Prednisolone for viral infection?

[silent meowlook]

As the study I shared indicated, there is reason to believe that it can be beneficial with viruses, in that particular case, specifically FIV.

I truly don't think most vets use steroids 'without knowing why'. It may be done without knowing if it will work, but they're doing so based on evidence/history/research - and studies such as the one mentioned above, in the hopes there will be a benefit.

As vets, they are all better educated in their field than either you or me - and to that point, I will give them credit for employing that knowledge in ways we won't always necessarily understand/appreciate. That is why I encourage folks to ask as many questions as is needed to help them understand their vet's perspective/reasoning. None of us on this site are qualified to interpret that aspect on behalf of any vet.

This cat tested negative for FIV.

 

[clary7]

Hey I just want to jump in with an update. So the night I made this post, I said I wasnt gonna give my cat any of the steroids but I talked to my sister, who isn't a medical professional but due to the nature of her job she is pretty well educated in the medical space, and she convinced me that it wouldn't hurt to give him just a little bit and see how he reacts to it at least, just in case it truly would help him significantly. So that night (wednesday) I gave him half of a dose, since he was still as lethargic as he was on monday and I was still very worried (the reason I did half a dose was because my mom, who had been prescribed steroids for covid, only used 1/4 dose and she said that was enough for her to feel better. So I decided to use a lower dose for my cat rather than the full one). The next day (thursday) he seemed to be just slightly better. But I honestly don't know whether that was because more time had passed or because the steroids helped. I haven't given him any more since then and every day he is getting just a teeny bit better. Yesterday (friday) he became more alert to his surroundings, walked around a bit, and starting making biscuits on his cat bed. He even tried to stalk a bug/lizard (I couldn't see what it was) and he was more energetic during meal times. He is still not feeling good after eating but overall I can tell he is very very slowly starting to feel better. Today is saturday morning and I can see that his energy is slowly returning even more. So it's a very slow recovery from whatever is bothering him, but I can tell he is starting to feel better. But once again, I don't know if the small dose of steroids I gave him helped him or not. It seems like time is what he needs, so I have no clue what impact that one dose had on him.

 

[FeebysOwner]

The single small dose of steroids could have helped, but tbh, there is no way to know that for sure, unless his progress slows down, stops, or reverses. I hope he continues to improve one way or the other!

 

[clary7]

Just want to give one more, probably final update. I didn't see any further improvements for a few days so I gave him one more half dose and after a few more days, now he seems to be almost 100% better. I think that perhaps the steroids did help him feel a little bit better, but he definitely did not need an entire course of them to get better. Im very glad I was a bit skeptical in this situation and was careful with the medication, but I'm also glad I did use a little bit of it. I think it was just the right amount for him to feel better, but not so much it was unnecessary to his situation. The vet gave me a total of 5ml of prednisolone to be used over 2 weeks but I only ended up using 1ml total. Just wanted to share an update in case anyone was curious or somebody comes across this thread and finds this helpful.

 

[fionasmom]

Thank you so much for letting us know. Members do read these threads and wonder about conclusions. Glad that you have finally seen some improvement.