Glycosuria

[Marje and Gracie]

My 3 year old kitty has 3+ glucose in her urine but her blood sugar is totally normal. She has no symptoms of diabetes at all. The glucose in urine
was found on routine UA. Vet does not believe she has diabetes...has anyone seen glucose in urine when blood glucose levels are normal? We have
done a fructosamine test but results not back yet. We've run three UAs in last three days with same result. Any thoughts/advice are appreciated.

 

[Mary & Stormy Blue]

Glucose can also be found in urine when the kidneys are damaged or diseased.

~M

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Thank you for the response. Her kidney values are all normal and I had her ultrasounded last Friday by a board certified radiologist (vet) who has U/Sd her many times in the past. She said everything looked great...no evidence of any inflammation in kidneys, pancreas, adrenal gland, bladder, etc.

 

[Mary & Stormy Blue]

I am at a loss, then, I can only think of 2 reasons for glucose spillover in the urine - diabetes and kidney disease. Hopefully everything will turn out okay and this was just an anomaly.

~M

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Thank you!! We are starting to believe this is all caused by pred. Her urine glucose levels are coming down..ANtech test on Sat showed 1+ glucose and
I have been diligently testing over weekend with glucotest and also Bayer Clinistix. Last night I got negative on everything. Waiting for her to pee tonight
to check. Continuing to talk to vet and monitor her closely. Her BG was normal Sat but the fructosamine showed it had been higher...we are thinking the
pred caused increased BG over last two weeks, spilled into urine, but now as we get her off pred, things looking more normal...WE HOPE. Thank you again. Hope
your baby is doing well.

 

[Steve & Jock]

If it was indeed the pred, then try to avoid using it in future for this particular kitty. Look for alternative drugs (NSAIDs?) or reduced dosages.

As Dr. Hodgkins used to publish, and Dr. Rand later agreed, anything that raises a cat's blood sugar high enough, for a few days, will suppress insulin production. That turns kitty diabetic, even if she wasn't. So temporary hyperglycemia is a serious risk after a few days.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Thank you, Steve, for your response. We are still monitoring Gracie; it appears the sugar in her urine is decreasing and her BG has
not been high altho her fructosamine was a little high....but not diabetic high. We're continuing to monitor her and hope that this was
a totally temporary and isolated event. Of course, those of you dealing with sugarbabies may laugh at my optimism.

Thanks again!! I may be back with more questions.

Marjorie and Gracie

 

[Mary & Stormy Blue]

Thank you!! We are starting to believe this is all caused by pred. Her urine glucose levels are coming down..ANtech test on Sat showed 1+ glucose and
I have been diligently testing over weekend with glucotest and also Bayer Clinistix. Last night I got negative on everything. Waiting for her to pee tonight
to check. Continuing to talk to vet and monitor her closely. Her BG was normal Sat but the fructosamine showed it had been higher...we are thinking the
pred caused increased BG over last two weeks, spilled into urine, but now as we get her off pred, things looking more normal...WE HOPE. Thank you again. Hope
your baby is doing well.

I know that pred can cause diabetes - both temporarily and permanently. Stormy Blue became a diabetic due to a large injection of pred last Spring. In his case, unfortunately, the damage is permanent, but at least he is diet controlled and does not need insulin at this point, though he did need it for a couple of months post diagnoses last year.

Teddy is doing well, the ribbon passed and caused no damage to anything other than my pocketbook. His kidney values are also holding fine despite having that very abnormally shaped right kidney.

I will keep my fingers crossed that your baby's glucose spillover resolves itself quickly with no lasting issues.

~M

 

[Steve & Jock]

Thank you, Steve, for your response. We are still monitoring Gracie; it appears the sugar in her urine is decreasing and her BG has
not been high altho her fructosamine was a little high....but not diabetic high. We're continuing to monitor her and hope that this was
a totally temporary and isolated event.

If you can keep her off the Pred, it probably will be! But it sounds like Gracie is sensitive to steroids and will very likely become diabetic if the vet uses them too heavily. Just be aware of that and ask the vet to find alternatives next time.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Steve

Thank you again for comments. Yes...as soon as we got the news that she had some glucose in her urine, we started weaning her off the pred
and will be done tomorrow. My goal is for her to not be on it again but I've learned to never say never or else you get into an emergency and
have to change your mind but now that we know she has this problem with it, I'd like for her to not take it again.

Thank you and best wishes.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

I know that pred can cause diabetes - both temporarily and permanently. Stormy Blue became a diabetic due to a large injection of pred last Spring. In his case, unfortunately, the damage is permanent, but at least he is diet controlled and does not need insulin at this point, though he did need it for a couple of months post diagnoses last year.

Teddy is doing well, the ribbon passed and caused no damage to anything other than my pocketbook. His kidney values are also holding fine despite having that very abnormally shaped right kidney.

I will keep my fingers crossed that your baby's glucose spillover resolves itself quickly with no lasting issues.

~M

Mary

Thank you for your post. I am glad Stormy Blue is controlled by diet. It must have been a whopper of an injection. I have read of many cats in this situation who only need insulin for a short time and then it is diet controlled. I will hope that it continues for you that way and he continues to do well.

Glad your other kitty, Teddy, is doing well. I also had this happen once with a kitty but the ribbon cut his layrnx (just a little) but enough that he had to have an emergency endoscopy so they could see what was going on and then he had to have a steroid injection. In his case, he had no problem with the steroid and he was back to normal in 24 hours. The ribbon was no more than 1" long. Also hope your Teddy's kidneys stay stable.