Is my cat's prednisolone dosage for pancreatitis safe and typical?

You have a very valid question. Here is the problem, your kitty does not have a diagnosis for why the cell counts were low. This makes it difficult to know how to taper meds like pred nor how long to provide treatment. Has your kitty been tested for feline leukemia/FIV? Was there any additonal testing done other than a CBC? It really would be important for you to discuss your concerns with your family vet who should be open to a discussion about a med that can have long term side effects. We typically do slowly taper drugs like pred for several reasons and your vet will be able to tell you why he or she picked that particular tapering schedule. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello. This is a reasonable thing to do, but please discuss this with your veterinarian first. Your vet has all the particulars on your cat's condition, so for me just to say its OK to start cutting back on a medication without having any information on why the medication was started in the first place would not be right & may be harmful to your pet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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.

5 mg is within the dose range for prednisone use in cats. It is typically given on a tapering (decreasing) dose. You may see increased thirst and urination, increased appetite or even panting. These side effects will resolve once the medication is finished.

Given her age, steroid side effects from long term use tend to become less of a risk if the benefits are clearly improving her quality of life. Depending on the nature of the growth, low level chemotherapy medications may provide an opportunity to halt growth or even reduce the mass but this would require assessment by a specialist

Yes she should. Low fat diet ideally should be provided as a regular diet. I would strongly suggest to have her checked by your veterinarian as well as chronic administration of steroids could be potentially the cause of persistent vomiting. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding CJ. The amount of the drug you are giving depends on the concentration. You need to know how many milligrams of prednisone are in each milliliter you are giving. Furthermore, it depends on if he was prescribed an anti-inflammatory dose or an immunosuppressive dose of the medication. This is dependent on the condition being treated. Finally, cats should be given prednisolone. They metabolize it more effectively than prednisone. I am sorry that this dose answer your question, it more information is needed. I recommend contacting the prescribing veterinarian for more details. Thanks!