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Diabetes Ketoacidosis (DKA) - A Complication of Diabetes in Cats and Dogs

Unfortunately, as veterinarians, we are seeing an increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus in dogs and cats. This is likely due to the growing prevalence of obesity (secondary to inactive lifestyle, a high carbohydrate diet, lack of exercise, etc.). You're probably wondering if you just had a dog or cat diagnosed with diabetes mellitus—what do you do? First, we encourage you to take a look at these articles for an explanation of the disease:

This article will teach you about life-threatening complications that can occur as a result of the disease; specifically, a life-threatening condition called diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) so that you know how to help prevent it.

What is DKA?

When diabetes goes undiagnosed or difficult to control or regulate, the complication of DKA can occur. DKA develops because the body is so lacking in insulin that the sugar can’t get into the cells — resulting in cell starvation. Cell starvation causes the body to start breaking down fat in an attempt to provide energy (or a fuel source) to the body. Unfortunately, these fat breakdown products, called “ketones,” are also poisonous to the body.

Symptoms of DKA

Clinical signs of DKA include the following:

  • Weakness

  • Not moving (in cats, hanging out by the water bowl)

  • Not eating or complete anorexia

  • Vomiting

  • Excessive thirst and urination (clear, dilute urine)

  • Large urinary clumps in the litter box (anything bigger than a tennis ball is abnormal)

  • Weight loss (most commonly over the back), despite an overweight body condition

  • Obesity

  • Flaky skin coat

  • Excessively dry or oily skin coat

  • Abnormal breath (typically a sweet “ketotic” odor)

  • Diarrhea

In severe cases DKA can also result in more significant signs:

  • Abnormal breathing pattern

  • Jaundice

  • Abdominal pain (sometimes due to the secondary problem of pancreatitis)

  • Tremors or seizures

  • Coma

  • Death

What can cause DKA?

When DKA occurs, it’s often triggered by an underlying medical problem such as an infection or metabolic (organ) problem. Some common problems that we see with DKA include the following:

  • Pancreatitis

  • Urinary tract infection

  • Chronic kidney failure

  • Endocrine diseases (e.g., hyperadrenocorticism [when the body makes too much steroid], or hyperthyroidism [an overactive thyroid gland])

  • Lung disease (such as pneumonia)

  • Heart disease (such as congestive heart failure)

  • Liver disease (such as fatty changes to the liver)

  • Cancer

Diagnosing DKA

While diagnosing DKA is simple, by looking at the blood sugar levels of dogs and cats and by measuring the presence of these fat breakdown products in the urine or blood, treatment can be costly (running between $3-5000). A battery of tests and diagnostics need to be performed, to look for underlying problems listed above, and treatment typically requires aggressive therapy and 24/7 hospitalization.

Treatment of DKA

Treatment, typically, is required for 3-7 days, and includes the following:

  • A special intravenous catheter called a “central line” (placed to aid in frequent blood draws)

  • Aggressive intravenous fluids

  • Electrolyte supplementation and monitoring

  • Blood sugar monitoring

  • A fast acting or ultra fast acting insulin, regular or Lispro, typically given intravenously or in the muscle

  • Blood pressure monitoring

  • Nutritional support (often in the form of a temporary feeding tube)

  • Anti-vomiting or anti-nausea medication

  • Antibiotics

  • Long-term blood sugar monitoring and a transition to a longer-acting insulin

Thankfully, with aggressive supportive care, many patients with DKA do well as long as pet parents are prepared for the long-term commitment (including twice-a-day insulin, frequent veterinary visits to monitor the blood sugar, and the ongoing costs of insulin, syringes, etc.).

Preventing DKA

By following your veterinarian’s guidelines and recommendations you can help regulate and control your pet’s diabetic state better and monitor your pet carefully for clinical signs. For example, if your pet is still excessively thirsty or urinating frequently despite insulin therapy, they are likely poorly controlled and need an adjustment of their insulin dose (of course, never adjust your pet’s insulin or medications without consulting your veterinarian).

When in doubt remember that the sooner you detect a problem in your dog or cat, the less expensive that problem is to treat. If you notice any clinical signs of diabetes mellitus or DKA, seek immediate veterinary attention. Most importantly, blood glucose curves (when a veterinarian measures your pet’s response to their insulin level) often need to be done multiple times per year (especially in the beginning stages of diabetes mellitus).

If you have any questions or concerns, you should always visit or call your veterinarian.

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When to Take Your Cat to the Animal Emergency Room

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Some sure signs to bring your cat to the ER include:

  • Difficulty breathing (like open-mouth breathing, panting, or a respiratory rate over fifty breaths/minute [Tip: count the number of breaths in fifteen seconds and multiple by four to get the total breaths per minute]).

  • Hiding (under the bed, in the closet)

  • Not moving

  • Straining or making multiple trips to the litter box

  • Excessive grooming “back there” with the penis sticking out (dangerous and is typically a feline urethral obstruction or urinary blockage)

  • Lack of urine in the litter box for more than 36 hours

  • Painful when picking up

  • Profuse vomiting (more than 2-3 times in a night)

  • Excessive drooling

  • Sitting over the water bowl and not moving

  • Seizuring or twitching

  • Any kind of trauma

  • Any kind of poisoning

  • Any string hanging out of any orifice (Tip: please don’t pull! Leave all orifices to veterinary professionals).

While this list isn’t complete, it’s a good initial guideline.

If you want to be the financially savvy owner, it is best to go to your regular veterinarian before you end up with a more expensive emergency room visit. In other words, if you even have an inkling that something is wrong, better to go to your pet's veterinarian first rather than wait until Sunday night when your cat is really in dire straits (leading to a more expensive hospitalization).


When in doubt, call your veterinarian or an emergency clinic for counsel on whether to bring your cat in for an emergency visit. In fact, when in doubt, you can even go into the emergency room and potentially asked to be triaged to stabilize your pet's condition. Not all clinics will offer this, but it is worth asking. This is particularly important if you’re not sure if your cat has a urinary obstruction. Simply allow the emergency veterinarian to cop a feel of your cat’s bladder, and voila… if they don’t think your cat is blocked, they may “triage” you away to your family vet the next day.


When in doubt, it’s always safer to heed the side of caution. You won’t regret playing it too safe with your feline friend.


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