Paging Dr. Vetbridge: increase in feline diabetes?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Good morning, Dr. V:

There’s a thread going in MPSIMS about another kitty diagnosed with diabetes. I myself have had two cats in the last seven years I had to shoot up with insulin.

Do you think there is an explosion of feline diabetes? Or, is it just better-diagnosed because people tend to get better vet care for their pets these days?

If there is an upward trend, is it a by-product of more kitties being kept indoors? Processed food + less exercise = fatter kitties = prone to diabetes?

As a kid, I don’t remember any of our outdoor kitties, who were slim and liked to forage for traditional cat food, seeming to be diabetic (of course, they could have been diabetic, but my parents couldn’t pay for vet care).

2

Well, my vet tells me she sees a TON of fat animals these days (no pun intended.) I feel kind of defensive about my younger cat - look, he’s been on a diet all his life, this is just the way he’s built. He’s a big cat with a fat belly.