Vet refusing cat's prednisolone refill without exam. What can I do?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Sidney. You can call other veterinarians in your area to see if they will write him a prescription. You may find someone willing to do it, but the majority of veterinarians will require an examination on the patient by their hospital in the past year. Another option is to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian for a date in the future. In this case, she may be able to provide you with a prescription for the food for a month or so until your appointment. I hope this information helps!

Oh no, poor Lt! No, I would not use this prednisone since it expired a year ago. It's not safe to use and won't be effective. He should see another vet for this since your vet is out of town, and I would see if you can borrow money from family and friends to afford a vet. I can also give you some resources that may help you afford one. You can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. Best Friends also has a list of resources that offer financial assistance on their website. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com http://bestfriends.org/resources/financial-aid-pets http://lessonsfromaparalyzeddog.com/when-pet-owners-cant-afford-veterinary-bills/ The Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization that provides financial assistance to cat and kitten guardians who are unable to afford veterinary services to save their companions when life-threatening illness or injury strikes.
 God's Creatures Ministry helps pay for veterinarian bills for those who need help.
 The Onyx & Breezy Foundation has many programs including helping people with medical bills. They are a good resource for information.
 Brown Dog Foundation provides funding to families with a sick pet that would likely respond to treatment, but due to circumstances, there is not enough money immediately available to pay. IMOM is dedicated to insure that no companion animal has to be euthanized simply because their caretaker is financially challenged. Check out these resources and I hope one of them helps you afford a vet for Lt!

Yes, veterinarians can refuse to refill prescriptions. I realize that this can be frustrating, but some medications can have side effects or cause organ damage, requiring regular monitoring, often in the form of blood tests. Epiphen (phenobarbital), for example, can greatly impact the liver and the levels of medication within the bloodstream must be monitored to assure that the medication stays at a safe and effective therapeutic level. In the US, we also must have examined a pet within the past 12 months in order to legally prescribe any medication - including some flea and tick preventions. I don't know what regulations may exist in the UK. It may be worth another call to your vet to determine the reasons behind the refusal to refill the medication. I hope this helps to clarify the situation and that everything gets worked out for Buckley!

If you live near a Petco that has a full service hospital then yes, you could talk to the vet about refilling your cat’s prescription. If your Petco has a Vetco vaccine clinic then the vet performs vaccines and routine preventative care only and would not be able to authorize refills. Based on the zip code you provided it doesn’t look like there is a full service hospital near you: https://stores.petco.com/vet-services?q=Rothschild,%20WI,%20USA

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.

Unfortunately, we are legally prohibited from telling you to medicate your cat in the absence of a physical exam. It may be that the Pred may help, but there is the possibility that the symptoms are not related to a prior diagnosis/condition. Having Lincoln rechecked by your veterinarian would be the safest course of action. At the very least, contact your veterinarian and discuss the symptoms.

Unfortunately no. There must be some reason they aren't supplying it. Either an exam or labs are due. If that is up to date, and you have a good client/veterinarian relationship, they should give it to you if you ask.