Why do cats need a pancreas if they are carnivores?

[Ellen and Woody]

Sounds silly, but my diabetic human friend alerted me to ask this question: Why does an obligate carnivore even need a pancreas and self-made insulin? Do cat bodies need insulin for other reasons?

Our diabetic cat Woody is now on canned food ONLY that has ONLY 2-5% of calories as carbs (used the excellent list available on this website: Merrick, Weruva, Wellness, etc.). Yet he still runs-- with Lantus injections ranging from zero to 2 units twice a day based on pre-shot BG readings-- from 150 to 350 BG on any given pre-shot reading.

If he survived on mice, for example, or even (low nutrition)100% cooked chicken breasts (or (sadly) high protein spider webs when we rescued him), would he still have a BG problem?

Ellen and Woody
PS- how do I post Woody's picture on my account????

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

Sounds silly, but my diabetic human friend alerted me to ask this question: Why does an obligate carnivore even need a pancreas and self-made insulin? Do cat bodies need insulin for other reasons?

All animals have a metabolic requirement for glucose. Carnivores, such as the cat, convert glucogenic amino acids and glycerol to glucose for the maintenance of blood glucose, and therefore, have no established dietary requirement for carbohydrates.

Because cats have adapted to diets high in protein and low in carbohydrate, continuous activity of amino acid catabolic enzymes provides a continuous source of carbon skeletons for glucose or energy production and nitrogen for synthesis of dispensable amino acids and other nitrogenous compounds. This continuous metabolic state causes the cat to catabolize a substantial amount of protein after each meal, regardless of its protein content. The cat does not have the capability to conserve nitrogen from the body's general nitrogen pool leading to an obligate nitrogen loss and a higher dietary protein requiremerit than omnivores.

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

What Are the Functions of the Pancreas?

The pancreas serves two main functions. First it produces and stores digestive enzymes and fluids. Pancreatic juice is secreted (released) into the intestinal tract in response to eating food. Pancreatic juice contains enzymes needed for digesting proteins, carbohydrates, and especially fats.

Secondly, the pancreas produces and secretes hormones that are very important in the regulation of blood sugar. When the beta cells of the pancreas detect an increase in the blood sugar concentration, insulin is released directly into the blood where it acts to carry glucose into the body's cells. The higher the blood sugar, the more insulin is secreted. Thus, insulin lowers the blood glucose concentration. The hormone, glucagon, acts to increase blood sugar and is released when blood sugar is low

http://www.petplace.com/cats/structure-and-function-of-the-pancreas-in-cats/page1.aspx

Insulin is still needed to enable the cells to absorb glucose to provide the body with energy. Cats don't need carbohydrates at all, just like you were thinking. But they do turn proteins and fats into glucose. Without a pancreas, there'd be no insulin available to let them "use" whatever glucose they produce through digestion.

 

[BJM]

Translation of the metabolism bit:
The metabolism clips off the non-carb pieces from the carb pieces n and rearranges the carb pieces into glucose as needed.

Organic chemistry at work!