April
2001 Pet of the Month: Mickey
Mickey was a stray
cat that lived outside of an apartment complex. After much coaxing,
the owner was able to pet him and bring him to us for a check up.
Initially, he had ear mites and fleas from being outside. Otherwise,
he was a healthy intact male cat that was approximately 4 – 5 years old.
We treated him for the fleas and ear mites and neutered him. He soon
learned to live in his new home with a brother and sister, Hailey and
Bailey.
After a few weeks,
Mickey began to gain a large amount of weight and was urinating on
everything (except cat litter). The Cat Hospital of Austin checked
his urine and discovered a large amount of glucose (blood sugar) in his
urine. This is a very unusual finding for a simple urinary tract
infection, so Dr. Percival was immediately concerned about the possibility
that Mickey could be diabetic. After a short course of antibiotic,
Mickey was still urinating outside the litter box and seemed to be
drinking a lot. A recheck showed large amounts of glucose
in both his blood and urine. Dr. Percival recommended a special diet
of CNM-DM that was specially formulated as a useful aid in treatment of
diabetes. Mickey likes his new food and seems to be adapting well
now.
Cats are very
unusual creatures in that they are the only true obligate carnivores that
we know of. This means that they derive the majority of their
nutrients from the protein and fat that they eat. Cats require
little carbohydrate in their food, but there are certain protein
components that their bodies require from their food. A cat could
live on the “Atkins” diet for life and be perfectly happy and healthy.
Throughout the years, cat foods have been adapted to various feline needs,
but there is one common problem. In order for dry food to be made,
it needs to have flour. This adds more carbohydrate to a cat’s
diet than the cat can process. In Mickey’s case, he had been
fending for himself off of wild animals and the new dry food diet didn’t
agree with his system. The extra starch built up in his system and
caused diabetes. CNM-DM is currently only available in canned form
but has the essential proteins and fats that cats need.
Diabetes is a very
complex disease in cats and there is currently studies being performed on
the best way to treat it. Giving an injection of insulin twice daily
may not be necessary for some cats, even though it is currently the most
common form of treatment for diabetes mellitus. At the Cat Hospital
of Austin, we are trying to stay informed about this research so that we
can provide our feline friends the best and most updated treatments
available.
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