In animals, "often we don't diagnose diabetes until it causes it causes outward signs such as urinary problems," but the disease can exist well before a pet owner notices these signs. Diabetes in pets can vary along a continuum, from a sometimes transient form of the disease, seen in cats, in which the pancreas produces insulin but the body does not respond properly (known as insulin resistance), to a more lifelong disease resulting from an insulin deficiency, as seen in most diabetic dogs and cats (www.executec.com).