Posts Tagged ‘natural remedies for cats’

Feline Urinary Problems — What Your Cat Wishes You Knew

Did you know that up to 1.5 percent of all cats in the US are plagued with feline urinary problems? That’s a lot of cats.

The severity of these problems can range from an uncomfortable cat bladder infection to a life-threatening cat urinary blockage. An an informed cat owner, you should always be on the lookout for cat urinary problems.

What’s The Difference Between FUS And FLUTD?

Many cat owners are confused, and rightfully so, over the terms used to describe cat urinary problems. FLUTD is an acronym that stands for Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. FLUTD used to be known as FUS, or Feline Urologic Syndrome. Feline Urologic Syndrome has been renamed as Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease to reflect that most of the urinary problems in cats happen in the lower urinary tract, which includes the bladder and urethra.

Overview Of Feline Urinary Disease

There are many different aspects to feline urinary problems. Here’s a quick overview of a few different conditions that can affect your cat’s urinary tract.

  • An inflammation of your cat’s bladder is called cystitis.
  • If your cat’s urethra is inflamed, he has urethritis.
  • Idiopathic cystitis means that the cause of the bladder inflammation is not known.
  • Bladder stones in cats often occur as a result of feline urinary crystals.
  • A tumor in your cat’s bladder may cause problems, too.

You can see that it’s important to pinpoint what’s causing your cat’s urinary tract problems in order to treat his condition successfully.

Symptoms of Cat Urinary Problems

No matter what’s causing the feline urinary tract problems, your cat will show these symptoms:

  • Bloody urine
  • Urinating in places other than his litter box
  • Urinating often, but passing only small amounts of urine
  • Straining to urinate, or not being able to pass urine at all
  • Crying out in pain in the litter box

Any of these symptoms should be enough for you to take your cat to the vet for a check-up.

What Your Vet Will Do

Your vet will examine your cat and feel his bladder to see how full it is. The vet will also want to do a urinalysis to check for infection or feline urinary crystals, and may want to do a cat urine culture to see if bacteria are present. If your cat’s bladder is distended, he could have a cat urinary blockage; your vet may want to do an ultrasound or take x-rays to look for cat bladder stones.

Simple Ways You Can To Prevent Feline Urinary Disease?

There are many steps cat owners can take to prevent their cats from developing feline urinary tract problems. The most important thing you can do is to feed a high-quality canned food.

Because cats are supposed to get most of their water from their food, a kitty who eats only dry food is usually chronically dehydrated, which leads to his urine becoming concentrated. And concentrated urine can lead to cat bladder stones, and a whole host of problems that goes along with them.

Be sure your cat always has access to plenty of clean, fresh water, too.

Consider treating your feline friend with natural remedies for cats that support bladder health in cats. This remedy should contain herbal extracts of barberry and uva ursi, along with the homeopathic remedies Cantharis and Staphysagria. People have been using these natural treatments for bladder problems for many years, and they have been proven to work just as well in cats.

Click on any link in this article to learn how natural remedies for cats can help to prevent and treat feline urinary problems.

Ten Benefits Of Holistic Cat Care In The Treatment Of Cat Urinary Tract Infection

If your kitty suffers from a recurring cat urinary tract infection, perhaps holistic cat care can help.  Here are ten benefits of using natural remedies for cats to treat feline cystitis.

What Is Holistic Cat Care?

Holistic medicine is a different way of looking at illness. Conventional medicine treats the symptoms of cat urinary problems, but doesn’t address why your pet is showing these symptoms.

Holistic practitioners, on the other hand, look at the animal as a whole, not just as a urinary tract. Holistic cat care follows the principle that your cat’s body is able to maintain a balance that protects her from disease and helps her to heal herself. Upset the balance, and your cat gets sick. The holistic approach is to restore this balance.

Our pets are exposed to many toxins in their food, from the environment, and even in the grooming products you use on them. Choosing to use only natural food and pet supplies will go a long way toward keeping your kitty healthy and protecting her from FLUTD, or feline lower urinary tract disease.

Ten Benefits Of Holistic Cat Care

  1. Feeding your cat a natural diet reduces her exposure to artificial coloring agents and preservatives which can upset her system. Excellent nutrition is the best way to help your kitty resist a cat urinary tract infection.
  2. A high-quality natural diet will prevent health problems like allergies, digestive problems, and cat urinary problems.
  3. Less stress in your cat’s life will help her to stay healthy. Try to identify stressful situations she may be facing. Is she having territory issues with another cat? Is she lonely? Exercise can also help to lower her stress levels, too, as well as keeping her in shape.
  4. With excellent holistic cat care, your kitty will live a long and healthy life.
  5. If your pet doesn’t feel well, her quality of life won’t be as good. Natural cat care will improve your feline friend’s quality of life by helping her to stay healthy.
  6. Your cat will recover more quickly if she should get sick or be injured. Ingredients in natural remedies for cats are absorbed better, which aids in the healing process.
  7. By using natural pet care products, you’ll reduce your own exposure to toxins. You and your family are exposed to the ingredients in the products you use on your cat.
  8. Natural remedies are “greener” than conventional products. They break down quickly, and don’t leave harmful residues in the environment,
  9. You’ll save time by not having to take your kitty to the vet as often. With holistic cat care, you’ll be treating the source of feline cystitis, not just the symptoms, which will help prevent new a cat urinary tract infection from developing.
  10. And, finally, you’ll be saving money in the long run by avoiding expensive products that can lead to more health problems for your cat.

The Best Natural Remedies For Cats

It can be overwhelming to try to choose the best natural remedy for your cat from the many on the market. Look for a product that’s specially formulated for pets, not people. Look for a highly-recommended company with a great reputation for producing only the highest-quality remedies for pets. Read testimonials from other pet owners who have used the product, too.

If your cat is already struggling with cat urinary problems, click on any link in this article to learn more about safe and effective natural remedies for cats that can help solve your problem.

Prevent Feline Cystitis With Natural Remedies For Cats

Can natural remedies for cats help to prevent feline cystitis?  Many cat owners who have had a long and frustrating battle with feline lower urinary tract disease, or FLUTD, wonder if natural remedies, along with holistic cat care, would help.

What Is Holistic Cat Care?

Holistic cat care involves looking at your kitty as a whole, as an alternative to focusing on her kidneys and bladder when she has cat urinary problems.Instead of just focusing on the symptoms of FLUTD, a holistic practitioner will want more information about your cat’s diet, along with information on any stressful situations in her life.Natural remedies for cats are commonly used, too.

Cat Urinary Problems And Your Kitty’s Diet

Many cat owners don’t realize that there’s a direct link between their cat’s diet and cat cystitis.  Ads on tv and in magazines tell us repeatedly how great dry food is for our cats.  It has all the nutrients your cats needs, yes.  But that’s not the whole truth.

Here’s the problem.  In the wild, cats don’t drink much water, for the simple reason that they’ve been designed to get most of their water from their food.  All people and animals are over 90% water.  A cat who eats mice and other prey animals will almost completely satisfy her water requirements without having to drink any extra water.

It’s a different story for our kitties.  We want to do the best for them, so we feed them what we have been told is the best possible diet.  But dry cat food has a moisture content of less than 10%.  This is good for a long shelf life, but it’s not so good for your cat’s health.  A cat who eats only dry food is probably a chronically dehydrated cat, since it’s hard for her to drink enough water to make up the difference between what’s in her diet, and what her body needs.

Did you know that kidney failure is the leading cause of death in older cats?This can happen as a result of a lifetime of chronic dehydration.

You should know that increasing the amount of water going through your cat is the best way to prevent FLUTD.  A more than adequate water intake flushes impurities out of your cat’s body and his urinary system.  Be sure your kitty always has access to plenty of clean fresh water.

Cat Stress Is Linked To Feline Cystitis

Most of us would think that our cats lead a charmed life.Wouldn’t you just love to lay around and sleep all day?

Well, maybe not.  Cats face a lot more stress than most of us realize.  Just being an indoor cat is a stress on an animal that’s meant to be outside hunting, and slinking around in the dark.  Add a lack of exercise, too much of the wrong food, not enough water, annoyances from other cats and pets, and just being cooped up inside, and you can see that maybe life isn’t quite as easy as you thought for your furball.

Feline interstitial cystitis has been linked to cat stress.  If your vet can’t find any reason for your cat’s bladder problems, maybe you should be looking for hidden stress in your cat’s life.

Natural Remedies For Cats With Cat Urinary Problems

You may be interested in one of the many natural remedies for cats available now.  You should look for one that contains the herbs uva ursi and barberry, along with the homeopathic remedies Cantharis and Staphysagris.These remedies prevent feline cystitis by keeping your cat’s urinary system working well.

Learn more about natural remedies for cats with feline cystitis, and find the best place to buy them, by clicking on any link in this article.

Cat Urinary Tract Infection — Will Your Cat Be A Victim?

Are you concerned about cat urinary tract infection?  All cat owners should be aware of FLUTD, or feline lower urinary tract disease, to prevent their beloved companions from becoming victims of cat urinary problems.

What Cat Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms Should You Be Aware Of?

Sometimes the most obvious symptom is that your cat is urinating outside the litter box.  As wonderful as cats are, they don’t have advanced powers of reasoning.  If your cat is hurting every time he uses the litter pan, he thinks that somehow the litter pan is causing his pain.  In his little kitty mind, if he urinates someplace else, it won’t hurt when he goes.

Of course, we humans know it doesn’t work that way.  But if your cat suddenly stops using his litter box, it may not be a behavior issue.  It could be one of several cat urinary tract infection symptoms.

If you use clumping cat litter, be observant of the size of the clumps when you scoop or change his litter.  You should see a few large clumps.  A whole bunch of little clumps indicates that he can’t pass much urine at one time.  This is another symptom of cat urinary problems.

Bloody urine is another clue to watch for.  It’s a little harder to see in cats than it is in dogs.  However, if your cat is urinating outside his box, you may be more apt to notice it.

Be aware of your cat’s behavior in his litter box.  Is he crying out in pain when he tries to urinate?  Is he straining to pass urine?  Often cat owners mistake this for constipation.

Your feline should be visiting his litter pan several times during the day.  If he is urinating less and less, or stops completely, he may have a cat urinary blockage, which is a veterinary emergency.

Treatments For FLUTD

In order to treat a cat urinary tract infection, your vet will need to run several tests to find out what’s going on with your cat.  A urinalysis is necessary to determine if your cat has feline cystitis, or if he has feline bladder stones.  A cat urine culture will tell your vet which bacteria are causing the problem, and a sensitivity test indicates which antibiotic will work best.

If your feline has a cat urinary tract infection, he’ll probably be treated with antibiotics.  Bladder stones in cats are a common problem, too.  Your cat may have to eat a special diet so the stones can dissolve.  If your cat is blocked, he may need to be catheterized.

Can Cat Urinary Problems Be Prevented?

Take these easy steps to keep your kitty from becoming a statistic.

First, feed your cat a high-quality canned food.  In the wild, cats are meant to get their water from their food, which is why cats don’t seem to drink much water.  When we take our cats out of a natural situation and feed them an unnatural diet of dry food with an extremely low moisture content, we’re setting them up for cat urinary problems.

Canned cat food has a moisture level of about 75%, which is much closer to a cat’s natural diet.  If your cat has always been fed dry food, he may resist a change in his diet.Although cats are very resistant to changes, it’s possible to can switch him over to canned food, with patience, time, and persistence.

A steady supply of clean, fresh water is a must, too.

Consider giving your feline friend natural remedies for cats that support bladder health.  Look for a remedy that’s made especially for cats.Choose a a company with a long-standing reputation for producing only the best-quality pet remedies.

If your furry friend is already a victim of FLUTD, click on any link in this article to learn more about natural remedies for cats that can help treat and prevent this problem.

Don’t Let These Five Myths About Feline Diabetes Mislead You

Feline diabetes is a growing problem among the feline population.  Unfortunately, there are several myths circulating about diabetes in cats.If you live with a diabetic cat, you owe it to your kitty to know the facts about how you can help him. 

Myth #1. The Only Treatment For A Diabetic Feline Is To Put Him Down

This isn’t necessarily true.Most cat owners manage this disease quite successfully; however, it may be harder to do in elderly cats or in kitties with other health issues. 

It does take a little time to learn new skills you’ll need, including checking your diabetic cat’s blood sugar, and giving him insulin shots. 

Myth #2. Feline Diabetes Cannot Be Prevented

Quite a few pet experts believe that this disease is a man-made condition that can be prevented by feeding your kitty a high-quality canned food, not dry cat food.

What’s wrong with dry cat food?The main ingredient in this kind of food is grain, which contains a lot more carbs than your cat needs.  Cats have evolved to eat meat, not grains.  Free-feeding dry cat food will more than likely lead to a fat cat, and overweight kitties are predisposed to many health problems, including diabetes in cats.   

Myth #3.  It’s Too Hard To Check Your Kitty’s Blood Glucose Levels At Home

It can be challenging at first, but anyone who lives with a feline diabetic should learn how to check their cat’s blood sugar levels.Never administer an insulin shot unless you know what your cat’s blood glucose levels are.  Plus, it’s much less expensive for you, and less stressful for your cat, if your vet teaches you how to do this simple test at home.

Myth #4. Your Kitty Will Need Insulin Injections For The Rest Of His Life

This is false.Sometimes it’s possible to reverse feline diabetes simply by switching your kitty from dry food to canned food.  Losing weight can help, too.Always talk to your vet before putting your overweight kitty on a diet, as it can cause serious problems if he loses weight too quickly.

Mild exercise is a natural way to manage blood sugar.Start slowly to get your cat into shape.  Gradually work up to two or three ten-minute exercise sessions every day.

Myth #5. Don’t Waste Your Time With Natural Remedies For Cats

On the contrary, researchers have found that the mineral chromium, along with certain herbs, including goat’s rue, astragalus, and fenugreek, are all very effective in helping to control blood sugar levels in human diabetics.  These remedies are also effective for kitties, as well.  Many cat owners have found that a combination of dietary changes, daily exercise, and natural remedies for cats has made it possible to discontinue insulin injections for their pets.

Don’t believe any of these myths about feline diabetes.  Click on any link in this article to find out how natural remedies for cats can help keep your favorite kitty healthy.

Discover Ten Causes Of Feline Incontinence

Is feline incontinence becoming a problem for your cat? You need to realize that incontinence in cats, or dribbling and leaking of urine, and inappropriate urination are two different things.

Often an incontinent pet is unaware that she has a problem. Inappropriate urination, on the other hand, is when a cat is purposely urinating in places other than her litter box. This may be a behavior issue, but it can also be cause by feline lower urinary tract disease.

It’s important to know the difference between the two because incontinence in cats can be a sign of serious health issues for your feline friend.

Ten Reasons For Feline Incontinence

1. Usually the simplest reason is feline lower urinary tract disease. One of the symptoms of a feline bladder infection is needing to urinate often. Your kitty may not be able to make it to the litter box in time.

2. If your cat has had repeated feline urinary problems, her bladder may be scarred. Her bladder can’t expand to hold urine, so she needs to urinate often.

3. Cat bladder stones can cause a partial blockage of your cat’s urethra, making it impossible for her to empty her bladder completely. As her bladder fills with urine, the pressure can force some urine around the blockage. If you suspect a blocked cat, get her to the vet as soon as possible, as this can be fatal within a day or two.

4. The result of a weak urinary sphincter can be an incontinent cat. This is more common in older spayed female dogs, but it does occasionally happen in spayed cats, too, especially if they’re heavy. This type of incontinence, called hormone-responsive incontinence, can develop years after she’s been spayed.

5. Feline diabetes can cause an incontinent cat. A diabetic cat is drinking lots more water than normal because the disease makes her very thirsty in an effort to flush the excess sugar out of her body. Of course, this makes her urinate more, too. She may have trouble making it to her litter box before she has an accident.

6. Cats with feline leukemia sometimes become incontinent, too. This can happen in both males and females.

7. As a cat ages, the urinary sphincter can weaken. Your cat may develop other problems as she gets older, such as diabetes, which cause her body to produce more urine than normal. Combine a very full bladder with a weak urinary sphincter, and it’s easy to see why urinary incontinence in cats is the result.

8. Due to a neurological problem with the nerves in her bladder, she may be unable to hold her urine.

9. Bladder tumors can be another factor.

10. An older can who is getting forgetful, or in the early stages of senility, may develop litter box problems.

Natural Feline Urinary Support

If your furball is having cat urinary problems, it’s important to take her to the vet for a check-up to rule out anything serious. Most cases of inappropriate urination are due to feline lower urinary tract disease, which can be a frustrating condition to deal with.

The most important thing you can do is to feed your cat a high-quality canned food. Cats are meant to get most of their water from their food, so feeding a cat dry food all the time is an invitation to disaster in the form of cat urinary problems.

You may want to consider giving your kitty one of the many natural remedies for cats that are available for feline urinary support. Herbs and homeopathic remedies have a long history of success in humans, and they’re very effective for urinary problems in pets, too.  Just click on any link to learn more.

Know These Four Dangerous Complications of Feline Diabetes

Do you have a diabetic cat?  If you do, you already know that it’s necessary to pay a lot more attention to your kitty’s health.  Although cat diabetes doesn’t cause circulatory problems or blindness like diabetes in people does, there are four dangerous complications of feline diabetes that you need to know about. 

Feline Neuropathy

The cat owner will notice weakness in the pet’s legs.  Be aware that your kitty may have feline diabetes if you notice her walking on her “wrists” on her front legs, or on her “elbows” in the back.  The nerves are damaged by blood sugar levels that are too high.  Treatment of cat diabetes may help to reverse this problem.

Feline Ketoacidosis

This problem is often seen in an untreated feline diabetic.  The kitty’s body usually breaks down glucose for energy for bodily processes.  But in cat diabetes, the body can’t break down this glucose, so the body starts breaking down fat instead.  This process produces ketones, which are a waste product.  The accumulated ketones lead to ketoacidosis, which is fatal without immediate veterinary treatment.

Symptoms of ketoacidosis in cats include:

  • Breath either smells sweet, or like nail polish remover
  • Dehydration
  • Either excessive thirst, or not drinking any water at all
  • Not eating for more than twelve hours
  • Fast breathing
  • Vomiting
  • Weakness and lethargy
  • Frequent urination

Feline Hypoglycemia

If a diabetic cat is given too much insulin, or doesn’t eat on schedule, her blood sugar levels may drop to dangerously low levels.  Your feline companion may be acting weird, and stagger around. Seizures may occur.  A fatal coma may follow. 

Treat feline hypoglycemia by rubbing a little corn syrup or honey on the cat’s gums.  She needs to see the vet as soon as possible, because this is an emergency.

Hepatic Lipidosis

This problem results when a heavy cat suddenly stops eating.Instead of using glucose for energy, the kitty’s body breaks down fat instead, which causes a build-up of fat in the liver.  Symptoms are similar to ketoacidosis, and also include jaundice, or a yellowing of the cat’s eyes and gums.  Again, get Kitty to the vet right away, as this is an emergency.

Avoid These Four Complications of Diabetes in Cats

Avoiding these complications of feline diabetes is possible by normalizing the kitty’s blood sugar levels.  Research shows that natural remedies for cats, which include the herbs astragalus, fenugreek, and goat’s rue, along with chromium, are very effective for regulating blood sugar levels in kitties.

Don’t wait for your feline diabetic to fall victim to these complications.  Click on any link above to learn more.

Feline Hypoglycemia Is A Complication Of Diabetes In Cats

Do you have a cat with feline diabetes?  If you do, you need to know about feline hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.It may seem like a good thing for a feline diabetic to have low blood glucose levels.  However, if the cat’s blood sugar levels get too low, your feline companion could go into a coma and die.   

Why Do Diabetic Cats Develop Hypoglycemia?

There can be several reasons for low blood sugar levels in cats with feline diabetes:

  • Sometimes a cat owner makes a mistake, and gives the cat too much insulin.
  • Two people in the family each gave the cat insulin, so he received a double dose.This problem is easily avoided by making sure only one person in the household is responsible for giving Kitty insulin injections.
  • The kitty has had unusually high levels of physical activity.
  • The insulin dose was administered before the kitty was fed, and then the cat either wasn’t hungry, or he threw up.
  • The feline diabetic no longer needs insulin because of dietary changes, or a spontaneous remission.

Symptoms Of Feline Hypoglycemia

Strange behavior may be noticed, because the brain is the first organ to be affected by low blood sugar.  This is because the brain doesn’t store glucose to use later, like other organs in the body. 

If a cat with diabetes shows these symptoms, he may have dangerously low blood sugar levels:

  • Shaking or shivering
  • Becoming uncoordinated, and staggering around
  • Acting like he’s blind
  • Weakness and lethargy
  • Restlessness
  • Either very hungry, or not interested in eating
  • Tilts his head
  • Acts disoriented; he may walk in circles, yowl, or hide
  • Glassy eyes
  • Drooling
  • Seizures
  • Coma

What To Do For A Feline Diabetic With Hypoglycemia

Anyone who has a diabetic cat should always have corn syrup or honey in the cupboard, plus an empty syringe (without needles).  If the pet’s sugar levels become too low, you can use the syringe to squirt a little corn syrup or honey into his mouth.  If the cat is unconscious, rub a little honey or syrup on his gums.  If doing this, take care to avoid being bitten, especially if the kitty is having seizures.

Wrap the kitty in a blanket, and take him to the vet right away, as this is an emergency.

Regulate Glucose Levels Naturally With Natural Remedies For Cats

Research has shown that natural remedies for cats are safe and effective for cats with diabetes.  Herbal pet remedies that contain goat’s rue, fenugreek, and astragalus, along with the mineral chromium, can help to normalize glucose levels in diabetic cats.Choose to do business only with an established company that produces the highest-quality natural pet remedies.

Many vets are quite open to using natural remedies for cats.  Always check with your vet before making any changes to your diabetic cat’s diet or medications.  By using these natural remedies, you may be able to reduce or eliminate insulin injections for cats with diabetes.  Learn more by clicking on any link in this article.

Three Ways Every Cat Owner Can Use Feline Urinary Support To Promote Cat Urinary Health

Do you know how natural feline urinary support can help your kitty avoid frequent cat urinary problems?  If your pet suffers from repeated cat bladder infection, here are three ways you can support his feline urinary health.

Diet And Feline Urinary Support

Your cat’s diet is extremely important in promoting cat urinary health.  Many cat owners are unaware that a one-year study showed that feeding a high-quality canned food reduced feline urinary problems significantly.  Why is this?

You should know that the best way to prevent feline lower urinary tract disease, or FLUTD, is to increase the amount of water that goes through your cat.  The easiest way to do this is to feed him canned cat food, which has a moisture level of around 75%.  This is much closer to a cat’s natural diet.

The problem is that dry cat food, which is what most kitties eat, has a very low moisture level, under ten percent.If your cat eats only dry food, he must drink lots of water to get enough fluid intake to prevent cat urinary problems.  Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to get your cat to drink more water, since he has evolved to get most of his water from his diet.

If your cat has a low water intake, he more than likely is chronically dehydrated.  His urine is very concentrated, which can lead to cat bladder stones.  These stones irritate the bladder wall, and cause feline cystitis, which is a bladder inflammation.  Just feeding your cat moist food can help to prevent this problem.

Another way to get your cat to drink more water is to divide his food into three equal amounts and feed him three times a day.  It’s been shown that feeding your cat two or three times a day as opposed to once a day is associated with an increase in his daily water intake.

Reduce Cat Stress To Reduce Cat Bladder Infection Problems

Cats appear to lead charmed lives, but this isn’t really true.  Our kitties are creatures of habit, and they don’t like changes at all.  Moving to a new home, remodeling, adding a new pet or person to your household, and even changing your feline’s food causes cat stress.  Cats don’t handle stress well.  In fact, stress in cats has been linked to feline idiopathic cystitis, which is a bladder inflammation that doesn’t appear to have any cause.

Be on the lookout for anything that’s stressing your cat.  Reducing or removing the cause of the stress may help to reduce cat urinary problems.

Natural Remedies For Cats Can Support Cat Urinary Health

Humans have been dealing with bladder infections since the beginning of time.People used herbs to treat bladder infections before we had access to modern antibiotics.  In many parts of the world, people still use these remedies.  Can these natural remedies work on cats too?

The answer is yes.  Uva ursi and barberry are two herbs that have stood the test of time for treating cystitis in people.The homeopathic remedies Cantharis and Staphysagris are well known for treating human urinary tract infections successfully.  These four remedies have been specially formulated into a remedy that’s not only safe, but effective, to prevent feline urinary problems.

Click on any link in this article to learn how natural remedies for cats can support cat urinary health.

Is Your Cat Walking Strangely? She May Have Feline Diabetes

You may be surprised to learn that one of the symptoms of feline diabetes is weakness in your cat’s legs.  If you notice your kitty walking on her “elbows” on her back legs instead of her feet, or on her “wrists” on her front legs, you may have a diabetic cat.Your kitty may also display weakness. She may need to lie down after a short walk, and her legs may go out from underneath her without warning.  This problem is called “feline neuropathy.”

Why Does Diabetes In Cats Cause Weak Legs?

It comes as a surprise to many cat owners that feline neuropathy is a symptom of feline diabetes.  This condition is a result of nerve damage caused by high blood sugar levels.  It’s very important that a diabetic cat receives veterinary treatment to lower blood glucose levels as soon as possible to prevent any further damage to her nerves.

What Is The Connection Between Feline Diabetes And Nerve Damage?

Diabetes is caused when the body is unable to regulate blood sugar levels.  Either your kitty’s body isn’t producing enough insulin (type 1 feline diabetes), or her body isn’t able to use the insulin being produced (type 2 feline diabetes).

High blood sugar levels are especially dangerous for nerve, kidney, and eye cells.  Why?These cells can absorb so much glucose from the bloodstream that they’re damaged by it. This is because they don’t need insulin in order to absorb glucose.This is why keeping blood sugar in a feline diabetic at normal levels is so important.  

Can Feline Neuropathy Be Reversed?

Sometimes the nerve damage is reversed when the high blood sugar levels are brought under control, and the cat is able to walk normally again.

It’s also possible that the weakness in the cat’s legs is due to muscle wasting, which is a result of untreated feline diabetes.  Once the blood sugar levels are controlled, the cat owner may wish to gently exercise the feline to rebuild the muscle.  

Some owners have had some success in reversing feline neuropathy by treating their cats with methylcobalamin, also known as methyl B-12.  This product is available at natural food stores.

The Best Treatment Is Prevention

The best way to avoid complications of diabetes in cats is to prevent the disease in the first place.  Avoid letting your feline friend get too heavy.An obese kitty is not a healthy kitty, and she’ll be prone to many serious health issues.Don’t overfeed your kitty. She should be eating a high-quality canned food, not dry cat food that’s high in carbs and calories.

Regular exercise is a natural way to control blood sugar levels, besides keeping your pet slim and in good condition.

Are Natural Remedies For Cats Effective For A Feline Diabetic?

Research has shown that herbs, such as astragalus, fenugreek, and goat’s rue, can safely control blood sugar levels in humans with diabetes.  Would these herbs work in cats, too?  The answer is yes.   

Many cat owners have been successful in using a combination of diet, exercise, and herbal remedies to regulate their pets’ blood sugar levels naturally.  You can learn more about natural remedies for cats with diabetes by clicking on any link in this article.

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