucose, which is the basic fuel for the cells in the body.

As glucose enters the blood stream, the pancreas automatically releases an adequate quantity of insulin to move the glucose present in blood into the cells, as soon as glucose enters the cells blood-glucose levels drop.

In a healthy pet, insulin attaches itself to receptors on the cell and acts as a key to allow the glucose to enter the cell and be used for energy.

A pet with diabetes has a condition in which the quantity of glucose in the blood is too elevated (hyperglycemia). This is because the body either does not produce enough insulin, produces no insulin, or has cells that do not respond properly to the insulin the pancreas produces. This results in too much glucose building up in the blood. This excess blood glucose eventually passes out of the body in urine. So, even though the blood has plenty of glucose, the cells are not getting it for their essential energy and growth requirements. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, it can lead to diabetes complications.

Patients with high blood sugar will typically experience polyuria (frequent urination), they will become increasingly thirsty (polydipsia) and hungry (polyphagia).