Diabetes in pets: what are the symptoms and causes and is there a cure? 

Pete Wedderburn explains diabetes in dogs and cats, and why diet is relatively unimportant

Pete the Vet: When a pet is diagnosed with diabetes, the owner can wonder if they caused the issue by giving too many sugary biscuits. The truth is that diabetes in dogs usually has nothing to do with their diet, and cats are unlikely to enjoy eating sugary treats anyway.

Most people have friends or relatives who suffer from diabetes, but did you know that this is a common condition in dogs and cats as well? But diabetes is not the same in humans, dogs and cats: there are similarities, and there are differences.

Comparative pathology was a topic that I loved when at vet college: the science of comparing human and animal diseases. As vet students, we were taught this at a basic level: it was enough for us to learn that most human diseases happen in animals, and vice versa. And we also learned that there are key differences between species. Diabetes is a good example. Most people don't realize this, and when their pet is diagnosed with diabetes, they wonder if they caused the issue by giving too many sugary biscuits. The truth is that diabetes in dogs usually has nothing to do with their diet, and cats are unlikely to enjoy eating sugary treats anyway.