What is the expected life span for a diabetic pet?
Veterinarian research doesn’t have a lot of data on well regulated pets with diabetes. It is only recently that animals were treated aggressively for diabetes. It was not that many years ago that these animals would have automatically been euthanized. The lifespan often quoted in textbooks (2-5 years) include all diabetic pets, including those whose owners do not aggressively manage their diabetic control. Also keep in mind that many are diagnosed later in life so a 2-5 year life expectancy may not be that different from their average lifespan anyway. The newer data coming out suggests that, if an animal is kept well-regulated and does not have any other health problems, they should be able to have a normal life expectancy.
