Is a steroid injection safe for my cat with a grade 3 heart murmur?

I do not recommend giving any pets any human medications without specific instructions from your vet. Steroids have to be given carefully in order to obtain the correct therapeutic effect and they must be weaned off it when finishing a course. This is a discussion best handled by your veterinarian.

Steroids, especially by injection, can cause severe side effects in cats, it can affect the gastrointestinal system and even cause diabetes and heart disease in severe cases. you should take Sibby back to the vet ASAP in order to get it checked and treated.

I'm so sorry you lost Coco. Please accept my condolences for your loss. Typically steroids do not cause heart failure, so I don't expect giving her steroids would have brought on the final stages. I suspect she was quite sick already. I'm sorry.

There are different types of steroid shots. Long term use or high doses can affect their liver or kidneys. There has been studies that some forms can bring on a form of heart failure if already underlying with it. The do make asthma inhalers for cats that may be easier to give. If she is not eating I would have her rechecked to have blood work done and see what else is going on

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

Poor Kitty! Since she is already 17 years old and she is having such a tough time with her inflammation in her GI tract, I think steroids will be the best choice for her. If her blood work looks okay now, then I think she can tolerate the steroids. Unfortunately, if you don't put her on steroids the lymphoma or IBD may continue to get worse. It is true the steroids will not CURE lymphoma, but it certainly give her a better quality of life right now. It could keep the IBD under control and eventually you may be able to decrease her steroid dose to a lower dose. The concerns of long term steroids are much lower since she is already geriatric. If she was 4 or 7 years old, then I would be much more worried with starting her on long term steroids at that time. At the age of 17, our goal is to give Kitty are good quality of life. If you want more options about the lymphoma and interested in seeing an oncologist, I would ask your vet for a referral for a oncology consult. I hope this helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Milo. A fatty acid supplement should not interfere with his steroids. However, I recomend asking his veterinarian if it is a good idea based on the specifics of Milo's case. I hope this information helps!