Just Curious

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Susan & Claudio

Susan & Claudio

Member Since 2019
2 things I just realized. 1) Claudio is not devouring his food in 60 seconds. He takes somewhat longer to eat his meals. 2) He had horrendous dandruff. Now that seems to be almost gone. Are these things related to him now being on Lantus ? Or, is this just a coincidence ?
 
glad the dandruff is almost gone -- Catcat had a bad case too -- it slowly went away as we started him on insulin -- his cat acne is almost cleared up too -- many don't mention it but the dandruff is one of the signs to check for diabetes
 
Both are related.
As regards to appetite:
The sciency version: In general, brain cells do not need insulin to utilize glucose. A specific area of the brain, called the appetite center (in the hypothalamus), monitors the amount of glucose that circulates in the bloodstream. The lower the blood glucose level in the cells in the appetite center the greater the appetite. Unlike most of the brain cells, the ability of glucose to enter the cells of the appetite center is dependent upon insulin. In diabetes mellitus, with its lack of adequate insulin in the bloodstream, these appetite center cells don't monitor glucose levels properly, thinking the blood glucose is low. as a result, the pet develops polyphagia to correct for this perceived problem. The additional food that is then eaten further increases the blood glucose level.

For those of us who are not sciency: Basically, a cat that's unregulated can't really tell what's going on with its appetite, and the high BGs make the cat even hungrier …. The poor cat doesn't know if it really needs food, it just knows that its brain is saying "need food now!".

Both explanations found here
 
Dandruff ? I did not know that was a s/s of diabetes. Is cat acne also a s/s ? Can't tell if he has acne or not. He is a tuxedo with a black mouth/chin. His ears are also black. Hence, really difficult to see that vein. I am learning something everyday here. The information and tips you and everyone else here provides is priceless !!
 
Red & Rover,
I like the non-sciency answer. I only give him 4oz of raw food twice a day. So he is portioned control. I also give him plain cooked chicken for his treats. I noticed today that he is not eating with such gusto. Like it was a race to finish. But I had caught him last month with his head in my bag of salt & vinegar chips. Basically, if allowed, he'd eat anything but cheerios or rice.
 
LOL -- even though Catcat gets good canned cat food and loves it, he still lingers and wonders about eating oatmeal cookies, Frito chili chips, dryroasted peanuts, and my morning latte ... :rolleyes:

he's been receiving insulin for five months now and is STILL convinced he's hungry all the time; only three times in that time has he ever left food in his bowl -- when I had left homecooked chicken thighs for him to eat while I would be gone for hours
 
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