Why does my cat's urine smell strong on Prednisone and drinking a lot?

Yes this is normal. Most urinary tract "infections" in non-geriatric cats are not caused by bacteria (antibiotics kill bacteria) but inflammation caused by stress. This is called Feline Idiopathic Cystitis. So Prednisone does two things: It takes the inflammation whch in turn takes the pain, and it is also a diuretic which helps flush the bladder. Male cats also seldom have a bacterial cystitis as the urethra is much longer than a female's urethra and therefore bacteria would have to travel much farther to get into the bladder.

I'm so sorry to hear that Sadie is not doing well. Cats very rarely develop the side effects of increases in thirst and urination that dogs and people do while they are taking Prednisone, so I would be suspicious of another problem going on. I would recommend having your veterinarian check urine and blood samples on Sadie to evaluate for another problem before considering stopping Prednisone. Hopefully your veterinarian is able to find a solution to the problem! Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Typically, Prednisone does not cause the urine to become sweet smelling. I would recommend having Earl's urine tested to see if there are any abnormalities that need to be addressed. High levels of glucose in the urine can give off a sweet odor sometimes. It would be best to have his urine tested so that treatment can be initiated early on before the potential problem becomes worse. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I am very sorry to hear about your kitty! We do sometimes resort to steroids in cases where quality of life is suffering but try to avoid when possible. I would ask your vet about starting a glucosamine chondroutin joint supplement and starting Adequan injections. These can help many of these cases be more comfortable with no ill effects.

Steroids interfere with antiduretic hormone which normally is responsible for resorbing water in the kidneys. Thus more water is lost in the urine making it much more dilute. This is likely why you are getting low readings for usg. If you are still concerned you could have your vet run an SDMA check on blood for early signs of kidney problems

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.

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!