Incurable explosive diarrhea

[Kris35]

Hi all,

My 16 year old Burmese cat is still very very active and playful. Several months ago she did a huge cowpat poo and collapsed onto her rear end. She couldnt walk for two weeks and after going to see four vets, who didnt know what the problem was, she somehow started to walk again. Now she is running around everywhere and is very lively. But the diarrhea is still the same.

This isnt normal diarrhea (whatever that is). Its explosive. She farts and it goes all over the place. I do have photos but they will make you feel sick. I've never seen anything like it before.

I have tried:

Novel protein diet.
Hypo allergenic diet.
Single protein diet.
Vitality Science (which has an a very high success rate in treating cats with diarrhea).

She has been tested for tf and all other parasites and all have come back ok. She had another blood test last week and my vet told me she has the bloods of a nine year old - all is fine. She also had a stomach scan last week and surprisingly, there was NO inflammation in her intestines.

When she was a kitten she was on a drip for a few days due to diarrhea. Poo samples came back fine. Vets didn't know what the problem was and it was the woman at the local cattery who told me to feed my cat coley, which I did and her diarrhea cleared up. Over the years, I have given her a diet of coley and cat food, and when her poos started to get runny again, I would cut back on the cat food and give her more coley. This would clear her diarrhea up. I read that some cats can become allergic to the protein source they have been fed all their lives, which is why I have tried so many other diets.

At the moment she is on kangaroo and I cook her sweet potato.

She was on a low dose of steroids and antibiotics but we have just increased the dose recently (two days ago). I dont think it is going to help and have no idea what to do or try next.

If I could just sort out the explosiveness and she had just runny poos, that would be a huge step. Even if she lived like that for the rest of her life.

I was wondering if anyone else has ever heard of anything like this?

[sugarcatmom]

What various foods (brands, flavours, wet or dry?) has she had over the years?

Have you ever tried feeding her a (balanced) raw diet?

Slippery elm bark powder and/or probiotics are also something to consider, if you haven't already.

[Lynne&Co.]

That must be uncomfortable for your kitty not to mention worrisome for you. My Papillon gets explosive diarrhea when she is stressed which usually happens on a road trip.......not pleasant for anyone. It can last for days or weeks after the trip regardless of whether the stress is over or not. The only way I've been able to minimize the duration is to fast her for min 12 hours after the first episode and then feed plain white rice. If I don't fast her then the diarrhea continues so I'm thinking the fasting helps her digestive system to recover and heal. There's no way my cat would eat rice so not sure what you could feed your kitty that would be gentle on her system. Maybe plain steamed pieces of chicken breast? Best of luck with your kitty.

[Longblades]

I have recently gone through something almost exactly the same but it was with my dog. He lost over 20% of his body weight and his poops were liquid under pressure, I called them Fire Hose poops. Traditional Western medicine, high doses of Flagyl, then Prednisone and some other stuff, had no effect at all.

We switched to a Holistic Vet. Like you we fed a novel protein and sweet potato, cooked. We had to wean off the other meds. She also used Chinese medicine and he was, and still is, on an assortment of herbs. He's still alive, gained back his weight and energy. We are now slowly transitioning to a raw diet.

So I can only suggest you consider what saved our boy, a Holistic Vet who uses Chinese medicine. Good luck.

[marko]

Sorry you are going through this Kris 35,

Maybe Longblades and SCM and Lynne&co or other members have an opinion on this, but might canned pumpkin help this in the short term?

http://www.pets.ca/dogs/tips/tip-75-...-constipation/

[Kris35]

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

What various foods (brands, flavours, wet or dry?) has she had over the years?

Have you ever tried feeding her a (balanced) raw diet?

Slippery elm bark powder and/or probiotics are also something to consider, if you haven't already.

Oops forgot to subscribe to thread so thought nobody had replied. Yes tried her on a balanced raw diet but she will not touch it. Even bought her raw kangaroo and tried steaming it slightly, but no she just will not eat it. Ive done probiotics and have heard of slippery elm but havent tried that. Just dont think it will work anyway but perhaps I could give it a try.

I have fed her rubbish brands over the years with animal derivatives....all the usual like Sheba etc. She craves this stuff but is on a complete ban now.

Tried her on Ziwi peak venison but poos still the same. Tried her on James Well Beloved.....no change. Now she is on Integra Protect kangaroo and Amaranth as I thought Id try a novel protein and carb.

Im confused about grains though. Ive read you should feed a simple bland diet of boiled chicken and rice for sensitive tummies but then I read that cats arent meant to eat grains. So Ive looked for grain free high quality foods for her and they usually have potato or tomatoes in them.

[Kris35]

Originally Posted by Lynne&Co.

That must be uncomfortable for your kitty not to mention worrisome for you. My Papillon gets explosive diarrhea when she is stressed which usually happens on a road trip.......not pleasant for anyone. It can last for days or weeks after the trip regardless of whether the stress is over or not. The only way I've been able to minimize the duration is to fast her for min 12 hours after the first episode and then feed plain white rice. If I don't fast her then the diarrhea continues so I'm thinking the fasting helps her digestive system to recover and heal. There's no way my cat would eat rice so not sure what you could feed your kitty that would be gentle on her system. Maybe plain steamed pieces of chicken breast? Best of luck with your kitty.

You know, I had a stray cat turn up on my doorstep around three years ago and he moved in. My cat doesnt like him and I do think he stresses her out and have often wondered if its his presence that is making her have diarrhea (she sleeps in bed with me and we had three bath towel changes last night). But this only started several months or so ago so way after he joined the family. If I could find somewhere for him to go away for a holiday for a few weeks I would. This is something I should consider actually after reading your post.

Did you say you fed your cat white rice but she wont eat it? Ive been reading about digestive enzymes and am thinking - well as soon as she eats, she squirts it out the other side within a couple of hours and Im wondering if enzymes would help her to digest some food? I will talk to my vet this week as she is having a B12 shot.

[Kris35]

Originally Posted by Longblades

I have recently gone through something almost exactly the same but it was with my dog. He lost over 20% of his body weight and his poops were liquid under pressure, I called them Fire Hose poops. Traditional Western medicine, high doses of Flagyl, then Prednisone and some other stuff, had no effect at all.

We switched to a Holistic Vet. Like you we fed a novel protein and sweet potato, cooked. We had to wean off the other meds. She also used Chinese medicine and he was, and still is, on an assortment of herbs. He's still alive, gained back his weight and energy. We are now slowly transitioning to a raw diet.

So I can only suggest you consider what saved our boy, a Holistic Vet who uses Chinese medicine. Good luck.

Wow. Has his poos firmed up at all? When she collapsed and couldnt walk (when this all started), the third vet I saw was Dr Chris Day, a well known homepathic vet. We did a round trip of 80 miles. He gave her two minutes of laser light therapy and she started walking after that. Im not sure if it was the laser light therapy that helped her because she had had bouts of walking for ten mins or so. I have no holistic vets around here but I think I will ring Chris and ask about Chinese herbs. No holistic vets in my area - have searched but I'm going to look into this. Thankyou.

[Kris35]

Originally Posted by marko

Sorry you are going through this Kris 35,

Maybe Longblades and SCM and Lynne&co or other members have an opinion on this, but might canned pumpkin help this in the short term?

http://www.pets.ca/dogs/tips/tip-75-...-constipation/

I ordered some Libbys pumplin online two months ago and it never arrived. Got a message to say goods had been returned because damaged. This is another thing on my list to do. But I was told by my vet that if Im feeding a novel diet, I should give it a few weeks, so have been holding off. Pumpkin next. Thanks for the link, and guys thanks sooo much for your help.

[Reg]

Hello Kris35:

Sorry to read about your cat's problems with "explosive diarhea". Our late Missy had the same issue. She had to be rehydrated as a kitten from diarhea.
She had the gas problem that resulted in spraying feces all over the litter box and sometimes on the wall and floor. When she passed gas, you could hear her pretty well all over on the main floor.
We treated her for years for Irritable Bowel Disease which is supposedly caused from dry foods, which she very seldom received. She was on raw food from the time of about 9 months of age.
By the time we found out about the IBS, it was too late, her guts were too far gone to do anything with other than try to keep her as comfortable as possible.
The Irritable Bowel Syndrome is caused from allergic reaction to something in the foods commonly called protein. But I have found out from other people that the protein could be a major contributor, but also some plant matters can aggravate the digestive system as well.
If I were you, I would be contacting your homeopathic person and explain your situation. If a protocol is suggested, follow it to the letter.
A lot of the suggestions already are very good ones, however unless you can get to the heart of the difficulty, nothing is going to relieve anything - at least from my experience with Missy. With her, the problem slowly got worse over her lifetime, to the point where she lost control of her bowel just in the last part of July. And we parted with her the 1st of August.
Something else I would be doing is eliminating the antibiotics due to the fact that they tend to strip the good and bad bacteria from the digestive system - the same as in humans - and if it is irritable bowel, it adds to the problem.

Hope this helps you with some decisions. Please keep us all informed.

[Kris35]

Hi Reg, so sorry to hear about your cat. Can I ask if she was on drugs at any stage? My cat is on steroids and antiobiotics, and we have jsut upped the steroids but Im not keeping ehr on them for long.....well I dont want to anyway. I read the same thing about antibiotics stripping the bacteria, and its something I need to chat to my vet about next week when she has a B12 shot. I dont trust most traditional vets with this sort of thing.

Homeopthic vet - am searching but need to find one that deals with Chinese herbs as suggested above. Isnt it weird how some cats get this problem? I have tried her on so many foods, Ive seriously considered the next food I give her to be vegan (Im a vegan) but dont think that would work. Ive got to that stage where Im thinking of my next food option but Im running out of ideas. Think I might try her on ground turkey and pumpkin.

Tried that before but not for too long. Wish their was a food sensitivity test we could do. Urgh!!! Will let you know how she progresses.

Oh and I know all too well about poo spraying up walls. Good job I love her else it would be driving me mad.....

[Reg]

Hello Kris 35:

I don't mind answering questions at all regarding your situation. Missy's story is a long one, but I'll try the nutshell version.
Missy's problems started with the breeder trying to do us a favour - having Missy spayed and vaccinated at or about the age of three months under less than 3 pounds in weight at the time. She was a very small kitten. According to other vets - both too young and too underweight - to have been spayed and only 48 hours between vaccinations and the spaying. It just completely upset her hormonal, immunal, and digestive systems.
The first vet I had her to for the diarhea problem, put her on antibiotics which didn't work. He prescribed a 2nd round - double the strength and the length of time - and that didn't work either. Our pharmacist didn't have any kind words for the treatment.
Had to find another vet and she was a conventional vet who had issues with the allopathic medicines and had studied homeopathics. She offered the choice of treatment and mentioned at the time that as far as she was concerned, the allopathic method had nothing to offer for the conditions, and there were no medications that would rectify the problem. She did a battery of bloodwork, urine, and stool and it showed major liver problems.
Missy was treated with homeopathics and special homemade diet which eased the problem considerably.
We lost that vet due to an accident leaving me to find another one. Again, the new one had 20 years as allopathic and at that time he was having issues with that. He studied homeopathics. We worked with him and he suggested not to use hard core medications with Missy's situation and that there be no further vaccinations administered. He diagnosed the problem as being Irritable Bowel Disease and suggested raw food diet - he preferred all his patients be on raw food. This helped big time, but twice a year Missy would have a relapse which would end up with diarhea for about 2 weeks and I would treat her with homeopathics and then we'd be okay for about another 6 months.
This went on for several years and we had by this time, become friends with a doctor of homeopathy and a Microbiologist scientist. She went over the issues we were having and at that time, Missy for some reason, refused to eat chicken. She suggested possibly switching to pork with no additives, which seemed to work again as before.
After several years again, I tried her on turkey and she seemed to love it. Then the problems all started again.
Found out it was a protein issue in fowl, we think. It was suggested that she be put on a "one protein" diet or a Hypoallergenic diet. By this time we were back to using conventional vets - no homeopathic ones where we lived - and they were not educated in natural nutrition, as one vet said.
This all happened within the last three months before we moved from a small town to a city. Basically by the time we found out what might have been the main concern - Irritable Bowel Syndrome and not Disease - it was too late for Missy. She turned 12 at the beginning of July and we have the feeling that she knew that something was up with all the packing we were doing, and she knew that she couldn't make a major move with us.
We were in touch with people who have been through a similar situation with their cats and they have been working on Irritable Bowel Disease for years and found out that it was Syndrome, and an allergy to protein. They found they had to keep a very precise diary and that there were other things that could be an issue with treating the problem For instance, certain supplements would cause it to flare and pumpkin will also cause it to flare in some cases, and they had to use Psyllium Seed Husk instead. Another person had the opposite reaction - they could use the pumpkin and not the Psyllium seed - and they were using raw food diets.
The main thing is to get a handle on it as soon as possible. And according to our last vet, if you're going on a Hypoallergenic diet, expect to be at least 2 months and don't administer anything other than the food - no supplements - just food and water.
I can't advise you on Chinese medicines - I don't know anything about them. I do know that herbal medicines have to be properly handled for cats by a knowledgeable person due to the fact that certain ones can be quite harmful as well as helpful when it comes to felines.
There are some homeopathic pellets that can aid in the recovery of the IBS
So much for the "in a nutshell". Hope this is of some value to you. Just holler if I can further assist.

[Kris35]

Hi Reg, thanks for this. Wow, I had looked up the difference between IBD and IBS a while ago but as Ive researched so much I had forgotten the answer. I just did another check and read this:

Inflammatory bowel disease, including UC and CD, is different from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Unlike IBD, IBS does not cause inflammation, ulcers or other damage to the bowel. Instead, IBS is a much less serious problem called a functional disorder. This means that the digestive system looks normal but doesn't work as it should.

So when my cat had a scan a fortnight ago, and it showed no inflammation and my new vet was so shocked....that is the reason why!! My cat has IBS and not IBD. If this is correct, then Im shocked she doesnt know this.

I have thought for a while now that its an allergy to something, and I think any type of fish makes it worse. So I put her on kangaroo as its a totally difference animal source. But I dont think its helping her. All the hypo allergenic foods I have found have all sorts of rubbish in them, and common allergies such as soya (from what I have read).

Thankyou Reg. Chinese herbs next. I want to know from a homeopathic vet about the tablets my cat is on. It has made her poos a bit better but I know long term use have serious side effects. Trouble is with the food thing, I think I need to keep her on any new diet for quite a while.

I will post updates here incase anyone else is having the same problem.

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by Kris35

Yes tried her on a balanced raw diet but she will not touch it.

How did you introduce it? Unfortunately it's quite rare that a cat raised on junk food would take to eating raw right away. Should be done slowly, possibly over many months. Some tips on how, in case you want to revisit that option:

How to Win the Healthy Food Battle with Your Fussy Feline…
How to Win the Healthy Food Battle with Your Fussy Feline – Part 2
How to Transition Your Cat to a Raw Meat Diet

And some info on why it might be a good idea to try raw again:
http://www.catnutrition.org/ibd.html
http://feline-nutrition.org/health/f...-and-treatment

Originally Posted by Kris35

Ive done probiotics and have heard of slippery elm but havent tried that. Just dont think it will work anyway but perhaps I could give it a try.

What probiotics did you try? Perhaps she needed something more potent, or with a wider variety of organisms.

As for SEB powder, it may not work in every situation, but it was absolutely the ONLY thing that helped my cat with IBD. It's better than pumpkin because not only does it help equalize moisture balance in the intestines, but it also soothes an irritated digestive tract. I know you said the vet didn't see inflammation on the "stomach scan" (was that an ultrasound?), but I wouldn't take that as gospel that there isn't any. These things aren't always so easy to determine.

Some info on SEB:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/

Originally Posted by Kris35

Tried her on Ziwi peak venison but poos still the same. Tried her on James Well Beloved.....no change. Now she is on Integra Protect kangaroo and Amaranth as I thought Id try a novel protein and carb.

How long did you try each new food? An elimination diet needs to be consistent (nothing else fed) and prolonged, at least 8 weeks.

Originally Posted by Kris35

So Ive looked for grain free high quality foods for her and they usually have potato or tomatoes in them.

That's why raw (or even home-cooked, if raw isn't an option right now) can be so awesome. Much more control over the ingredients. (Please don't feed her a vegan food though. I'm also vegan and think it borders on animal abuse when other vegans force their obligate carnivores to adopt the same eating habits.)

Where do you live? Maybe I can think of some commercial foods you could look for.

[Lynne&Co.]

Originally Posted by Kris35

You know, I had a stray cat turn up on my doorstep around three years ago and he moved in. My cat doesnt like him and I do think he stresses her out and have often wondered if its his presence that is making her have diarrhea (she sleeps in bed with me and we had three bath towel changes last night). But this only started several months or so ago so way after he joined the family. If I could find somewhere for him to go away for a holiday for a few weeks I would. This is something I should consider actually after reading your post.

Did you say you fed your cat white rice but she wont eat it? Ive been reading about digestive enzymes and am thinking - well as soon as she eats, she squirts it out the other side within a couple of hours and Im wondering if enzymes would help her to digest some food? I will talk to my vet this week as she is having a B12 shot.

Sorry I confused you. My dog (5lb papillon) is the one with diahrrea issues when she's nervous or anxious. Are you giving your kitty a break (fasting) before introducing a new food? Sometimes their system is so upset and out of whack that they just need a rest from food. Plenty of water should always be available though.

Marko's suggestion of pure pumpkin is an excellent idea. I used pumpkin all the time in the past for my weimaraner with good results. Unfortunately my papillon refuses to eat pumpkin so had to resort to the rice to get her bowels to settle.

[Kris35]

You are all so helpful here, thankyou so much.

SCM I tried my girl on this before:

http://www.naturesmenu.co.uk/category-raw-cat-food.aspx

I cant remember which one I ordered because I took the packages out of the boxes and threw the packaging away. But as you can see, it's fowl and I do think she has an allergy to fowl and fish. I have tried her on boiled chicken before and as I remember, it made her worse.

However, I think I introduced the raw too quickly now. I think I did half and half. I have found some venison raw so maybe I could try that.

The probiotics I used were called Pet Flora. I had these products shipped over from America (Im in the UK):

http://www.vitalityscience.com/

Ive read a lot of success stories on blogs about this company - I know they are affiliate links Im following though, so I did a search in some forums and I saw positive feedback without affiliate links.

My girls scan was a full abdo and repo ultrasound. Before I agreed to do it, my vet said there was a specialists vets in the UK who do these all the time and are very good at giving correct diagnosis. She said I could use them. She said they (her clinic) was pretty good though and I thought Id go with them. She showed me the images and pointed out the intestinal lining and said if it was inflamed you would expect to see a thickening here and here (showing me). But there was none.

The only full eight weeks of a new diet I have done is the kangaroo. All the others I switched after a few weeks so I didn't do them long enough.

So if I am going to introduce raw (I will look at the links here), I think it needs to be a novel protein and not fowl or fish?

I got this link from another cat forum:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body..._syndrome.html

It says:

add wheat bran or a commercial fiber supplement to the diet. Fiber appears to normalize the activity of the large intestinal muscle to help stop spasms.

So, now Im thinking about using some wheat bran. I need to research this today, but the problem is, which to go for. Adding raw slowly to her kangaroo food, but do I also try a bit of wheat bran.

From that link I also read this:

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a psychosomatic disease. This means that it is the activity of the mind that causes the symptoms. Most people do not have difficulty imagining having so much anxiety that diarrhea results. Chronic anxiety can similarly result in chronic diarrhea. This is basically what irritable bowel syndrome is all about. Intestinal biopsies are normal because there is nothing directly wrong with the large intestine.

So I'm also thinking its the stray cat I found in my garden three years ago who now lives with us and who she hates. Maybe its the stress of him being here.

I'm going to spend a few hours today looking at links here and such. Slippery Elm I need to get.

Thanks again. Really appreciate it.

[Kris35]

Originally Posted by Lynne&Co.

Sorry I confused you. My dog (5lb papillon) is the one with diahrrea issues when she's nervous or anxious. Are you giving your kitty a break (fasting) before introducing a new food? Sometimes their system is so upset and out of whack that they just need a rest from food. Plenty of water should always be available though.

Marko's suggestion of pure pumpkin is an excellent idea. I used pumpkin all the time in the past for my weimaraner with good results. Unfortunately my papillon refuses to eat pumpkin so had to resort to the rice to get her bowels to settle.

Hi Lynne&co,

Ok thanks. Reading so much I need to slow down. Feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment as to what my next step should be but am looking into introducing raw but not sure what animal to go with. As for fasting, to be honest, the longest I have held out for is 12 hours. A Burmese anting food is an assualt on the eardrums as you will probably know. Not sure I can do longer than 12 hours. Think will just start to introduce raw. The kangaroo hasnt worked but maybe its the amaranth GRAIN in it. So gotta wean her off that now. Its so hard to tell though - once things start to improve - whats doing it - the drugs/homeopathy or the food.

Thanks,

Kris

[Love4himies]

I think SCM is on the right path. It is very difficult to get a cat who has been fed commercial food to start eating a raw diet. Slow introduction of a meat source that your cat favors may do the trick. I started out with a pin head amount of raw on a piece of kibble for my Jasper and slowly increased the raw to 50-50, then a piece of kibble on top of a spoonful of raw. His digestive tract was getting worse with age and we had to do something to take him off the kibble. He now eats quality canned (no grains)/raw and is digestive system is now OK. When it does occasionally act up we do give him slippery elm bark and it seems to clear him up within a day.

Any grains/carbs are not meant to be part of a cat's diet as their intestinal tract is too short and there isn't the appropriate digestive juices to break down the molecules before it reaches the large colon. Those molecules can then irritate the colon wall causing it to spasm/inflame which in turn can cause the diarrhea.

[Kris35]

Well I really do not want to get my hopes up, but yesterday, I dug out a bag of the raw food I bought for her online a few months ago. I remember she wouldn't eat it raw so I had cooked it for her but she still wouldnt touch it back then. Yesterday, I lightly boiled it and hand fed it to her as she wasn't sure about eating it. Tonight I woke up and for the first time in four months, I havent had to change the towels I lay on teh bed for her to lay on everynight. She did a smelly fart and I automatically got a bit of tissue to wipe her bum thinking there would be wet poo on it, but nothing. A dry bum. We were cuddled up and she was purring her head off. Just got up to give her another small piee (lightly cooked) and she ate that and did a poo with a bit of blood in it which Im not concerned about at the moment. I expected to see the usual sight (when I got up) of her litter tray covered in poo splats up the sides and over the top onto the kitchen floor by the side of her deep dirt tray but there was nothing. No poo splats. Too soon to tell, but am going to continue with raw lightly cooked at the moment. I cannot quite believe this is going to work yet as too early. But.....

[Longblades]

i hope this works for you. I tried to transition my cat with Cholangial Hepatitis from kibble to canned and made things worse for her.

But my current oldest, 17.5, has been losing interest in her food and thus had lost a lot of weight and energy and her coat was terrible. But when the dog got so sick I gave her bits of his recovery food, cooked minced turkey and she has recovered too. I have to be careful to buy the turkey without Rosemary added, all of a sudden most of the stores here are doing that. Now the dog is better and he is transitioning to raw and the cat is gobbling up his prepared raw mixtures too. I do think feeding them close by each other has something to do with it. Good luck to you.

[Kris35]

Well I still daren't breath but so far so good. Her poos are still runny but not splattering, PLUS her sore leaky inflammed bottom has gone back to normal. No walking around with me having to wipe her backside every hour or so. Clean bed sheets in the morning. I have spent thousands of pounds on her. Not sure if I've done the right thing but Ive stopped giving her the steroids and the antibiotics.....havent even slowly cut down - just stopped giving them to her. Another thing I'm doing is only feeding her little bits at a time. I have to do this so she will eat the lightly cooked raw food Im feeding her. Now I know from all the links Ive read that I should ahve been introducing raw to her slowly but I was really wondering about the amaranth GRAIN in her novel protein good quality food so I just stopped giving it to her to see what would happen. Decided I had to get her off it because of the grain. Now I can keep her on the cooked raw and slowly add more raw (uncooked) and see what happens. I think now I know one of the culprits is grain, I can start to introduce other foods to see how she tolerates them.

So thankyou everyone for your help and advice. I think my cat might just get better. Maybe she will never have a solid poo again but at least she can control her rear end again. Well, for the moment at least.

[RUSTYcat]

Originally Posted by Kris35

....Not sure if I've done the right thing but Ive stopped giving her the steroids and the antibiotics.....havent even slowly cut down - just stopped giving them to her. ....

Kris....I'm going to be "blunt" with you here....to ensure you realize the seriousness of what you've done....and - with all respect for you as well:

NO, you haven't done the right thing by suddenly stopping the steroids....

IF a cat is to be taken off a steroid - it must be done gradually by slowly reducing the amount of the dosage until it is eventually eliminated:

Prednisone and prednisolone are commonly used for several weeks or even months at a time to get a chronic process under control. It is important that the dose be tapered to an every other day schedule once the condition is controlled. The reason for this is that body perceives these hormones and does not produce any of its own. In time, the adrenal glands will atrophy so that when the medication is discontinued, the patient will be unable to respond to any stressful situation. A circulatory crisis can result. By using the medication every other day, this allows the body's own adrenal glands to remain active.

The Veterinary Information Network - VeterinaryPartner.com

I'd advise you to speak with your Vet ASAP, tell them what you've done and when, and get expert advice for how to reintroduce the steroid and - perhaps, with the Vet's advice - begin a 'weaning' process.

Don't delay!

[Longblades]

^^ This.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/prednisone...s/faq-20057923

The link is for humans but the dangers apply to cats and dogs too.


Stopping the antibiotic too soon may allow infection that wasn't quite completely cleared up to bloom again. Improperly following dosage instructions is thought to be largely responsible for the growth of antibiotic resistant disease.

[Kris35]

Hi Rustycat, I emailed my vet earlier on to give her an update but after your email (thanks), I just rang them and spoke to the receptionist. My cat has been on steroids for two weeks....starting at just 1 mg a day and we upped the dose to 2.5 mg a day recently, so she is still on a low dose - but she is small so might be irrelevant. My vet is in on Tuesday so will ring me then but I have just given her 2.5 mg and receptionist said to continue until I hear from my vet - I read the above quote out to her but obvs being a receptionist she didnt know so to be safe my cat is back on them.