Vetsulin Is Back On The Market
Merck Animal Health has announced that vetsulin is back on the market. Vetsulin is the only FDA approved insulin for use in cats and dogs. While we believe that with proper nutrition a dog or cat should in most cases never become diabetic, if diabetes is diagnosed then it needs to be properly managed while the animal is brought into remission. And keeping the disease under control is paramount to survival.
Here’s a link to the full press release:-
“Vetsulin plays an important role in successfully managing diabetes in both dogs and cats.
“We are pleased that Vetsulin is again available in the U.S. market; offering our customers the same product benefits that veterinarians worldwide have relied on for the past 20 years,” said Christopher Pappas, D.V.M., Director, Technical Services, Merck Animal Health.
“At Merck Animal Health, we are committed to providing our full support to veterinarians as they manage the health of dogs and cats living with diabetes.”
While only 50 percent of dogs used to survive the first 60 days following a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, today, dogs receiving the proper treatment have the same expected lifespan as a non-diabetic dog of the same age and gender. 3 With effective treatment, lifestyle changes and monitoring, a diabetic cat also can have the same expected life span as a non-diabetic cat of the same age.
Getting the disease under control is paramount to survival. In a study of dogs treated with Vetsulin, adequate glycemic control was achieved in an average of 81 percent of dogs, 4 and in a pivotal U.S. study of diabetic cats, Vetsulin reduced all major diabetes indicators to within normal range by day 60 of treatment.5,6
Merck Animal Health is committed to supporting veterinarians in the ongoing treatment of their patients, including making diabetes professionals available to answer questions. An in-depth website (http://www.vetsulin.com) provides tools for both veterinarians and pet owners to make monitoring blood glucose levels easier. A wide variety of pet owner educational materials also can be found on the website, including downloadable guides from step-by-step instructions for giving an insulin injection to a management monitoring sheet to keep track of a pet’s progress.”
Vetsulin should not be given to cats or dogs with an allergy to pork products and ofcourse overdosing can cause hypoglycemia and lead to death. Which is why it is important to regularly test your animals blood sugar at home to ensure that the correct dosage of insulin is being administered. Even though vetsulin is back on the market, we would be inteested to hear of other insulins specifically designed for cats and dogs..
