Q: My 12-yr-old, domestic shorthair, male cat was diagnosed on March 16 with diabetes mellitus. My vet put him on two units of Humulin N twice daily. I am also testing at home with a glucometer, and I also purchased Keto-Diastix to test for ketones in his urine.
Do you know of any studies or data that has been compiled about the use of Humulin N for the treatment of diabetes in cats?
I became a member of a wonderful message board //www.felinediabetes.com// for owners of diabetic cats. This board gives support and advice to people who are dealing with the difficult task of treating and hopefully regulating their cat’s diabetes. I log on almost every day, and post glucometer readings for feedback from other members, ask questions about any concerns I might have, etc.
A: You sound like a conscientious and dedicated cat owner. Cats respond to a variety of different insulin types. For years, I regulated cats using another product, Humulin L. I had very good success with this product, however, it was taken off the market.
Humulin N has remained available, and I (as well as many of my colleagues) have not been as successful in achieving tight control of diabetes using Humulin N. In my experience, Humulin N is metabolized too rapidly in cats, decreasing the effect. I’ve been having better success using a different product, called PZI insulin. There’s another product that’s fairly new, called insulin glargine (Lantus), that has been shown to be fairly successful in treating newly diagnosed diabetic cats, sometimes regulating them on a once-daily dose.
I have seen a few cats that have been regulated well on Humulin N. Discuss your concerns with your veterinarian, and if after a while you feel that the Humulin N is not giving your cat adequate control—the clinical signs have not resolved and the blood sugar levels remain unacceptably high—consider switching to a different type of insulin.
Regards,
Arnold Plotnick, DVM