Prednisone?

Hi there,

I'm hoping I can ask a few questions of those of you who've given your cats prednisone. My cat, Charlie, went into the vet clinic yesterday for a scope and biopsy. The scope was normal and we're still waiting for biopsy results. In the meantime, though, they've put him on prednisone, in case it's IBD and to help with his appetite. We've given him one pill last night and another this morning. I'm just wondering how quickly the prednisone should kick in if it's going to work and make him eat? He hasn't eaten since coming home, although he has had three bouts of diarrhea. Sigh. He looks pretty pathetic and listless, although I guess that's to be expected after the scope.

If anyone else has been in this position, I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences.

Poor Charliecat. It may take a little bit for the Pred to kick in, but once it does, his appetite will increase.

My cat Mollie Rose takes Prednisone for asthma. I was concerned about her long term use of it, because it can affect her liver. But as my vet told me, Mollie Rose is 15 years old and right now it's all about keeping her comfortable.

Good luck. I'll keep you and Charlicat in my prayers.

I am not familiar with prednisone as being used for an appetite stimulant. Ruffles was on an a. s. for 4 months.

I've seen pred used for pain relief and as a steroid. You don't want to use it long term as it eventually overtires the kidneys and gives you a new problem.

When will you hear re the biopsy?

Prayers for you and for Charlie!

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm hoping his appetite will pick up soon...it's been a month of watching him pick at his food and syringe feeding the little guy. He's so skinny. Apparently the prednisone will help his appetite, and also help if he's got IBD or lymphoma. We get the biopsy results on Tuesday or Wednesday. I just hope we can finally find out what's wrong with our kitty.

Is he drinking water? Can you syringe a bit into him so he doesn't get dehydrated?

Hopefully you will see a change by tonight! :)

Hugs and prayers for sweet Charlie and his family!

As a human being, I can tell you after a couple days on Prednisone, I feel like I am hungry enough to eat the whole world. It effects different people differently, though, and I am sure it might with cats as well. My brother, Lady's Human, loses all appetite when put on Prednisone, and has to be reminded to eat.

My Puddy was put on Prednisone for inflammation and pain relief after surgery. She wasn't on in long, though, but it did increase her appetite.

Jasper's appetite was stimulated after the first dose of pred (when he wasn't eating). It probably varies from cat to cat.

Good luck with Charlie cat.

Funny that this thread was started because I had to take my Creamsicle in for another depo shot yesterday for her skin allergies. Dr. Lee gave me liquid prednisone to start her on in a month. She'll have to take it every other day probably for the rest of her life. He said that w/out testing he can almost positively say that her allergies are related to food and if I were to switch foods, I'd have to feed it to all 7 of my furkids because I free feed, being gone so much. So for now, it's prednisone. I'll keep you posted on how it affects her.

Hi, I just read your post about prednisone. I have a cat named Jimmy who has both asthma and IBD and he was originally on prednisone but for the past few years he has been on prednisilone which is a bit easier on the system for cats but can give the same effects. You can get it in a transdermal form which I used for a few years. It's a cream and you put a tiny bit on the back of a spoon or on the tip of a gloved finger and you smear it inside the earflap. I used to rub it in fairly well because at the time, I had another cat named Charlie who used to groom Jimmy and I was concerned that he might ingest some of it. I've now switched to the tablets though because it's so inexpensive and right now that is important for us. I crush it up in his wet food and he eats it right up.
The pred does increase his appetite and for the short time that I had my other cat Tiger on it, it made him absolutely ravenous! I've got Jimmy on a constant dose of 1/2 a 5mg tablet every other day and it helps control the diarrhea associated with his IBD and helps with his asthma. His stools are always very soft though and I think this is just how it's going to be for him. Despite it all, he is a very frisky and happy guy. Hope your Charlie perks up soon and begins eating and regaining his health. :)