Feline acromegaly, caused by excess growth hormone from a pituitary tumor, is increasingly recognized as a common and treatable cause of difficult-to-control diabetes.
Acromegaly causes insidious, progressive welfare harms including uncontrolled diabetes with fluctuating blood glucose, progressive joint disease, organomegaly, and neuropathy. Cats with undiagnosed acromegaly suffer the double welfare burden of painful injections and hypoglycaemic crises as owners struggle to achieve diabetic control with rapidly escalating insulin doses. Diagnosis opens the door to targeted treatment - radiation or surgery - that can dramatically improve comfort, reduce insulin requirements, and in some cases achieve remission. Early recognition of difficult-to-control diabetes should prompt IGF-1 testing rather than indefinite escalation of insulin dose.