A cat's pancreas has two main jobs: 1) making and storing digestive enzymes and fluids; 2) producing and releasing hormones that regulate blood sugar. 

The sugar released into the bloodstream from a a cat on a high-carbohydrate diet sends an alarm to the pancreas to produce insulin to lower the tide of sugar into a cat's system. A continual high level of insulin pumped into the cat's system causes an accumulation of fat in the cat's body - it's a natural response to an unnatural (for a carnivore) dietary situation. 

SO WHAT? Diets high in carbohydrates - such as dry kibble - raise a cat's risk for both obesity and feline type 2 diabetes.

LIKE us on Facebook to get these Bites in your news feed. 

Cats produce relatively little intestinal and pancreatic amylase (enzymes) that can break down carbohydrates in their small intestines.

SO WHAT? A high-carbohydrate (i.e., grain-based) diet fundamentally disagrees with the intestinal makeup of a cat. 


LIKE us on Facebook to get these Bites in your news feed.