Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diabetes

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Cindy & Pets

Cindy & Pets

Member Since 2012
So....I'm sitting here thinking, trying to see what I can change for the cats to just overall keep them healthy. And I got to thinking, I know weight affects(effects?) Diabetes quite a bit. But does exercise? Or is the exercise just to help a cat lose extra weight?

So I went and looked it up in people. I'm not sure how it translates to cats, but so far I'm seeing that exercise itself can help lower bG?

Either way I'm going to be incorporating more play-time in to their schedule. If you're curious, the toy is a knock-off version of Da Bird. It's made by I <3 cats or something....
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

I have never seen it with my cat, who is pretty sloth-like, but I have read here that exercise does lower BG (which makes sense if they're burning off energy supplied by glucose?) It would be something to experiment with to see if it works for your kitty.

Carl
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

Hm....I wonder how soon I should test then to see if exercise will cause a drop. I was thinking maybe half an hour after, or right after. I'll also have to be careful not to mix up the reasoning, since I want her to lose weight(I'm thinking all she's missing is some good playtime) and that'll hopefully help as well.

It does make sense, especially after reading a few articles on it dealing with people.
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

Just guessing, but I think the effect on the BG would be pretty immediate? 15-30 minutes maybe?

The only thing Bob ever runs for is dinner. :lol: Oh, he will still come running when I take out the test kit because he knows it means shrimp follows.

Carl
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

Okay, I'll test 15 minutes prior to playtime later today and then 15 minutes after, see how the results compare. :) Will also post 'em here.

:lol: Before getting this toy, I'd occasionally see the cats get really wide-eyed, their pupils dilate, and then they'd just rush off at the speed of light. We always called that "kitten mode". :lol:
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

LOL, Carl, I love your description of Bob... "Slothlike" :D

I've got two 10 year old kittens over here. Every time I go up or down the stairs, one or the other of them is trying to race me. I can't change my sheets without it becoming a game of tug-of-war (or I end up with a vaguely cat-shaped lump under the sheets). I've lost 2 work badges because they were mistaken for toys and dragged under the couch. Then you have the normal games of tag and wrestling matches at 2am. Wouldn't change it for the world!! When Scout was undiagnosed, she had pretty much stopped playing and was having trouble walking and even getting up onto the bed. I feel guilty it took me so long to realize something was wrong. Fortunately she is pretty much back to normal now (thanks to this board!)

Anyway, back to the topic at hand... Exercise has a pretty immediate effect on BG in humans so I'd expect the same in cats. Daily playtime, especially an hour or two preshot when the numbers are expected to be highest is not a bad idea... especially if it helps with the weight loss too!

Let us know how it goes.

Lori
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

Bandit's playtime is a little before his meals (we now subscribe to the scheduled hunt-catch-kill-eat-groom-sleep philosophy at my house to help manage Bandit's mischief :smile: ), and I have noticed that his BG is always lower after play, but I always thought it was because he hadn't eaten yet. I think regular exercise is always a great idea for a diabetic cat because it does help keep them fit, and their body condition has a large impact on BG, as I learned with Bandit.

Exercise is also VERY important for cats with neuropathy, because when employed along with the Methyl B12, it will help repair nerve damage and more quickly restore the cat's mobility. It can be hard to encourage a cat with neuropathy to get up and moving at first, but like with testing, treats make everything possible. :smile:
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

Thankfully Tip doesn't have any neuropathy, but it's looking like no matter how fit/unfit the cat is, exercise should be daily.

And I've been trying to get a before and after test, but she seems so insistent that after I test her then I've ruined fun time.
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

FINALLY got a test in before and after. Beforehand she was at 331, after a 30min medium-intensity play session, she was at 315. So after 1 try, it doesn't seem like it. Will continue to gather data though.
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

Actually, a 15 calorie drop in 30 minutes is a BIG drop! A cat's overall energy expenditure--based on weight is only 200-300 calories per day (compared to a humans of 2000-3000) A human, depending on size, workout intensity, etc. can burn 300-700 calories per hour of play--but only because there is so much human body mass to move.

Exercise absolutely helps diabetes for a wide variety of reasons. Yes, it does lower BG from the actual movement--glucose is used with muscle contractions like jumping, but also fat is burned, but carbs/glucose is utilized in order to metabolize carbs. BUt not only that exercise reduces unhealthy visceral fat (deep belly that causes metabolic probs like diabetes) and also exercise increases insulin sensitivity--a good thing--they are more responsive to less insulin.

There are acute (immediate) benefits and long-term benetics from regular training.

Of course with most cats who are no longer kittens we must coax them to play..but it's a very smart thing to do and we should all actually be trying to utlize this into our diabetes care in a more systematic manner--and get some research done on it (easier said than done.) A major reason that our cats become diabetic--just like humans--is that they are sedentary house cats on a high carb diet. The glucose overload--that is not being mopped up by physical activity--eventually causes the pancreas to wear out--or causing insulin resistance which disrupts the insulin receptor's sensitivity to the insulin the kitty is spewing out in response to the carb diet. Being fat from this diet and the sedentariness also causing the accumulation of deep visceral fat and that also contributes to the negative metabolic health.

So, yes, you should totally get kitty to play more! Or walk them on leashes!
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

ooops I meant a 15 mg/dl BG drop...that would be 30/hour which is a big drop (or rise) and if this is a trend--kitty stays active it can make a difference (consider the outdoor kitty wandering the neighborhood--not recommended for safety, but you can see how it's better than being a housecat vegging out on sofas.)

but all of the above holds true--it's still good for sure. And there may be an after burn where more blood glucose is used the hours following (EPOC in human terms you can google that) if you have kitty doing lots of jumping, high intensity sprints, etc.
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

I wish Tip and Christmas would walk on leashes! It'd totally encourage us both to exercise(I could really use it too!), but they're terrified of the outdoors, so it's a no-go. I'd want it to be pleasant.

I didn't think to calculate what the drop would be i regards to an hour. Yeah, I'm seeing that's a pretty big drop now. Especially with Tip getting in to the higher doses,I definitely want to increase insulin sensitivity.

I'm especially happy because everyone is getting in to it. So when 2 of of us aren't home, and the cats seem like they could use some playtime, there's someone there to play. :)
 
Re: Curious about the relationship between exercise and Diab

Martica and Fred said:
Of course with most cats who are no longer kittens we must coax them to play..but it's a very smart thing to do and we should all actually be trying to utlize this into our diabetes care in a more systematic manner--and get some research done on it (easier said than done.)
Click to expand...

Well said! Especially the part about encouraging senior kitties to exercise--just like with people, regularly scheduled exercise can help keep a kitty healthier longer as they age, and fend off some health issues associated with aging, like muscle wasting. I would also add that scheduled play/walk time also has a positive effect on the cat's behavior--not only does the play better bond them to their human, it makes them far less likely to act up out of boredom, stress, or aggression towards people or other animals in the house.
 
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