? Green light to switch from Caninsuline to glargine but not Lantus, TOUJEO. Any thougths?

Blanche

Blanche

Member Since 2026
Hello fellow sugar cats! <3

My vet, after consultation with a university professor, agreed to switch to glargine but propose not Lantus, Toujeo and shooting one shot/24h.
(If this is even possible, it will be a fantastic way to save my work, but this is not the point). I make a research (because a university professor is - at the majority of cases -not an ignorant ) and I find published in Sage Journals the "2025 iCatCare consensus guidelines on the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus in cats" and I found in Table 3 Guidance on the frequency of administration of specific insulin formulations in cats, based on duration of action and time to peak action that the solution is long- acting et not intermatiate acting as Lantus, the frequency of adimistration is q12-24h and that it has a flatter time - action profile compared with glargine U100.
He propose to adimistrate 1u/24h.
I would appreciate any help because I dont know what to do, really I'm confused!
 

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Glargine is the generic name for Lantus. There are many other brands besides Lantus now that are U-100 glargine. The problem with Toujeo is that it is a U-300 insulin. There are no U-300 syringes so you have to use the Toujeo pens that only allow 1 unit at a time changes. We find that our kitties are sensitive to much smaller changes than going up or down 1 unit at a time. The syringes allow changes by 0.5 and even 0.25 units at a time. So the need to use pens is why we don't recommend going to Toujeo unless you have a kitty needing very high doses of insulin - like over 10 units, which is when you would be making changes of 1 unit at a time.

Can you ask your vet why not the U-100 glargine? We've had a very few people try Toujeo, and most have them have switched to Lantus.
 
@Wendy&Neko thank you so much both of you! :) <3
Lantus it is! Can I ask for instructions to switching to Lantus? If I can have it tonight is a good thing to switch or I have to wait till morning?
The fact that the Caninsuline dose is 3u/12 affect the Lantus initiale dosing? Should I start with a 1U/12 or a higher dose?

My vet is not a specialist thats why she seek advice from the professor. But she is a ery open and receiptive persone so when I told her my hesitations, and the reasons behind she didn't oppose.
 
You can switch anytime, though it's best to switch when you can monitor closely for a couple of cycles. Some cats have a strong reaction to the switch in insulin. So whether you do AM or PM is up to you. Lantus is a depot style insulin, meaning it takes a few days for the depot to build and for you to see what the dose is capable of. Unless of course you see that strong reaction.

Lantus is more concentrated than Caninsulin. Which is why we us the U-100 syringes and give physically less insulin. Do you have the U-100 syringes with 1/2 unit markings? I think the most common ones there are the BD Microfine ones.

When switching insulin types to Lantus from Caninsulin or Prozinc, we look at how the cat is doing on the current dose and take that into consideration. We'd probably suggest 3 units of Lantus to start based on how she's doing. That is, as long as you aren't changing food at the same time.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
You can switch anytime, though it's best to switch when you can monitor closely for a couple of cycles. Some cats have a strong reaction to the switch in insulin. So whether you do AM or PM is up to you. Lantus is a depot style insulin, meaning it takes a few days for the depot to build and for you to see what the dose is capable of. Unless of course you see that strong reaction.

Lantus is more concentrated than Caninsulin. Which is why we us the U-100 syringes and give physically less insulin. Do you have the U-100 syringes with 1/2 unit markings? I think the most common ones there are the BD Microfine ones.

When switching insulin types to Lantus from Caninsulin or Prozinc, we look at how the cat is doing on the current dose and take that into consideration. We'd probably suggest 3 units of Lantus to start based on how she's doing. That is, as long as you aren't changing food at the same time.
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@Wendy&Neko thank you for your reply!

Truth to be told, today was a whirlwind day. A difficult morning shoot only ⅓ of the dose , lot of hours of absence, having her eat a not very appropriate food.
Then the vet's approval to the switch, the search for the Lantus itself (the vial is en shortage here, only the pen is everywhere). I found some syringes U100 / 0,5 and I shot 1U at 20m after normal PMPS because I was afraid a) to let more than 1/2 past 12th hour without insulin and b) to up the dose at caninsulin levels and have a strong reaction or an hypo at the middle of the night. So, now I started with 1U. I will test every two hours (I have lot of work to do so I dont think I will have time to sleep at all) and we will see.
I read at the protocols guidelines that we cant change the dose in less than one week. So, If I understand well I have to stick to 1U till next Tuesday even if at PMPS +2 I have a very red 481...
Tomorrow I will have the 0,3 syringes as well.
 
I think most people here use the pens (or cartridges). You take the top off the pen and you can use it like a small vial, with a bit of difference that is explained in the video part way down this Sticky Note:
Sticky Insulin Care & Syringe Info: Proper Handling, Drawing, Fine Dosing

If we can tell right away (couple days) that this dose is clearly too little, you can increase much faster and by larger amounts to get closer to what should have been the starting dose.

You don't have to stay up any later tonight. If the +2 is about the same as the preshot, it will be a normal Lantus cycle. You'd only have to worry if there was a big drop to +2. You can get a +4 if you want the data, but after that you are probably OK to sleep.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I think most people here use the pens (or cartridges). You take the top off the pen and you can use it like a small vial, with a bit of difference that is explained in the video part way down this Sticky Note:
Sticky Insulin Care & Syringe Info: Proper Handling, Drawing, Fine Dosing

If we can tell right away (couple days) that this dose is clearly too little, you can increase much faster and by larger amounts to get closer to what should have been the starting dose.

You don't have to stay up any later tonight. If the +2 is about the same as the preshot, it will be a normal Lantus cycle. You'd only have to worry if there was a big drop to +2. You can get a +4 if you want the data, but after that you are probably OK to sleep.
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Thanks again Wendy! I will take a +4 also and if tomorrow all day is the same situation we will see how much to increase...
 
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