My 17-year-old cat is declining after a steroid shot. Is this normal?

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Abby. Since I don't know more about this case and why a steroid shot was given, I would advise calling your veterinarian and letting them know what is going on. Steroids usually increase a pet's appetite but in Abby's case, it hasn't, at least not yet. Your vet will most likely want to see Abby for a recheck and reassess what is going on. There are many reasons for anorexia including fever, pain/discomfort, periodontal disease, internal organ disease, etc. Your vet may need to do a minimum database including fecal/blood/urine tests and imaging studies (x-rays/ultrasound). Once a cause is discovered a treatment plan can be put into place to address the anorexia. It is possible you may have to force feed Abby until she starts eating again. Your veterinarian should have some canned diets that can be fed by syringe. Good luck

It's very likely she is having a bad reaction to the steroids that affects her breathing negatively, you need to give it a little more time, within 24-48 hours you should start seeing an improvement.

Poor Kitty! Since she is already 17 years old and she is having such a tough time with her inflammation in her GI tract, I think steroids will be the best choice for her. If her blood work looks okay now, then I think she can tolerate the steroids. Unfortunately, if you don't put her on steroids the lymphoma or IBD may continue to get worse. It is true the steroids will not CURE lymphoma, but it certainly give her a better quality of life right now. It could keep the IBD under control and eventually you may be able to decrease her steroid dose to a lower dose. The concerns of long term steroids are much lower since she is already geriatric. If she was 4 or 7 years old, then I would be much more worried with starting her on long term steroids at that time. At the age of 17, our goal is to give Kitty are good quality of life. If you want more options about the lymphoma and interested in seeing an oncologist, I would ask your vet for a referral for a oncology consult. I hope this helps!

Steroids, especially by injection, can cause severe side effects in cats, it can affect the gastrointestinal system and even cause diabetes and heart disease in severe cases. you should take Sibby back to the vet ASAP in order to get it checked and treated.

Hello, thank you for your question about Mitchell. Prednisone is a steroid medication and can cause a variety of side effects depending on the individual patient, so it is possible that the lethargy you are seeing could be secondary to this. It is also possible that Mitchell is experiencing mild exercise intolerance secondary to his asthma. I would recommend continuing to monitor Mitchell for the next 24 hours. If these symptoms continue or you notice any other concerning signs I would recommend having Mitchell seen by your veterinarian so that they can perform an examination and discuss the need for additional diagnostics. Hope this helps, good luck!

Poor Sansa! It is possible these clinical signs are related to the injections. Steroids can make pets have many side effects and upset stomach is one of them. The antibiotic is typically better tolerated but it can also make pets have a upset stomach as well. It’s also possible this is coincidental. I recommend to call the veterinarian and alert them as to what you were seeing. They may ask to see Sansa to check her for a fever or other evidence of illness. Make sure Sansa eats and drinks today. You may try offering her some palatable canned cat food with some extra water added. If she continues to be a lethargic or not eating or drinking for 24 hours, she should be seen by the veterinarian as dehydration can settle in quickly. I hope she starts feeling better quickly and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Cats are normally very resistant to the side effects of Prednisone, so the signs you are describing are very usual to see in cats. Was Elliot started on any other medications that may be causing these symptoms? I would definitely discuss any changes in his Prednisone dosing with his veterinarian. Sometimes we can get away with lower doses, but need to decrease the amounts carefully. We normally do not recommend decreasing the amount by more than 50% at a time, so decreasing from 1 mL twice daily to 0.5 mL once daily would be decreasing the dose by four times, which might be too extreme for Elliot (even after only 6 days on the steroid). The good news is that we do not tend to see heart problems with oral steroids (only injectible steroids), so you do not need to worry about heart problems with oral steroids. I hope that answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.