posted by Tess on Feb 29
A simple sugar, glucose, is what the body needs the most to supply energy to the various body cells. This is provided through a complex process known as metabolism. One of the most important functions that go on in the body is to transfer the body’s main fuel, glucose, from the blood stream to the cells.
For transferring glucose to different cells, the Pancreas in the body secretes insulin that acts in three ways.
* It prevents the liver from producing excess amounts of glucose.
* It helps the body in storing sugar for use in the future.
* It creates pathways to deliver glucose to the cells so that they get the energy they need to grow.
A defect in the Pancreas due to inflammation, infection, injury or otherwise can hamper this process and the resultant condition that leads to high levels of blood sugar is known as diabetes mellitus, or simply diabetes in cats, dogs and other animals. Of the two types of diabetes mellitus, insulin dependent diabetes is more common in dogs.
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posted by Tess on Feb 26
If your cat has been diagnosed for diabetes, one of the major items that should be on your agenda during discussions with the veterinarian is that of home care. Make sure that you discuss monitoring Diet and blood sugar levels at home along with how to store, handle and administer insulin. Another thing that you should understand are the various symptoms of diabetes in cats especially signs of hypoglycemia, low blood sugar.
Diabetes in cats can be managed for long periods with Dietary management and oral medication without resorting to insulin. It is however, recommended that insulin be used first to control the sugar levels before an assessment is made about whether the condition can be managed only with home care and Dietary modifications.
One of the primary modalities of monitoring a diabetic cat involves the aid of a blood glucose meter. Invest in a good quality device and learn how to use it. Some cats may prove to be too difficult to manage while trying to obtain a blood sample but perseverance always pays. You also need to know from the veterinarian about the normal range of blood sugar levels and the levels that require veterinarian intervention.
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posted by Tess on Feb 25
Prognosis of liver disease primarily depends upon the following factors:
* The type of liver disease - hepatitis, cancer, liver shunt, drug induced or others.
* Primary or secondary - whether the disease originated in the liver or the liver is affected as a fall out of disease elsewhere in the body.
* The time factor - the stage to which the disease has advanced at the time of detection.
A close look at different types of liver diseases is necessary to understand the prognosis of each type.
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posted by Tess on Feb 21
There is a difference between liver disease and liver failure. Liver disease is a general term applied to any disorder that is affecting liver. The blood tests in this case show higher levels of liver enzymes. Apart from fatty liver disease, which is a more common in cats, other types of feline liver diseases are caused by toxins from food and drugs, trauma, heatstroke and infections.
A liver shunt, where the blood bypasses the liver instead of going through it, is a genetic defect in the portal vein but may be acquired in certain cases.
Liver disease is usually difficult to diagnose. The symptoms of liver disease in dogs and cats normally have to be observed carefully as they often duplicate symptoms of other diseases. Till the definite results from blood tests, imaging procedures or histology are not available, even veterinarians are wary of confirming a diagnosis of liver disease. Before a definite diagnosis, the typical sequence of events occurs as follows.
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posted by Tess on Feb 20
The function of the immune system in a dog’s body is to recognize and destroy foreign substances and pathogens. Sometimes this system can go awry due to one reason or the other and starts attacking the body’s own cells. Conditions caused by such self-destructive responses are known as autoimmune or immune mediated diseases.
The immune system normally removes and destroys red blood cells that are four months old. New red blood cells are produced in the bone marrow to replenish the loss. Immune mediated hemolytic anemia is a condition where the immune system starts destroying red blood cells more than the bone marrow can produce.
It is not difficult to explain how this comes about to happen. Certain foreign substances like toxins, parasites and drugs, which the immune system must destroy sometimes cling to red blood cells. In its attack on the foreign agents it happens to harm the red blood cells also.
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posted by Tess on Feb 18
One of the major problems that veterinarians face is diagnosing liver disease in dogs and a possible liver failure. The liver is a multidimensional and a multi-functional organ in the body that also has an immense reserve capacity with self-regenerative properties. During the course of performing its functions, the liver aids and is aided by quite a few of other organs in the body. Due to this inter-relationship, it is often affected with primary as well as secondary diseases.
Usually most of the ailments have specific symptoms that make it easy to identify the disease easily. The symptoms of liver disease in dogs , however, present two major problems:
* They surface very late, often when the disease has progressed to an extent that treatment poses a major challenge.
* They duplicate with symptoms of other minor conditions, which often lead to confusion over whether it is liver disease or any other disease that is manifesting itself.
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posted by Tess on Feb 14
If left untreated, feline Diabetes like Diabetes in all animals and humans can lead to complications. The complications that arise may be difficult and in some cases, impossible to Treat. Continuous and abnormally high levels of blood sugar, hyperglycemia, can adversely affect the nerves, kidneys, retina and bones leading to complicated diseases.
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posted by Tess on Feb 13
It is a mad jungle out there when it comes to selling dog food. Seeing the number of brands, the different types of sales pitches adopted by marketers and the fancy names with tongue twisting ingredients printed on labels, it appears the focus is on attracting buyers and grabbing a share of the whopping $ 11 billion pie..
In addition, each manufacturer launches numerous types of pet food under one brand. There are moist, semi moist and dry dog foods. Their use of terminology, like ‘premium’, ‘super-premium’, and ‘gourmet’ are mere nomenclatures since they hardly mean any thing. Even though the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) regulates what must be printed on the labels. The warnings are all mentioned in small print and therefore do not serve to warn the consumers adequately.
Apart from checking the nutritional adequacy and information about the manufacturer, you should focus on the ingredient list. Ethoxyquin is one of the most common preservatives used in dog food. This is used to prevent fats from turning rancid. There is verifiable evidence that there is a connection between Ethoxyquin and the accumulation of protoporphyrin IX and the elevation in liver related enzymes that can ultimately cause liver disease in dogs.
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posted by Tess on Feb 11
Although diabetes in cats is manageable, it requires constant observation of symptoms and close monitoring of blood sugar levels. The amount, quality and timing of meals should be decided based on the type of insulin that you are injecting. The diet should be regulated based on the frequency with which the insulin is administered. The difference lies in the fact that some types of insulin are slow acting and others have a pronounced peak action. Switching the type of insulin requires a compensatory change in diet.
Cats and dogs are usually treated with animal based insulin (beef based insulin being the most similar to a cat’s natural insulin) or with synthetic human insulin. The veterinarian will suggest the most suitable type of insulin for your cat after considering the results of a series of blood tests for determining the effect of each type on blood sugar levels.
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posted by Tess on Feb 8
We all know that temporary treatment and relief from cancer in dogs is possible but a permanent cure is not, especially when metastasis has occurred and affected vital organs. Small localized cancers are curable and a dog can live a normal life. Benign tumors do not technically fall under cancer and can be removed surgically without fear unless of course a vital organ is involved.
Treating cancer, including canine and feline cancers with chemotherapeutic drugs is beset with dangers. Most veterinarians are against the use of these drugs since the affects are sometimes worse than the ailment. Mostly veterinarians suggest chemotherapy if the dog owner insists and is adamant to prolong the life of his dog, irrespective of its quality.
If you are looking for a better quality of life rather than just adding the number of years, you should look towards a holistic treatment for cancer. A natural approach is devoid of toxicity, has no side effects and attempts to fight cancer cells in a natural way. Success, of course, is not in your hands but you can provide a comfortable life to an already beleaguered animal.
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