My cat is losing fur again. Are there alternatives to cortisone?

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.

Long acting cortisone shots wear off after 2-3 months, which is why you are seeing a return of Funnyface's itching. Steroids can be used long term, but blood and urine tests are required every six months with quarterly exams. I would speak to your vet about possible long term use of cortisone in Funnyface.

I am sorry to hear about Sushi! I would recommend following up with her veterinarian. I would be concerned she could have allergies to airborne allergens (called atopic dermatitis) which responded to the steroids, but the steroids do not get rid of the allergies, just help relieve the symptoms, so often a pet may need to be put on other medications long term to keep the allergies under control. You can read more about this at https://www.petcoach.co/article/allergies-atopy-in-cats/ . If they do not feel it is atopy, they may recommend additional testing for other skin conditions.

It sounds like Zumba is having a form of allergy. There are different form of steroids that can be prescribe and that can help but definitively this medication is the best to resolve the itch (I would continue with that). I would discuss it with your veterinarian, as long acting injections and minimal oral dosages are available. There is also a nice topical spray available, it's called Cortavance and you can get it at the vets.

No, I don't recommend to start giving him the medication again. It may not be good anymore. Also, long term steroids are not ideal as they can cause problems in the body. There are other methods to address itching. Ideally, you would figure out the underlying cause. The four main causes of itchiness are allergies to fleas, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Comfortis. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. There is a drug called Atopica that is better for allergies. There is also the option of immunotherapy. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the itching should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for pets, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having Tucker wear an elizabethan collar at all times. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

There are no medicine safe for cats over the counter. If the steroid injection helped, then there is a good change it is from an allergy. You will have to talk to your vet about a long term solution such as a diet change or allergy testing to control the signs since long term steroid use can have unwanted side effects such as weight gain and diabetes.

Is it dry skin or scabs? If dry skin you can try adding some fish oil or using a fish based food. You can get the fish oil for animals online. This may or may not help. If it is scabbing then steroids would be the best for this. I am wondering if he had a DepoMedrol injection. This is a long acting steroid that works well with cats when they have scabbing on their skin. You also have to make sure there is no obvious infection going on with Blu's skin. This would require antibiotics. If Blu was a dog there are different shampoos and topical stuff for them but I would not bathe a cat unless absolutely necessary. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.