Prolonged use of Prednisone in Cats Vet Help Please

I'll try to keep this brief. Einstein is a 15 lb 2.5 year old ginger
kitty. Approximately 4 months ago I noticed that his resp rate was
around 60-80/minute. I immediately took him to the vet. The first
vet, said it was probably asthma and we should to x-rays. They did
and she said that he was in the early stages and it we did not need
to treat him. I thought this was odd and I took him for an
appointment with one of the top feline vets in the city. She did a
tracheal wash and came back with the diagnosis that he has severe
allergies and would require a regiment of medication. He is
currently on Theodor and Prednisone. He has been on a half a pill of
pred and 1/2 of Theodor for approximately 5 months now. His Resp rate is now down between 28 -32.

I have been hearing horror stories about the prolonged use of
prednisone in cats. I am hoping that some body on this board can
enlighten me. I have been doing some research only to find that they
do say at times it may take months for a condition to be
under 'control' before the cat is cut back to every other day. I
hope someone can help to clarify this.

Regards,

Kristin and Einstein

I'm afraid I can't help you with the answers to Prednisone for your kitty, as I'm a dog person myself.

One question does ring out in my mind, however. Do you know what your cat is allergic to? In order to stop using the Prednisone, it would help to rid the home of what's causing the allergy in the first place. Perhaps your cat specific vet can perform an allergy test?

I was in the same situation with a cat of mine. When he was 9, he developed severe allergies of unknown origin. NOTHING helped and he deteriorated to the point where euthanasia was the only humane option.

As a last resort, my vet prescribed prednisone. The terrible lesions and other allergy symptoms cleared up in 24 hours.

However, the prednisone killed my cat in the end but he had two good years after he started taking it. I opted for quality of life rather than quantity.

Prednisone can cause loss of muscle mass, thinning of the skin, ulcers and infection, and damage to internal organs. Also, with prolonged use, pets develop a physical dependancy on the drug and can no longer produce their own cortisol, which is why it's vital to never stop giving the drug suddenly, but to slowly taper off.

Since your cat is so young, I urge you to try and find other methods to control his allergies. What is he eating?Have you tried feeding him raw food? Animals can sometimes have allergies to any preservatives, etc in prepared food.
Acupuncture has also proven to be very effective for allergies in animals.