Alternative to Prednisolone

[ChaoticEva]

Hey guys,

My cat Sassy-Minoue, who is almost 16 has quite a few health issues (kidney failure grade 2/4, neurological issues, heart murmur grade 3 to 5/6 depending on the day it seems, breathing issues, high blood pressure, allergies which make her very itchy at time and I'm sure I'm missing something!) She is currently on Prednisolone, Amlodipine, Gabapentin and Cyproheptadine. She gets fluids every week and gets an injection of Cartrophen for her joint issues every month. She is currently doing ok (last vet visit was December 21st and my vet was impressed on how well she was doing). But I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with a different medication, besides the pred? One that won't damage her heart? As she is on pred pretty much long term, as we have tried SO many allergy diets and she hates them all. So right now she's eating a mixture of Royal Canin Renal P, Royal Canin Multi Urinary + Calm as well as D/D. She is also LOVING the Royal Canin Senior wet food and the Purina Essential Care Senior wet food. She has finally gained weight, after losing almost a pound when she didn't want nothing to do with the allergy diets.
Now back to the pred. She is currently on 1/2 of a 5mg tablet night time and every other day I give her 1/2 day and night. She is currently quite itchy, so I'm not sure what to do I want to try giving her 1/4 day and night to see if that makes somewhat of a difference while still giving her less pred.

 

[Sonatine]

You probably know this, but definitely talk to your vet before you change her steroid dose. If she's been on it long term, she may need careful weaning to avoid serious endocrine disruption.

I'm not a vet; most of my knowledge of drugs comes from their usage in humans. Are her allergies food based, or environmental? I'd guess food based if you were giving her low allergen foods, but it doesn't hurt to clarify. Do you have any idea what ingredient it is she's reacting to? If you could isolate that, you might be able to help relieve her itching without resorting to those allergy diets she didn't like. Of course, isolating the thing that's aggravating her might not be easy given her other health conditions and finicky eating.

As for other drugs... one possibility, depending on how large an area on her body is itchy, would be topical steroids. They can provide itch relief with a much milder side effect profile than oral steroids, since absorption through the skin is not as significant as in the gut.

Cyclosporine is another option, and it isn't a steroid at all. There's a form of it that can be used in cats, though I don't know how expensive it is. It can be hard on the kidneys though, which might make it inappropriate for your cat.

This is a tough one. I wish I could help more. And once more, I'm not a vet. Discuss these options with your vet if any of them seem like they might be helpful!