With the right treatment and consistent monitoring, diabetes is a controllable disease. Especially with cats, normalizing weight and focusing on the correct macronutrient balance can result in resolution of this disease.
It is estimated that one in every 10 Americans over the age of 20 has diabetes. While the situation is not quite so dire for pets, there still has been a threefold increase in diabetes in the last 30 years in dogs and cats. Some cases of juvenile-onset diabetes are largely genetically influenced, but obesity—and therefore diet and exercise—play integral roles in the development of this disease in adult pets.
My Bichon Frise is one of the great loves of my life: I adopted her from a pet rescue in New Jersey 10 years ago when she was just over a year old. I’ll never forget the first time I held her, how skinny and timid she was, and how quickly we bonded with each other.
In our March 2015 issue, we focused on Animal Rights and what we can do to help creatures near and far. Here is just a short list of rescues and organizations in Bucks and Montgomery counties that make it their mission to aid animals in need.