This lecture will focus on working through challenging endocrine cases involving patients with comorbidities. The diagnostic work-up and treatments for feline diabetes mellitus and hyperthyroidism will be reviewed.
Learning Objectives
- With the treatment of feline diabetes, setting reasonable treatment goals for caregivers is important including resolution of clinical signs and preventing hypoglycemic episodes. Although achieving diabetic remission is desirable, this outcome may not be achievable for every diabetic cat.
- Longer acting insulins along with a high protein diet are the mainstay treatments for feline diabetes.
- For successful diabetic management, caregiver communication is key but mistakes can still happen with insulin administration. With uncontrolled diabetic patients, review with the caregiver what type of insulin is being administered, how it is being administered, and what type of insulin syringes are being used.
- Be sure to screen the unsuspecting feline patient for hyperthyroidism. Especially prior to anesthesia, screening for hyperthyroidism may help avoid anesthetic complications including deleterious hypertension and tachyarrhythmias.
Speaker Bio
Audra Fenimore, DVM, DACVIM (Internal Medicine)
Dr. Fenimore is a 2009 veterinary graduate from Colorado State University who completed her small animal medicine and surgery rotating internship at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Red Bank, New Jersey from 2009-2010. She went on to complete one year as a Nestle Purina Internal Medicine/Shelter Post-doctoral Fellow at Colorado State. She then successfully completed a small animal internal medicine residency at Colorado State University in 2014 earning her board certification. She was a practicing internist at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Cherry Hill, New Jersey from 2014-2015 and returned to Colorado to join VRCC’s Medicine team in 2015.
RACE Credits
This program 249-34938 is approved by the AAVSB RACE to offer a total of 1.00 CE Credits (1.00 max) being available to any one veterinarian: and/or 1.00 Veterinary Technician CE Credits (1.00 max). This RACE approval is for the subject matter categorie(s) of: Scientific using the delivery method(s) of: Interactive-Distance. This approval is valid in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB RACE; however, participants are responsible for ascertaining each board’s CE requirements.