Survey About Management of Diabetes Mellitus in Dogs and Cats Among Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design
2.2. Design of the Questionnaire
2.3. Creation of the Questionnaire
2.4. Distributionof the Questionnaire
2.5. Sample Size Calculation
2.6. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Demographic Data
3.2. DM Management
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
| AAHA | American Animal Hospital Association |
| BCG | Blood glucose curve |
| CBC | Complete blood count |
| CGMS | Continuous glucose monitoring system |
| CKD | Chronic kidney disease |
| DK | Diabetic ketosis |
| DKA | Diabetic ketoacidosis |
| DM | Diabetes mellitus |
| HBGM | Home blood glucose monitoring |
| HSM | Hypersomatotropism |
| IGF-1 | Insulin-like growth factor-1 |
| ISCAID | International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases |
| QoL | Quality of life |
| UPC | Urine protein creatinine ratio |
| UK | United Kingdom |
| UTI | Urinary tract infection |
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| Part 1 | Part 2 |
|---|---|
| Number of dogs/cats diagnosed with DM per year (out of 10 animals) | Country of residence |
| Number of dogs/cats diagnosed with DK/DKA per year (out of 10 animals) | Proportion of dogs and cats seen at the practice |
| Recommended first-line DM treatment in dogs/cats | Type of practice based on the level of specialisation |
| First-line insulin in dogs/cats | Location of the practice |
| Starting insulin dose in dogs/cats | Practice size (i.e., number of veterinarians) |
| Ways of providing information to the owners | Years of working experience |
| Information provided to the owner at DM diagnosis/first couple of re-examinations | Sources of knowledge about DM |
| Preferred monitoring method | Comments on the topic |
| Most frequent monitoring method used | Email address (optional) |
| Most/least frequently performed diagnostic tests | |
| Reassessments of glycaemic control within the first 2–3 months of diagnosis | |
| Reassessments of glycaemic control in a well-controlled pet in the long term | |
| Proportion of dogs/cats being monitored by home blood glucose monitoring (out of 10 animals) | |
| Most/least common comorbidities in dogs/cats | |
| Frequency of poorly controlled DM in dogs/cats (out of 10 animals) | |
| Frequency of diabetic remission in cats (out of 10 animals) | |
| Frequency of suspected steroid-induced DM in cats (out of 10 animals) | |
| Frequency of intact bitches with DM (out of 10 diabetic animals) | |
| Frequency of diabetic remission in diestrus-induced DM after spaying (out of 10 animals) | |
| Reasons for an inadequate response to insulin therapy | |
| Biggest challenge in the treatment of DM from veterinarian‘s perspective | |
| Biggest challenge in the treatment of DM from owner‘s perspective | |
| Frequency of euthanasia in diabetic dogs/cats at diagnosis or during the first months after diagnosis (out of 10 animals) | |
| Most important reasons for euthanasia |
| Country | Number (%) of Respondents |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 228 (46.7%) |
| Germany | 105 (21.5%) |
| Austria | 56 (11.5%) |
| Czech Republic | 46 (9.4%) |
| Switzerland | 15 (3.1%) |
| Slovakia | 10 (2.0%) |
| Slovenia | 10 (2.0%) |
| Poland | 4 (0.8%) |
| Estonia | 3 (0.6%) |
| Latvia | 3 (0.6%) |
| Channel Islands | 2 (0.4%) |
| Italy | 2 (0.4%) |
| Netherlands | 1 (0.2%) |
| Portugal | 1 (0.2%) |
| Serbia | 1 (0.2%) |
| Sweden | 1 (0.2%) |
| In total | 488 (100%) |
| Question | Number per Year | Number (%) of Respondents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dogs | Cats | ||
| Newly diagnosed DM | 0–1 | 129 (26.4%) | 74 (15.2%) |
| 2–4 | 206 (42.2%) | 250 (51.2%) | |
| 5–10 | 86 (17.6%) | 104 (21.3%) | |
| more than 10 | 67 (13.7%) | 60 (12.3%) | |
| Diabetic ketosis or ketoacidosis | 0–1 | 312 (63.9%) | 317 (65.0%) |
| 2–4 | 112 (23.0%) | 108 (22.1%) | |
| 5–10 | 45 (9.2%) | 40 (8.2%) | |
| more than 10 | 19 (3.9%) | 23 (4.7%) | |
| Insulin Type | Number (%) of Respondents | |
|---|---|---|
| Dogs | Cats | |
| Caninsulin® | 455 (93.2%) | 185 (37.9%) |
| ProZinc® | 20 (4.1%) | 203 (41.6%) |
| Levemir® (Detemir) 1 | 0 (0.0%) | 2 (0.4%) |
| Lantus® (Glargine) 2 | 5 (1.0%) | 97 (19.9%) |
| Other | 8 (1.6%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Question | Answers | Number (%) of Respondents |
|---|---|---|
| Most frequent reasons for inadequate response to insulin therapy | Poor owner compliance | 192 (39.3%) |
| Poor cat/dog compliance | 31 (6.4%) | |
| Comorbidities and/or their treatment (e.g., administration of glucocorticoids) | 247 (50.6%) | |
| Other | 17 (3.5%) | |
| The biggest challenge in the treatment of DM in dogs and cats from the veterinarian’s perspective | Treatment of comorbidities | 179 (36.7%) |
| Poor owner compliance | 220 (45.1%) | |
| Poor cat/dog compliance | 29 (5.9%) | |
| Keeping up to date with the current knowledge | 40 (8.2%) | |
| Other | 21 (4.3%) | |
| The biggest challenge in the treatment of DM in dogs and cats from the owner’s perspective | Giving insulin injections | 44 (9.0%) |
| Difficulties taking care of a pet during owner’s absence | 27 (5.5%) | |
| Poor dog/cat compliance, keeping regular daily schedule | 271 (55.5%) | |
| Costs of the therapy | 134 (27.5%) | |
| Other | 12 (2.5%) |
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Jaresova, T.; Bauer, N.; Hazuchova, K. Survey About Management of Diabetes Mellitus in Dogs and Cats Among Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Pets 2026, 3, 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/pets3010012
Jaresova T, Bauer N, Hazuchova K. Survey About Management of Diabetes Mellitus in Dogs and Cats Among Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Pets. 2026; 3(1):12. https://doi.org/10.3390/pets3010012
Chicago/Turabian StyleJaresova, Tereza, Natali Bauer, and Katarina Hazuchova. 2026. "Survey About Management of Diabetes Mellitus in Dogs and Cats Among Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe" Pets 3, no. 1: 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/pets3010012
APA StyleJaresova, T., Bauer, N., & Hazuchova, K. (2026). Survey About Management of Diabetes Mellitus in Dogs and Cats Among Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Pets, 3(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/pets3010012

