Cats: Vetsulin dosing and administration

Converting feline patients to Vetsulin use

1. Evaluate reason for switching insulin products. Is the cat adequately regulated on its current insulin or is one of the following factors causing problems:
   • Is human error occurring?
   • Is the insulin out of date, improperly stored, or misused?
   • Does the cat have a concurrent disorder?
2. After identifying any resolvable issues and ruling out possible concurrent disorders, simply discontinue use of the current insulin and begin administration of Vetsulin^® (porcine insulin zinc suspension) at 1 to 2 IU per injection, BID.
3. Evaluate your patient 2 to 4 weeks after starting Vetsulin or earlier if clinical signs of hypoglycemia develop. Check factors including water consumption, urine frequency and volume, activity level, and weight changes.
4. Generate serial blood glucose curve to determine if patient has achieved good regulation or if any of the following problems have developed:
   • Hypoglycemia
   • Poor regulation
   • Somogyi overswing
5. If clinical signs of polyuria, polydipsia, and weight loss have not resolved, you may need to increase the cat’s dose by 1 IU per BID injection.