Cats: Vetsulin dosing and administration

Starting regulation with Vetsulin^® (porcine insulin zinc suspension)

When health status is known and diabetes mellitus confirmed:

• Explain thoroughly what diabetes mellitus is, that achieving regulation may take time (up to 2 months), and what the implications are for the family. Make sure the owner understands the treatment involved, and that the cat should be able to live a happy, healthy life with consistent treatment. This is crucial, as complete cooperation of the owner is essential to treatment success.
• Treat existing infections or other medical conditions. Any disease will affect insulin metabolism.
• Introduce appropriate diet.
• Begin treatment with Vetsulin^® (porcine insulin zinc suspension).

Starting Vetsulin

In-clinic:

• Weigh the cat to obtain a benchmark for future weight gain or loss.
• Start the cat on 1 to 2 IU injections of Vetsulin given twice daily at 12-hour intervals. Administer injections concurrently with or right after meals for cats fed twice daily. No change in feeding schedule is needed for cats fed ad libitum.
• Hospitalize the cat for the day to verify that the starting dose does not cause hypoglycemia.
• Instruct owner on:
  • How to administer injections
  • How to identify and treat hypoglycemia
  • Parameters to monitor at home
  • Preferred diet and frequency of meals
• Discharge cat to owner’s care for 2 to 4 weeks. This allows the cat and owner to get used to the injection regimen.

At home, have the owner:

• Monitor and record water and food consumption.
• Monitor and record urine glucose and presence of ketone bodies.
• Maintain starting dose and frequency of administration for 2 to 4 weeks, unless there’s evidence of hypoglycemia.
• Bring the cat in for re-evaluation 2 to 4 weeks after starting Vetsulin treatment or earlier if clinical signs of hypoglycemia develop.