Which animals can have diabetes?

Answer 1

Any mammal with a pancreas can develop Diabetes. There are two types. The most common of domesticated animals is type 2 diabetes. This is caused by by its diet straying too far from what the animal evolved to eat. The present pet food products tend heavily towards a base of grains, which is not suitable for dogs and cats because they are predators who eat their prey and supplement with occasional leafy vegetation.

However, there is a more natural form of diabetes: type 1.

Type 1 diabetes is more dangerous, and is not caused by diet. This form of diabetes has existed long before the presence of type 2 diabetes, but owing the global obesity epidemic, the terms "diabetes" and "type 2 diabetes" are wrongly used interchangeably. Up until the early 1920s, type 1 diabetes was lethal: it is still incurable. Of the American population, only 0.4% have type 1 diabetes.

This disease is autoimmune, and genetically linked with other autoimmune diseases (especially MS). Without daily injections of insulin, regardless of consumption of glucose, the individual/animal will die. Nothing can be done to prevent the autoimmune system from attacking the pancreas, or to stop it from destroying it once it has begun. After the pancreas has been fully destroyed (the process of destruction varies from months to years), the person/animal will enter a state of ketoacidosis, followed by coma, and death: this would likely take less than a couple of days. Every animal with a pancreas requires insulin in order to live, just for basic function.

Symptoms of type 1:

- The person/animal will drop from a healthy body/healthy weight, to a body experiencing severe starvation/being severely underweight (this will happen as the beta producing insulin cells of the pancreas are being destroyed: theoretically, if a person were to prevent insulin from being delivered in a non-diabetic, they would be dead before they could loose weight). The body during this stage also goes through ketoacidosis, where acids break down the person's/animal's tissues in order to obtain enough energy (in other words, the body begins to consume itself),

- Severe thirst and high blood pressure (believe it or not, just like how a human being/animal requires a certain level of oxygen in order to live, they also require a certain concentration of glucose: your body is essentially a living battery. Without insulin, the concentration of water to glucose is thrown off: the body will be pumping blood through the veins that is literally as thick as honey/syrup),

- Dizziness/blindness/numbness/fatigue/vomiting/head-ache (with high blood pressure and organs slowly failing, these are some of the symptoms you'll notice on the "surface").

In the end, there is no known animal immune to type 1 diabetes, and no known cure. Again, this disease is neither caused nor can be reversed by diet or exercise, as the problem lies with the autoimmune system.

Answer 2

Any mammal with a pancreas can develop diabetes if its diets strays too far from what the animal evolved to eat. The present pet food products tend heavily towards a base of grains, which is not suitable for dogs and cats because they are predators who eat their prey and supplement with occasional leafy vegetation.

Answer 3

Pig insulin is a good choice to replace human insulin. There is only one amino acid variation in B30. Cow

insulin has two differences in A8 and B30, and one difference in A10 (although these are conservative

changes). Pig and cow are the best sources because these animal products are readily available from

slaughterhouses, whereas horse, dog and rabbit are not. Chicken and duck have seven and six amino acid

differences as compared to human insulin and wouldn't be good choices. The primary sequence of amino

acids influences the tertiary structure of proteins. Thus it is possible that a change in the protein sequence

could alter the tertiary structure, thus giving the molecule a different shape, which means it might have

difficulty interacting with receptors

Answer 4

They can.

Diabetes is a metabolic disease, affecting humans and dogs (also cats) alike. Untreated diabetics, whether human or pet, have high blood glucose level, and need a suitable method to control it. Symptoms, such as frequent urination, increased thirst/appetite, lethargy, and weight loss happen similarly; even diabetic ketosis can occur.

The good news is, that it is possible to control it with proper care and medication.

Answer 5

Humans ARE animals.

Yes, diabetes is prevalent in species other than humans.

Answer 6

Yes, it is possible for dogs to be diabetic.