Did stopping my cat's prednisolone cause hind leg paralysis?

Monti have had a saddle thrombus which is a blood clot that cuts off circulation to the hind limbs and is usually very painful and not curable, even with heroics at an emergency veterinary hospital. Another possibility is trauma to the spine which is also usually not curable if the hind limbs are not moving/cold. I recommend bringing her to your veterinarian for an assessment and a discussion re: endpoints for humane euthanasia.

If he was on 12mg of prednisolone for 10 days straight and then it was suddenly stopped, then yes that could be part of the problem, but its also possible that he is still ill from the original disease. I would strongly recommend that you take to your veterinarian; it would be useful to recheck a physical exam and some blood tests. They may recommend running a baseline cortisol to ensure that stopping the pred is not the cause of current symptoms. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

First off, I'm so sorry that your cat died! There is something that could cause a cat to go from playing to paralyzed. It's called a saddle thrombus. This is when the heart throws a blood clot, and prevents blood flow to the hind limbs. The cat will become suddenly paralyzed and be in extreme pain. Without seeing Wolfy in person, I can't say for certain, but I can recommend you request a necropsy (an autopsy for cats) be done on his body. That way, you may have some answers. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your cat. I am sorry to hear about the recent problems you are noticing. Spondylosis is arthritis in the spine. It can limit mobility, but does not typically cause as severe of symptoms as you have described. Intervertebral disc disease is a common cause of hind end weakness or paralysis. It can be extremely painful and would be another differential for the symptoms you have described. I hope this information helps!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm very sorry to hear that Alfie's back legs stopped working acutely. This is really concerning, and I would have him evaluated by a veterinarian right away. This could be due to some sort of trauma/injury, like to his back/spine. It could also be a neurologic problem. It is also possible for cats to get something called an aortic thromboembolism (ATE), which means a blood clot gets lodged in their aorta (the body's major artery) right where the vessels to the hind legs branch off. This is also called a saddle thrombus, and results in acute loss of blood supply to the hind legs, which is extremely painful. Regardless of why Alfie has stopped using his hind legs, I recommend having him examined by a veterinarian as soon as possible. Your veterinarian can try to localize the issue and decide what treatment is best. I hope this is helpful!

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.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Marsel. Small breed dogs are prone to condition known as intervertebral disc disease which can result in weakness or paralysis. I would discuss this possibility with his veterinarian. I hope this information helps!