How diet and insulin therapy can achieve diabetes remission in cats, transforming welfare outcomes for this common condition.
Feline diabetes management has been transformed by the recognition that remission is achievable in a substantial proportion of cats with appropriate dietary and insulin management. Cats in diabetic crisis experience profound welfare harms including weakness, vomiting, and altered consciousness. Appropriate initial stabilization followed by aggressive dietary transition and monitored insulin therapy achieves remission that eliminates the need for ongoing injections and monitoring in responding cats. For cats not achieving remission, consistent twice-daily insulin administration and glucose monitoring enable quality of life that is difficult to distinguish from non-diabetic cats when well regulated. Owner training and access to continuous glucose monitoring technology have dramatically improved management outcomes.