Diabetes is somewhat common in pets, occurring in one in 500 dogs and cats. Diabetes is a disorder in which the body produces little or no insulin, or cannot use the insulin it does produce properly. Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. Diabetes will cause dogs and cats to start drinking and urinating excessively, and lose weight even though they tend to have an increased appetite.
Dogs go into seizures if their blood sugar drops too low and cats act as if they're drunk.
Other less common signs include the sudden onset of blindness in dogs and lameness in cats. When diagnosed in time, diabetes is extremely treatable with daily insulin injections. If left untreated, diabetes can lead to coma and death. Diabetic pets should get regular exercise because vigorous activity affects insulin requirements. In addition, diabetic pets should have a strict diet to help control their weight as diabetes is harder to control in overweight pets.