What Caninsulin dose

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beckyandwinston

Member Since 2012
My boy has been stable for over 6 months now, but took him to the vets today and he has lost a kilo since his last visit. Being in the UK aqnd not home testing, am hoping its another adjustment on his dosage rather than thyroid or kidney problems. Just wondered what dosage other 'fur babies' are on. My boy is currenlty on 6 units twice a day but will probably be ging up to 7. This sounds rather high and am worried that its not his diabetes but something else. Is anyone else's cat on this hig a level?
 
As you may be aware, caninsulin is not an ideal insulin for cats. Of course, we know that it's challenging in the UK and that they require you to start with that insulin first, before prescribing lantus.

The only way you are going to know what the BG level is and if this is too much insulin is if you start to home test. Are you willing to learn? We can teach you. You also don't need the vet's permission to do this. You just need to pick up a few supplies to get started:

1. human glucose meter
2. Matching strips
3. Lancets - little sticks to poke the ear to get blood . new members usually start with a larger gauge lancet such as 28g or 29g until the ear learns to bleed. Optional - lancing tool.
4. Cotton balls to stem the blood
5. Neosporin or Polysporin ointment with pain relief to heal the wound
6. Mini flashlight (optional) - useful to help see the ear veins in dark cats, and to press against
7. Ketone urine test strips ie ketodiastix - Important to check ketones when blood is high
8. Sharps container - to dispose of waste syringes and lancets.
9. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken
10. Karo syrup/corn syrup or honey if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
11. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers or other high carb gravy food- for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast

If you have a local Walmart - not sure if they are in the UK - you can purchase the Relion meter and strips there - very inexpensively. If not, you can get a name brand meter - such as Bayer Contour, One Touch Ultra, etc.

I'm going to ask one of our UK members to chime in with more suggestions.
 
Hello Becky,welcome from another UKer
Bailey was put on Caninsulin,this is the only insulin that has approval in the UK for cats,we struggled for 8 months with bg numbers out of control,after much persuasion( and with great resistance from the vet) she agreed to apply for approval to change him across to Lantus.His demeanour changed within days,and although not regulated he is a much happier cat.
It might be worth asking the experienced members for their advise on changing from Caninsulin,it isn't the most favoured insulin for cats.Have you considered home testing? We didn't on the vets advise,and I now realise what a dangerous game we were playing,we are lucky to still have him,it is the only way to keep him safe,do think about it.
I am sure you are going to get a lot of knowledgable members dropping by to give you advise,and support.
I presume the vet has taken blood to check for any underlying problems? Fingers crossed that he gets good test results.
 
Becky,
Bailey was on 8 units when we changed him over,he had a hypo in June,and after that it didn't seem to make any difference how we upped his dose,he just remained in high numbers.if you need any info on food,treats etc I will be happy to swap notes with you. Good luck Diane
 
Hi Becky,
I am in the UK too, and my cat was also on Caninsulin for a few months. He wouldn't stabilise & the vet wanted to increase his dose to 6 units twice a day. Like your cat, he had lost considerable weight.
The best thing you can do for him is learn to hometest. It's the only way you will find out what effect the insulin is really having on his system. If you are unwilling to learn, then the Vet will need to do a curve on Winston & find out what's happening.
Caninsulin was designed for dogs, not for cats. Cats have a much faster metabolism & so the insulin wears off in cats very quickly. Some cats will therefore not achieve long-term stability on this insulin.
Instead of going up to such a massive dose with a fast-acting, short-lived insulin, please suggest to your vet that you switch the cat to a much longer lasting insulin. If the vet activates the 'cascade' system, they will be able to prescribe insulins that are normally for human use. A couple of us UKers on here use Bovine Hypurin PZI, that we had to persuade our vets to prescribe. This lasts much longer & will help your cat stabilise. My Milo stabilised very quickly on Hypurin, on a much lower dose than the Caninsulin, and then went into remission.

But, to be honest, whichever insulin you are using, the best thing for you to do would be to learn to hometest. We can help you if you want to?

Where are you based?

Juliet
 
Hi Becky,

As others have said, it is really worth having a go at 'hometesting' (testing your cat's blood glucose at home). It you try it and find that it's not for you then nothing is lost: You're just back to where you are now. But if you try it and find that you can manage it OK then you'll have a truly amazing tool to help you manage your cat's diabetes. ;-)

If you wish, I could send you a blood glucose test kit (free of charge) because I happen to have some spare kits. It would probably be a One Touch Ultra kit, and I'd include a tub of test strips to get you started (you could subsequently buy test strips on Ebay for around half of the RRP). Alternatively, if you don't want to wait for a kit in the post then you could buy a meter such as the Accucheck Aviva which is available from many pharmacies in the UK.

Do let me know if you'd like me to send you a test kit to 'play with' (you can keep it of course!). Just PM me your name and address and I'll send one to you. The only thing I ask of you in return is that you give hometesting a go to see if it could be a useful tool for you.

Best wishes to you,

Elizabeth
 
Check my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for additional assessments you may make to evaluate your cat.

In particular, urine ketone testing is important. You'd use urine ketone test strips from a local pharmacy. Ketones form as a by-product of fat breakdown for calories . Too many ketones may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a potentially fatal, expensive to treat complication of diabetes.
 
As others have said, Caninsulin has a reputation as a bad insulin for cats, but it does still work for some of them. My Toby is pretty well regulated after using it for approximately 8 months, and takes doses between 0.1 and 0.2 nowadays. He doesn't seem to be interested in remission, but he's very much a micro-dose cat.

I haven't updated his spreadsheet in a while because the diabetes is second nature now and we've been concentrating on his new diagnosis; hyperthyroidism. He's lost about a kilo with it, but did lose almost that with the diabetes diagnosis too (which he did manage to put back on).

Best of luck with your kitty :smile:
 
Becky and Toby said:
As others have said, Caninsulin has a reputation as a bad insulin for cats, but it does still work for some of them.
Click to expand...


Yes, indeed. (And thanks so much for saying this, Becky.)

OK, so it's not the easiest insulin to work with.
I've seen numerous cats do just fine on it though, and quite a few of those have gone into remission while on it.

And many folks around the world can only get Caninsulin. (In the UK the situation varies depending on what the vet is willing to prescribe).

Eliz
 
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