1 November 2009
This November Intervet/Schering-Plough is pleased to support Pet Diabetes Month and The Great Pet 'Pee' Test campaign, to help increase awareness and screening for diabetes. Pet Diabetes Month (November) is a new nationwide screening campaign to test the UK’s cats and dogs for diabetes.
Diabetes is reported to affect up to 1 in 100 pets and the condition is on the increase. In a survey less than half of pet owners surveyed knew that pets can suffer from diabetes. Diabetes is increasingly common in dogs over 5 years of age, cats over 8 years, overweight pets and certain breeds. Luckily, diabetes can usually be easily diagnosed using a simple urine test. The Great Pet ‘Pee’ Test is a national initiative to test at-risk pets for diabetes.
The new nationwide screening campaign The Great Pet ‘Pee’ Test aims to mobilise the region’s pet owners to collect a free diabetes ‘test strip’ from the practice to check their cat or dog for diabetes and submit the result in a special online survey on diabetes – the first of its kind in the UK. The campaign aims to reach both existing clients and potential new ones.
Owners can log the findings anonymously on www.petdiabetesmonth.co.uk. For each logged result, 10p will be donated to the PDSA by Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health. Findings from the survey will be used to help assess current pet diabetes levels throughout the UK and to identify any regional variations.
Further information on the signs of diabetes can be found on our website – for further information, contact your veterinary surgeon.
