Dear Pam:
 
>The less good news is that she developed a yeast/bacterial bladder
>infection, probably from all the urine sugar, and is on meds for that.
>She was having painful urination and acted pretty "blah"...
 
Yes, you are correct - many of te common bacteria that cause urinary tract
infection utilize glucose as food.  So if the urine has a lot of sugar in
it - it predisposes the ferret to urinary tract infections - E.coli, the
most common bacteria that causes UTI's in ferrets (and the most common
bacteria in the feces) is a glucose fermenter.
 
Not to mention the high dose of prednisone that she was on.  In bacterial
urinary tract infections, neutrophils are the most important part of the
bodie's respone.  Prednisone not only prevents them from accumulating at
the point of infection, but when they do, it also inhibits them from
releasing their bacteria-killing enzymes.
 
The retreat from prednisone will likely reverse itself, and these important
WBC's will do their job.  Thbe important point is that she has been on ORAL
prednisone, rather than the more long-lasting INJECTABLE forms.  Remember -
the shots are much longer lasting, and once in, cannot be removed.
 
Prednisone given orally is not dangerous to ferrets - it is a common
misconception that oral pred given at a correct dosage is dangerous.  But
I do stay away from the injectable depot forms in ferrets - you never know,
as in your case, when you'll need to stop quickly.
 
I'm glad that her glucose has come down - now all you have to do is get her
back on her food (and I know you can....)
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3278]