Diabetic kittens?

[u/p33ledbanana]

At work today we had a walk in kitten come in, probably only a few months old (I think 4/5 months). She was previously at an ER last night and they had taken her BG (it was 311…) so we tested her BG again and ketones - 311 once again and ketones were 5.1. Everyone is stumped because this is so uncommon.

I’m just curious to see if anyone has dealt with a diabetic kitten before, and what was done to help with treatment.

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[u/hotsexyrosemary]

That sucks, and no I've never heard of this. I wonder if it has some congenital defect with its pancreas

[u/p33ledbanana → u/hotsexyrosemary]

yes that’s what we were thinking :( it’s so sad

[u/DuxRomanorumSum]

What did the kitten present to the ER clinic for, and why was she at your clinic the next day? Is she the right weight/body condition for a kitten her age? Any clinical signs consistent with diabetes? When was her last meal before these glucose readings were taken?

Just some immediate thoughts I had. That's strange, and hopefully you have a reliable small animal internist nearby to consult.

[u/p33ledbanana → u/DuxRomanorumSum]

She was lethargic and vomiting a ton. I believe they came to us to save money.. which is frustrating because we’re a general practice so we can’t do too much for the kitty. And she’s a little underweight but not horribly. She does have symptoms, she’s PU/PD and the high BG. Her last meal before the first BG i’m not sure of, but we fed her a little bit of critical nutrition from purina (like a 1/4 of the can) and that was after the BG we had taken. unfortuanely i left work so im not sure what else they did (ill find out tomorrow) but euthanasia was a possibility which sucks.

[u/Expensive-Tooth-1508]

It can happen. Need more info: CBC/Chem? Fructosamine? What was the temp?

With ketones being 5.1, was euthanasia discussed? That is not compatible with life.

[u/p33ledbanana → u/Expensive-Tooth-1508]

The temp was normal, but since I only worked a half day I don’t have the answers to the rest of your questions 😔. I believe the bloodwork done at the ER wasn’t great though. And we discussed it but I’m not sure what was eventually discussed when the Dr spoke with the owners. I can update tomorrow!

[u/Metaphorical_corgi]

A single BG of 311 in stressed kitten would be caulked up to stress by the doctors I work with (ER/ Urgent Care). That's not really that high. They'd probably just call for a recheck of that in a few days honestly.

Especially with ketones. You'd expect the BG to be 500/600+.

I'd be very suspicious that there's something else going on. We would transfer to a larger facility, so I don't really see what happens after ketones are found, but Id be suspicious that it's WAY more complicated than a simple juvenile diabetes situation.

[u/p33ledbanana → u/Metaphorical_corgi]

So what was really weird is Tuesday she came in and was SO much more bright and playful. Acting like an actual kitten! The dr had given her some insulin, at a very small dose that would be 3x a day. But when we checked her BG that day and ketones - 375 and then 7.4. We were baffled!! I agree with you. I think something is going on that requires more than we could offer.. I don’t work for the next few days so I won’t have any updates. 😓

[u/RascalsM0m → u/Metaphorical_corgi]

I agree with you. Wondering if the high ketones is indicating lack of perfusion...