Postprandial glycaemia in cats fed a moderate carbohydrate meal persists for a median of 12 hours — female cats have higher peak glucose concentrations

Abstract

The postprandial increase in glucose concentration is typically not considered in selecting diets to manage diabetic and pre-diabetic cats. This study describes increases in glucose and insulin concentrations in 24 clinically healthy, neutered adult cats following one meal (59 kcal/kg) of a moderate carbohydrate diet (25% of energy). Median time to return to baseline after feeding for glucose was 12.2 h (1.8-≥24 h) and for insulin was 12.3 h (1.5-≥24 h). Time to return to baseline for glucose was not different between male (10.2 h) and female (17.2 h) cats. There was evidence female cats had a longer return to baseline for insulin (18.9 h versus 9.8 h) and females had higher (0.9 mmol/l difference) peak glucose than males. This demonstrates that the duration of postprandial glycaemia in cats is markedly longer than in dogs and humans, and should be considered when managing diabetic and pre-diabetic cats.

Associations between meal size, gastric emptying and post‐prandial plasma glucose, insulin and lactate concentrations in meal‐fed cats

“…The finding that post‐prandial glycemic response lasted a median of 18 h in cats fed their daily energy requirements in one meal is consistent with previous research findings (Coradini et al., ; Farrow et al., , ). Post‐prandial glycemia is longer in cats than in healthy humans (American Diabetes Association, ) and dogs (Hesta et al., ; Elliott et al., ), and after a glucose challenge, humans and dogs also have more rapid and higher post‐prandial insulin responses and lower and earlier blood glucose peaks (Coulston et al., ; Hewson‐Hughes et al., ).…”

“…The observed gastric emptying time of cats in our study should be considered when making recommendations for feeding cats prior to procedures that require the stomach to be empty. It also supports recommendations for measuring glucose concentrations for 24 h after eating in feline studies where post‐prandial responses are investigated (Coradini et al., ; Farrow et al., ), particularly if the diets used are of similar composition to our study diets.…”

Feline Diabetes Mellitus

“…Insulin concentrations returned to baseline after a median of 12.3 hours (Farrow et al, 2012). Interestingly, the use of a moderate starch diet lead to a postprandial glucose increase in one of the studies, whereas no increase was seen in the other study (Hewson-Hughes et al, 2011b;Farrow et al, 2012). It is possible that the differences are due to the use of different carbohydrate sources in the diets.…”

“…The median time until blood glucose reached its peak was 6 hours after feeding, and the median time until glucose returned to baseline was 12.2 hours. Insulin concentrations returned to baseline after a median of 12.3 hours (Farrow et al, 2012). Interestingly, the use of a moderate starch diet lead to a postprandial glucose increase in one of the studies, whereas no increase was seen in the other study (Hewson-Hughes et al, 2011b;Farrow et al, 2012).…”

Glycemic Status and Predictors of Relapse for Diabetic Cats in Remission

“…Blood glucose concentration measured during a veterinary consultation rarely represents a fasting sample in cats because of their long postprandial period 14. It may also be affected by stress before or during blood sampling, and the resultant hyperglycemia can take ≥3 hours to resolve 9.…”