Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Survival and quality of life in cats with diabetes
By Rothlin-Zachrisson, Ninni et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2023·Department of Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Survival, remission, and quality of life in diabetic cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of diabetic cats was studied to see how their treatment affected their health and happiness. Out of 405 treated cats, about 29% went into remission, meaning their diabetes symptoms improved significantly. Feeding these cats a specific wet diet was linked to a higher chance of remission and a better quality of life. This suggests that diet plays an important role in managing diabetes in cats, and achieving remission can lead to a happier, healthier life for your pet.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Remission is documented in a substantial proportion of cats with diabetes. The effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on the lives of cats and their owners should be considered when evaluating treatment success. OBJECTIVES: To study outcome in cats with DM and the impact DM has on the life situation of cat and owner. ANIMALS: Domestic and pedigree cats with a diagnosis of DM (n = 477) insured by a Swedish insurance company during 2009 to 2013. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was sent to 1369 owners of cats diagnosed with DM. The questions concerned the cat, treatment, owner perceptions of the disease and treatment and disease outcome. Data were analyzed using multiple linear and logistic regression, with outcomes set as survival for more than 4 weeks after diagnosis, survival time, achieving remission, remission without relapse and quality of life (QoL) for the cat. RESULTS: The response rate was 35%, leaving 477 questionnaires for analysis. The remission rate among treated cats was 29% (118/405). Feeding a commercially available wet diet was associated with both remission (OR 3.16, 95% confidence interval 1.27-8.12) and remission without relapse (OR 14.8, 95% confidence interval 2.25-153.8). Remission was associated with a better QoL for the cat. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The association between feeding a commercially available wet diet and remission is important and strengthens the role of diet in treatment of DM in cats. Linking remission and a better QoL for the cat emphasizes remission as a goal in disease management.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36637031/