New Member - Senvelgo Question

[Laura Metcalfe]

Hello
I am new to this so please bear with me whilst I get to grips with everything. My cat Toto was diagnosed with Diabetes recently (he's 17, and turning 18 in May). I was so worried about trying to use insulin that the vets told me about this new approved oral solution called Senvelgo.
Toto has now been on Senvelgo for just over 2 weeks. His glucose level has returned to target level and no ketones in his urine (checking daily). However he is still drinking so much water. Does anyone else have their cat on Senvelgo and if so are they drinking lots of water?
Many thanks
Laura & Toto

 

[squeem3]

There's an info thread about oral medications to treat diabetes: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-treatments-for-feline-diabetes.284789/#post-3145056

There might be a few members who are currently using these oral treatments or have tried them but found that it didn't work for their cat. You can try searching the forums for posts.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

What does your vet say?
Seems that 18% of cats testing that drug had excessive urination (Polyuria). See Adverse Reaction section of:
https://docs.boehringer-ingelheim.com/SNV_US_PetOwnerBrochure.pdf

 

[Laura Metcalfe]

What does your vet say?
Seems that 18% of cats testing that drug had excessive urination (Polyuria). See Adverse Reaction section of:
https://docs.boehringer-ingelheim.com/SNV_US_PetOwnerBrochure.pdf

She wasn't sure to be honest as this is first time she's had a cat on this treatment. But he is not urinating excessively (and not dehydrated apparently) just drinking a lot. All other clinical signs seem ok.
Her suggestion was to just keep monitoring it (whilst she calls the manufacturer to ask about the water intake) and to review in a couple of weeks.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

just drinking a lot.

Excessive drinking was noted in 16.7% of treated cats.
Is the amount druni changed or the frequency?

 

[squeem3]

Is there a reason why you haven't tried insulin with your cat? There are many people here who initially were afraid of needles and injections (hurting the cat, ruining their relationship with the cat, etc) but are now pros at giving insulin injections. The vet can show you how to measure insulin correctly and give a demo with sterile saline of where and how to inject.

 

[Laura Metcalfe]

Excessive drinking was noted in 16.7% of treated cats.
Is the amount druni changed or the frequency?

To be honest he's probably drinking the same amount of water as he was just before being diagnosed with Diabetes (which was abnormal and why we took him to vets to be checked). We were just hoping that now his blood glucose level is back to normal the excessive drinking would stop, but looks like he is having one of the side effects of this product.

 

[Laura Metcalfe]

Is there a reason why you haven't tried insulin with your cat? There are many people here who initially were afraid of needles and injections (hurting the cat, ruining their relationship with the cat, etc) but are now pros at giving insulin injections. The vet can show you how to measure insulin correctly and give a demo with sterile saline of where and how to inject.

I think its just the fear of not doing it right and hurting him. He's quite skinny and not a lot of skin to grab to try and inject. But also that he would need to have it twice a day at the same time every day and with my work I'd really struggle to do that (but would have to find a way obviously if it came to that). When the vet suggested this new oral solution it seemed worth a try. But it is early days so will keep going and monitoring him daily and go from there.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Please take a look at the post that was linked above (#2 from squeem). The biggest issue with Senvelgo is that your kitty needs to be monitored and lab tests may need to be done to ensure all is going well. And keep us posted. We're learning about these new oral insulins, too.

 

[chuckstables]

I know it’s easier said than done, but there really is nothing to be scared of with insulin. The needles are small diameter short ones generally. Hard to mess it up or hurt them. After 17 years you know your cat best though. Oral medications don’t tend to work very well with diabetes in cats.

If your cat is still drinking water excessively then I’d think high blood sugar is the culprit as they’re still uncontrolled? I don’t know anyone who has had success treating feline diabetes with oral medication. Maybe reassess with your vet in a bit, see if they’re being controlled adequately (you can do this yourself by home testing, let someone know if you need help with that), if not then you need to switch to insulin.