Senvelgo has been wonderful for my kitty.

Megankitty

Megankitty

Member Since 2024
Hello. My kitty age 12 is currently on Senvelgo for over a year now. Senvelgo - and has been successful for her. She has completely stable blood glucose and was just evaluated with her senior panel the other day. I mention her success because when I came here when first considering and starting Senvelgo, for feedback from anyone who USED it, instead I got a lot of advice and warnings and more…. (Well intended …maybe…) but the comments and feedback completely turned me away from coming back her as it felt more like being shamed for trying it instead of support and such, as I only seemed to hear from people who had not yet had negative things to say about it and tried to convert me to insulin from the get go. 20 years ago I already did the insulin route for our kitty Buggs - I’m no stranger to it, not overwhelmed by or or afraid of using insulin… needles, IV fluids- I’ve done it all. However in these times there are other options available that can work and may be less invasive. Please note: you CANNOT use senvelgo (or Bexcat) if you cat has ALREADY USED INSULIN, from the most recent information. So if you are interested in trying senvelgo or Bexcat at all, it has to be tried first.
So if you are interested in using senvelgo or Bexcat, it’s worth a try. life was extremely complicated when my Megan was diagnosed - my mom in hospice three hours away, my job an hour each way, two kids….house had major damage, and other additional factors that make me grateful for this drug and that she responded well as it was easy on her and easy on me as I didn’t have to worry about her crashing or other issues with administration of others had to step in. I’m grateful for the success she had with it. Had it not worked or were there issues, I would have switched to insulin and figured it out. We followed all the protocol of re-checking with vet and monitoring keytones at home ( urine test strips - simple). So if you have a cat newly diagnosed with diabetes and are considering. Senvelgo, I wanted to offer a SUPPORTIVE post for you - but yes, DO follow up with your vet always continue to check and keytones at home.

Also I switched her food to Friskies Pate variety after throughly reading all the carb/protein values in the amazing list on this site (thank you to who ever compiled all the data) Not using expensive prescription diets. At all. The scrip dry foods still have a TON of carbs….so not surr how that’s supposed to be therapeutic…

In any case just posting for a quick post that may be a relief and of use to anyone considering Senvelgo or Bexcat, and may not come back after posting as I don’t want to see the likely scolding I had before for using senvelgo. My best wishes and sincere love to you and your kitty as you face this new challenge. It’s manageable and there is a wonderful life ahead for you and your kitty as you adapt to this situating and learn to manage the BEST way that works FOR YOU, and your kitty. May you find comfort and love and peace in this new journey. You are an amazing pet parent already for caring so well for your kitty and providing the medicine - whatever it winds up being - for your kitty.

I hope this post was helpful.
 
Thank you for your post.

We always want to learn more and hear both good and bad stories. It helps us be better rounded, more factual, and improve our ability to help others.

To be honest, we have seen some horror stories with Bexacat and Senvelgo and some distraught owners whose cats died and have deep regrets regarding their choices. I think sometimes our warnings might read as negativity, when it’s intended (at least for me) as more of a “take heed, do your due diligence, and please, please know the risks, monitor closely, and have realistic expectations.” I absolutely think there’s a place for Bexacat/Senvelgo, but that there should be careful thought and consideration put into making the recommendation/decision, not just a “here’s an easy, maintenance-free solution.” One of my vets presented Senvelgo as a first choice to me, even pushed it, talking about how easy it was and low risk and so on, like it was a miracle drug. My cat was in DKA at presentation, so not only NOT a candidate for the oral meds, but a high-risk case at that. Thankfully *I* knew that, but had I been the typical rookie owner, I shudder at how easily I could have trustingly gone down the wrong path and had a bad outcome. I do wonder how often that happens and if it perhaps skews our opinions. Some vets are very well versed in the oral options, others not so much. Perhaps that’s part of the problem.

It sounds like you had background in diabetes, commitment to doing what’s best for your cat, took time to understand your options, made the decision based on logic and personal situation, and were willing to pivot immediately if something went wrong. Good for you.

A few questions that I’ve been hoping someone with real-life experience can help answer:
— how do you know when/if you can do a trial off of Senvelgo? Is that something that you and your vet have discussed? We know that many cats can and do go into remission on insulin, but does the same apply to Bexacat/Senvelgo? How would one know?

— Did you switch to low-carb food before or after starting Senvelgo? Switching to low-carb food can dramatically reduce BG, so does one see the BG impact of food with the orals as well? How do you know what impact was a result of Senvelgo vs from the low-carb food?

— What long-term testing is appropriate to ensure ongoing safety? For example, do you test BG at home periodically? Ketones?

Thank you for any additional information you can provide. I think insulin is tried and true so it’s easy to default to that, and that the oral meds are sometimes “oversold” as an easy solution. I’m personally not comfortable “cheerleading” the new meds because there are definite risks. However, I do believe in offering fair, unvarnished info. However you can fill in the blanks is definitely appreciated.
 
I appreciate this post, it's nice to see some positive results.
I'm currently in conversations with my vet about possibly starting one of these for another one of my cats. She's been on steroids, and it's starting to impact her glucose. 😔
I'm well versed in insulin, testing, curves, etc. but the vet thinks she would be a good candidate. We have another round of blood work just to make sure that's still true. If we do decide to start one of these two medications and need to switch to insulin, no issues there. We will be closely monitoring her to see how everything goes!
 
Megankitty said:
Hello. My kitty age 12 is currently on Senvelgo for over a year now. Senvelgo - and has been successful for her. She has completely stable blood glucose and was just evaluated with her senior panel the other day. I mention her success because when I came here when first considering and starting Senvelgo, for feedback from anyone who USED it, instead I got a lot of advice and warnings and more…. (Well intended …maybe…) but the comments and feedback completely turned me away from coming back her as it felt more like being shamed for trying it instead of support and such, as I only seemed to hear from people who had not yet had negative things to say about it and tried to convert me to insulin from the get go. 20 years ago I already did the insulin route for our kitty Buggs - I’m no stranger to it, not overwhelmed by or or afraid of using insulin… needles, IV fluids- I’ve done it all. However in these times there are other options available that can work and may be less invasive. Please note: you CANNOT use senvelgo (or Bexcat) if you cat has ALREADY USED INSULIN, from the most recent information. So if you are interested in trying senvelgo or Bexcat at all, it has to be tried first.
So if you are interested in using senvelgo or Bexcat, it’s worth a try. life was extremely complicated when my Megan was diagnosed - my mom in hospice three hours away, my job an hour each way, two kids….house had major damage, and other additional factors that make me grateful for this drug and that she responded well as it was easy on her and easy on me as I didn’t have to worry about her crashing or other issues with administration of others had to step in. I’m grateful for the success she had with it. Had it not worked or were there issues, I would have switched to insulin and figured it out. We followed all the protocol of re-checking with vet and monitoring keytones at home ( urine test strips - simple). So if you have a cat newly diagnosed with diabetes and are considering. Senvelgo, I wanted to offer a SUPPORTIVE post for you - but yes, DO follow up with your vet always continue to check and keytones at home.

Also I switched her food to Friskies Pate variety after throughly reading all the carb/protein values in the amazing list on this site (thank you to who ever compiled all the data) Not using expensive prescription diets. At all. The scrip dry foods still have a TON of carbs….so not surr how that’s supposed to be therapeutic…

In any case just posting for a quick post that may be a relief and of use to anyone considering Senvelgo or Bexcat, and may not come back after posting as I don’t want to see the likely scolding I had before for using senvelgo. My best wishes and sincere love to you and your kitty as you face this new challenge. It’s manageable and there is a wonderful life ahead for you and your kitty as you adapt to this situating and learn to manage the BEST way that works FOR YOU, and your kitty. May you find comfort and love and peace in this new journey. You are an amazing pet parent already for caring so well for your kitty and providing the medicine - whatever it winds up being - for your kitty.

I hope this post was helpful.
Click to expand...
After a rocky start with insulin, our vet suggested Senvelgo. Andy had only been on insulin for a couple of weeks so she had us take him off insulin and wait for a week before starting Senvelgo. We needed to test his Keytones before starting. We were able to do that after trying to catch him all day. His reading was 90 which is great. He has been on Selvelgo for 5 days and he’s feeling fine. I’m able to just put his liquid dose on his food making sure he eats all of it.
So far it has been wonderful. No hunting him down and giving him shots twice a day. We can all relax. The Senvelgo costs about $150 per month and the ketone test strips cost $2.50 each on Amazon.
I really encourage you to give this drug a try. 😁
 
Megankitty said:
Hello. My kitty age 12 is currently on Senvelgo for over a year now. Senvelgo - and has been successful for her. She has completely stable blood glucose and was just evaluated with her senior panel the other day. I mention her success because when I came here when first considering and starting Senvelgo, for feedback from anyone who USED it, instead I got a lot of advice and warnings and more…. (Well intended …maybe…) but the comments and feedback completely turned me away from coming back her as it felt more like being shamed for trying it instead of support and such, as I only seemed to hear from people who had not yet had negative things to say about it and tried to convert me to insulin from the get go. 20 years ago I already did the insulin route for our kitty Buggs - I’m no stranger to it, not overwhelmed by or or afraid of using insulin… needles, IV fluids- I’ve done it all. However in these times there are other options available that can work and may be less invasive. Please note: you CANNOT use senvelgo (or Bexcat) if you cat has ALREADY USED INSULIN, from the most recent information. So if you are interested in trying senvelgo or Bexcat at all, it has to be tried first.
So if you are interested in using senvelgo or Bexcat, it’s worth a try. life was extremely complicated when my Megan was diagnosed - my mom in hospice three hours away, my job an hour each way, two kids….house had major damage, and other additional factors that make me grateful for this drug and that she responded well as it was easy on her and easy on me as I didn’t have to worry about her crashing or other issues with administration of others had to step in. I’m grateful for the success she had with it. Had it not worked or were there issues, I would have switched to insulin and figured it out. We followed all the protocol of re-checking with vet and monitoring keytones at home ( urine test strips - simple). So if you have a cat newly diagnosed with diabetes and are considering. Senvelgo, I wanted to offer a SUPPORTIVE post for you - but yes, DO follow up with your vet always continue to check and keytones at home.

Also I switched her food to Friskies Pate variety after throughly reading all the carb/protein values in the amazing list on this site (thank you to who ever compiled all the data) Not using expensive prescription diets. At all. The scrip dry foods still have a TON of carbs….so not surr how that’s supposed to be therapeutic…

In any case just posting for a quick post that may be a relief and of use to anyone considering Senvelgo or Bexcat, and may not come back after posting as I don’t want to see the likely scolding I had before for using senvelgo. My best wishes and sincere love to you and your kitty as you face this new challenge. It’s manageable and there is a wonderful life ahead for you and your kitty as you adapt to this situating and learn to manage the BEST way that works FOR YOU, and your kitty. May you find comfort and love and peace in this new journey. You are an amazing pet parent already for caring so well for your kitty and providing the medicine - whatever it winds up being - for your kitty.

I hope this post was helpful.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your post. BooBoo was just diagnosed 4 days ago so I joined this group and am considering Senvelgo due to my work travel schedule and her propensity to hide when anyone comes in the house. Are you still serving her Friskies pate and what flavors?
 
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DeniseWeldon said:
After a rocky start with insulin, our vet suggested Senvelgo. Andy had only been on insulin for a couple of weeks so she had us take him off insulin and wait for a week before starting Senvelgo. We needed to test his Keytones before starting. We were able to do that after trying to catch him all day. His reading was 90 which is great. He has been on Selvelgo for 5 days and he’s feeling fine. I’m able to just put his liquid dose on his food making sure he eats all of it.
So far it has been wonderful. No hunting him down and giving him shots twice a day. We can all relax. The Senvelgo costs about $150 per month and the ketone test strips cost $2.50 each on Amazon.
I really encourage you to give this drug a try. 😁
Click to expand...
I also have a fearful cat and there is no way anyone will be able to catch her when I’m out of town so I’m considering Senvelgo. She is newly diagnosed.
How do you use the ketone test strips?
what food do you feed your cat now?
Thanks!
 
My Vet prescribed Senvelgo and it has not been shipped yet. I am a little nervous with the bad reviews I read online, and I have given shots to my other cat with little trouble, but if this works well it sounds great.
 
Glassgoblin said:
My Vet prescribed Senvelgo and it has not been shipped yet. I am a little nervous with the bad reviews I read online, and I have given shots to my other cat with little trouble, but if this works well it sounds great.
Click to expand...
What kind of vet follow-up do you do once you start the Senvelgo? My vet is suggesting in office testing after starting Senvelgo on day 3, day 5 and day 7. I’m wondering if most vet offices make this suggestion.
 
BellaBlue82 said:
I appreciate this post, it's nice to see some positive results.
I'm currently in conversations with my vet about possibly starting one of these for another one of my cats. She's been on steroids, and it's starting to impact her glucose. 😔
I'm well versed in insulin, testing, curves, etc. but the vet thinks she would be a good candidate. We have another round of blood work just to make sure that's still true. If we do decide to start one of these two medications and need to switch to insulin, no issues there. We will be closely monitoring her to see how everything goes!
Click to expand...
Did you start Senvelgo? How is it going?
 
BooBooMom said:
What kind of vet follow-up do you do once you start the Senvelgo? My vet is suggesting in office testing after starting Senvelgo on day 3, day 5 and day 7. I’m wondering if most vet offices make this suggestion.
Click to expand...
The med should arrive on Saturday (hoping it doesn't come frozen with our current weather) and we have an appointment for Thursday afternoon (Vet is out on Wednesday). I want to start Monday or Tuesday. Unfortunately the office is closed on weekends, but I do have the following Monday off from work for the dog's appointment so I am going to try getting in that day too- I think they mentioned 3 days, a week later, and then another soon after that, but to be honest it was hard to keep track when the Vet was talking since I was still getting used to the idea of treatment being needed and was trying to take notes. I don't want to wait to long to start in case anything changes for ketones (or anything else) due to lack of any treatment. I think my old relion meter was discontinued so I can't get new test strips, so will need to grab a new meter/supplies this weekend also, and the ketone strips arrived today so I will start testing before she gets her first dose.

Do you test glucose and keep a spreadsheet to track progress with this type of med? I still have many questions for the Vet when we go in, but I need to write them all down. I keep getting distracted and forgetting what I wanted to ask.
 
I’m in the same boat, I just found out her sugar is high.
My vet sent me an email with the results the day before Thanksgiving so I’m still evaluating our options. It really helps to have the vet write everything down, the email looked like a generic one they send to any patient that is diagnosed, which is fine because it’s a lot to absorb!

I eliminated unhealthy treats and food about a month ago when Boo started drinking more than usual. I Researched healthy cat foods (high protein / low carb) and am still searching for a few that she likes, she never wants to eat the same thing every day. She is drinking / peeing a lot less so that’s a good sign. I had her on the more expensive foods but didn’t realize how many carbs are in them. Boo is 13 years old and has been really healthy but when she started drinking more water I got her into the vet right away. The rest of her bloodwork was perfect.

I plan to take her back in soon for a recheck and is get another Fructosamine blood draw to check her blood glucose to see if the diet changes made a difference - this will be 3 weeks after the initial draw so we might see improvement, fingers crossed. And also check her ketones.

In the meantime:
I’m going to order a meter / supplies / ketone strips.
I will start a spreadsheet to track
Vet suggested: Alpha Trak glucometer with strips to be able to measure his blood sugar levels at home
 
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