Hello.
So, the saga of my poor IBD cat Teddy continues. A few weeks ago, he took a turn for the worse and I was rapidly losing hope. He'd lost 2+ pounds, was extremely lethargic, his persistent diarrhea was even worse - and he wasn't always making it to the litterbox, and then... he vomited blood. We did another dietary change (to w/d), but to no avail.
After much discussion with the vet, he started prednisolone last week. He didn't start improving until Tuesday - but the change is remarkable. Where he would sleep for all but a little time during the day (I know, cats love to sleep... but this wasn't normal Teddy behavior), and where he was hiding in the closet - now he is out and active, greeting me in bed in the morning, running around, and acting more normal than he has in weeks.
The vet has him on a high dose right now (10mg/day), coupled with amoxicillin which he finishes tonight. Next week, he'll move to 5 mg/day, then 2.5/day, then 2.5 every other day. The vet thinks he might require a daily maintenance dose, and that he might not make it to the every-other-day stage.
I don't like having Teddy on pills like this, but so far, it is the only thing that has lessened his diarrhea (his stool still isn't quite solid or formed, but it's no longer explosive liquid - gross, I know, but it tells you how far he's come) and helped him to act normal. He's nearly 9.5 years old, and has had a very rough time these last 2 years. I'm willing to do anything to help him feel better, and if this is it, I'll keep doing it.
So now to the question - have any of you had your cat on long term prednisolone? Have you had any problems with it? Or good success? I know every cat is different, and treatments seem to stop working for Teddy rather quickly, so I'm only cautiously optimistic at this point. As a hormone biochemist, I'm very familiar with the pros and cons in humans... but not cats.
Thanks.
So, the saga of my poor IBD cat Teddy continues. A few weeks ago, he took a turn for the worse and I was rapidly losing hope. He'd lost 2+ pounds, was extremely lethargic, his persistent diarrhea was even worse - and he wasn't always making it to the litterbox, and then... he vomited blood. We did another dietary change (to w/d), but to no avail.
After much discussion with the vet, he started prednisolone last week. He didn't start improving until Tuesday - but the change is remarkable. Where he would sleep for all but a little time during the day (I know, cats love to sleep... but this wasn't normal Teddy behavior), and where he was hiding in the closet - now he is out and active, greeting me in bed in the morning, running around, and acting more normal than he has in weeks.
The vet has him on a high dose right now (10mg/day), coupled with amoxicillin which he finishes tonight. Next week, he'll move to 5 mg/day, then 2.5/day, then 2.5 every other day. The vet thinks he might require a daily maintenance dose, and that he might not make it to the every-other-day stage.
I don't like having Teddy on pills like this, but so far, it is the only thing that has lessened his diarrhea (his stool still isn't quite solid or formed, but it's no longer explosive liquid - gross, I know, but it tells you how far he's come) and helped him to act normal. He's nearly 9.5 years old, and has had a very rough time these last 2 years. I'm willing to do anything to help him feel better, and if this is it, I'll keep doing it.
So now to the question - have any of you had your cat on long term prednisolone? Have you had any problems with it? Or good success? I know every cat is different, and treatments seem to stop working for Teddy rather quickly, so I'm only cautiously optimistic at this point. As a hormone biochemist, I'm very familiar with the pros and cons in humans... but not cats.
Thanks.