Episode 41: Diabetes in Animals

Today we’re covering diabetes in animals: what it looks like, how it’s different from diabetes in humans, and things you should know about caring for an animal with diabetes. We got input for this episode from a friend of mine with a T1D American Eskimo Dog, and you can see her picture down below!

[tcb-script src=”https://www.buzzsprout.com/533392/3884777-ep-41-diabetes-in-animals.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-3884777&player=small” type=”text/javascript” charset=”utf-8″][/tcb-script]

Diabetes can affect dogs, cats, apes, pigs, and horses, as well as some other animals, but for this episode we talked mostly about it in dogs and cats, since those are the most common household pets. Diabetes in animals shares a lot of similarites with diabetes in humans, but they’re NOT the same.

Bella, my friend’s American Eskimo Dog

Pet-specific insulin, branded “Vetsulin”

Pet syringes from Amazon

Anti-cataract drops for diabetic dogs

Wins & Fails

Jessie’s Win: While her blood sugars have been all over the place over the last week, she’s counting it as a win that she’s keeping a level head through it all.

Colleen’s Fail: We had to cancel Panther Camp, our annual summer camp for type 1 diabetics, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can listen here for more information about diabetes camps, and here for our take on how COVID-19 is affecting our lives.

Hack of the Week

Choose different milk substances for coffee. Milk has a lot of sugar in it, at 13 carbs a cup. Insteada of milk, Jessie has started using a low carb lactose free creamer from Trader Joe’s. Colleen’s creamer of choice is plain heavy whipping cream.

Diabetes Spotlight

The spotlight this week is on the Freestyle Libre sensor, which can be used on cats and dogs! It’s so far the only CGM that vets have used, and somewhat unfortunately, Abbot, the company that makes the Freestyle Libre, does not provide support for veterinary use. That means it’s not officially approved for animals, and they don’t answer questions about use with animals on their support line. They also won’t replace sensors if they prematurely detach—which is a likely problem for animals.

Question for You!

Have you ever encountered diabetes in animals? Do you own a pet with diabetes? How have you handled that? We’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments!

Links & Resources

Support the blog & podcast by buying us a coffee through Ko-fi!
Follow on Facebook
Diabetes in Pets (American Veterinary Medical Association)
About Diabetes Mellitus in Pets (MyPet.com)
Symptoms, Causes, & Treatments of Diabetes in Dogs (AKC.org)
Diabetes Mellitus In Dogs and Cats | Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis (VetSpecialists)
Comparative occurrence of diabetes in canine, feline, and few wild animals and their association with pancreatic diseases and ketoacidosis with therapeutic approach (VetWorld)
Diabetes in Pets (Diabetes.co.uk)