My cat has allergies and bites his leg. Can I give Depo Medrol myself?

Poor Maggie. I think there has been a misunderstanding. They probably gave 20mg (milligrams) which is equal to either 0.5mL (milliliters) or 1.0mL of depo-medrol depending on the concentration your vet carries. The general dose that most vets use is 20mg depomedrol per cat every 8 weeks as needed. I seriously doubt anyone would give 20mL of this drug. Also, it could be wearing off quicker if there are more allergens causing her skin to act up. With it being the changing of the seasons, this very well could be the issue. Also make sure she is on a high quality flea preventative. One flea bite can cause a major allergic reactions in cats with her problem. If she needs another depomedrol shot, I would talk to your vet and see if they would be willing to repeat the injection as early as 6-8 weeks during high allergy season. You could also start giving her benadryl twice a day. See link below. I hope this helps! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/cat/benadryl/#!

Thanks for the additional information! Depo-Medrol is a long-acting steroid that is often used as a symptomatic treatment for itchy skin problems in cats - if Taira has allergies or some other type of chronic skin issue, the Depo-Medrol will not cure the problem, but only relieve her symptoms for a few weeks. If the itching recurs once the steroid wears off (usually 4-6 weeks in cats), you may want to talk with your vet about options for diagnosing the skin problem and getting her started on a better long-term treatment plan. Based on these lab results, I do not see any reason for the liver supplement - I would suggest giving your vet a call to clarify this since you have some concerns about it. He/she should be able to explain why it was prescribed.

Steroids can be indicating is allergic dermatitis but have extreme side effects when used at high doses or long term. I would not recommend this as a long term course. Any steroid over time leads to a resistance where it just won't work anymore and can lead to liver problems and diabetes in cats. Prednisolone is better tolerated and seems to work better in generally in cats compared to dexamethasone. There is a medicine called Atopica or Apoquel that is made for allergic skin disease and does what the steroids do just without the side effects and resistance, so you may be better trying one of those instead. All are prescription medicines so you will have to call your vet to see if they can fill this since they already have a medical report on her. I would stay on the hypoallergenic diet as this can take 2-3 months for max affect and treats count as far as food allergy go, so make sure those are hypoallergenic or don't give any. I would consider a treatment for mange and fleas also. It is not common in cats but causes them to be itchy and it is hard to prove and super easy to just treat to be safe.

If the depo medrol works, then this is likely feline asthma. Unfortunately the treatment for that is generally a gluco-corticoid, but usually as an inhaler (with fluticasone) and a broncho-dilating medication to open the airways and facilitate breathing.. There have been various treatments with other anti-asthma medications such as zaphirlucast and montelucast, however they are not licensed for cats. Here is some really good relevant information: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_information/Asthma.cfm

I wonder if the dosing they have may have been different. There is a large dosing range for Depomedrol. It is also possible that his disease is becoming worse and that the injection may not work as well as it used to. I tend to use oral dexamethasone tablets for my asthmatic cats, I like to be able to increase or decrease the dose based on how the kitty is doing. I hope this helps! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

There is an injection called depo medrol, i personally do not recommend it as potential side effects can be very serious. the better option in my opinion are tablets, prednisolone tablets for cats are very small and easily hidden in gravy or wet food. most cats eat the wet food and never even suspect there is a tablet inside. it's not a big deal if you are 1-2 hours late.

Poor Baby! I would talk to your vet about whether a long acting steroid like depo-medrol may be beneficial as long as he is healthy enough and they don't think it will cause it to get worse. I would also make sure he is staying on a monthly high quality flea preventative as this can be a major cause for allergies in cats. Another option would be to ask for a referral to see a dermatologist or to find a alternative vet to discuss acupuncture or herbs as an option. I hope this helps and he starts to feel better really soon!