Can I mix liquid prednisone in my cat's food?

Hi everyone,

Smokey and I are new here... we're hoping to learn from all the informative posts on this site.

Smokey is my 17 year old cat. He resembles a Maine Coon with a georgous gray and white coat. He's my baby. :cat:

Anyway, he's had digestive issues on and off for the last 7 years or so. I managed to manipulate his diet for those years to keep him healthy... but recently, he started going down hill. He lost weight (never lost his appetite), was constantly throwing up and pooping yucky poops. The worse his poops got, the less he used the litter box to go #2. Poor little guy. It got to the point that anything I fed him went right through him. :shrug:

My vet started him on liquid Prednisone about a week ago. I started mixing a teaspoon of pure pumpkin in his food at the same time... and wha-la! His poops got much better. He even looks more nourished. :highfive:

The problem is that the slick little guy HATES getting the Prednisone and has made it quite comical to watch. :yuck: (I usually wind-up swallowing more than him. :cool:) I tried mixing it in his food as well, but I think he's on to me (he's not as excited to eat it anymore :frustrated:).

I'm sorry for the dissertation... but I'm just curious to know if I did the right thing when I mixed it in his food. Can I do that? Did I take something away from the med by mixing it? :confused:

Thank you for any info you can share!
Smokey's Mom & Smokey

It should have come with directions on how to administer it. Some medications are to be taken with food, others not. Our cat on 0.5mg of tablet prednisone can take it with food and it is to be at her evening meal. We crush it in with some canned food and she usually gobbles it right down. You need to ask the Vet about this.

Sorry to hear about your cat's digestive issues. I don't actually have any idea if the liquid pred is okay to mix with food (your vet would be able to tell you though), but if it puts him off his food, it would probably be better to administer it some other way.

Just wondering, what foods have you tried and what does he eat now? Have you ever tried a raw diet? There's a great Yahoo group on Feline IBD that you might want to check out (if you haven't already): http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FelineIBD/

Something else to look into is Slippery Elm Bark. It soothes the digestive tract and can be great at helping to firm up stool. Here's some more info on that: http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=slipperyelm

If the pred is helping, that's great, but long term use of prednisone in cats can be risky. It would be ideal if you could find a diet combo that minimizes your cat's dependance on it. Many people have had success feeding raw: http://www.catnutrition.org/ibd.php

Oh ya, and welcome to pets.ca!

Thank you for your responses!

I just added a couple teaspoons of chicken w/gravy baby food (no onions) and he gobbled the food right down.

Smokey has been on a number of different foods in the past. Some prescription, some commercial. Baby food usually always did the trick when we'd face this situation... but not this time... so I gave in to the medication route.

The prednisone is definitely temporary. He's got one more week of it twice a day, then he's weaned off for another couple weeks. He's also been getting a pill to protect his liver during this pred dosage. (Once a day.)

I've been reading-up on the raw diet option and I think it's something I'm going to pursue.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to read and respond to my post. Smokey thanks you too (he's snug as a bug in a rug right beside me snoozing away). :sleepy: