Diabetes Mellitus in Dogs and Cats

Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the body cannot properly produce or answer the hormone insulin. This leads to elevated levels of the sugar glucose within the blood, which is that the main source of energy for the body. The body need sugar within the form of glucose for energy. However, glucose within the blood requires insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, to “unlock” the door to cells. Insulin attaches to cells and signals when the time is true to absorb glucose. By absorbing glucose, cells in fat deposits, the liver, and therefore the muscles get vital fuel while lowering levels of glucose within the blood.

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Always we read Diabetes Type and One and Diabetes type 2, what’s that means. In Type one diabetes, blood sugar concentrations are high because of a decrease in insulin production. In Type 2 diabetes, glucose levels are high because cells within the body do not respond appropriately to insulin. In both types we have the same end results cells cannot access the nutrients they need have even though there is plenty of sugar in the blood, because insulin can’t transport the sugar from the bloodstream into the cells that require it.