Ketone Body Excretion in the Cat: Sex Differ- Ence, and Influence of Diet, Fasting, Castra- Tion, and Male Hormone Administration*

Deuel and coworkers (l-3) have recently reported that a sex difference in the urinary excretion of ketone bodies, not manifested under normal conditions, may be demonstrated in human beings by fasting, and in rats and guinea pigs by the administration of sodium or ethyl acetoacetate. In these cases the females showed a greater tendency to ketosis than the males. Emerson (4) found that greater ketonuria develops in female rats than in males on exposure to ether anesthesia. We have had occasion to observe a very different sex difference in another species, the cat, which will be described in this paper.