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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / August 2005Steroids and appetite
Dudley is back on the 'roids to help his asthma/wheezing. That stuff kicks in FAST! But, he seems to be starved out of his mind, now. They aren't kidding when they warn of an increased appetite. Do any of you know if this is a side effect that will taper off? Perhaps we can start lowering the dose sooner, since it seems to have helped the wheezing quickly? Would that help? He's already a little pudgy ;) so I dont want him to get seriously overweight. He has enough health problems! By the same token, I don't want him to feel hungry. Today he stayed in the vicinity of the kitchen almost all day and night. He wanted FOOD, FOOD, and MORE FOOD! I felt terrible for him! His hunger/preocupation with eating seems to have caused more frequent sqeak noises though, so at least we've got that going for us! I love the squeak!! Thanks for any insight, Pam > Dudley is back on the 'roids to help his asthma/wheezing. That stuff > kicks in FAST! But, he seems to be starved out of his mind, now. They > aren't kidding when they warn of an increased appetite. > > Do any of you know if this is a side effect that will taper off? Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not. All individual responses. >Perhaps > we can start lowering the dose sooner, since it seems to have helped the > wheezing quickly? I wouldn't. You really need to break the cycle of inflammation and the only good way to do that is to stay on the Pred for a few days - whatever your vet prescribed. >Would that help? He's already a little pudgy ;) so I > dont want him to get seriously overweight. I wouldn't worry about it too much - even if he is on Pred for 10 days, he isn't likely to gain *that* much weight. I would focus on high-quality canned foods high in protein and keep him away from the carby chow if you can, though. Protein will make him feel more satiated. >He has enough health > problems! By the same token, I don't want him to feel hungry. Today he > stayed in the vicinity of the kitchen almost all day and night. He > wanted FOOD, FOOD, and MORE FOOD! I felt terrible for him! I can relate! It screws up the metabolism too, and can be a bear to deal with. > His hunger/preocupation with eating seems to have caused more frequent > sqeak noises though, so at least we've got that going for us! I love the > squeak!! > > Thanks for any insight, > Pam Good luck, -L. > Dudley is back on the 'roids to help his asthma/wheezing. That stuff > kicks in FAST! But, he seems to be starved out of his mind, now. They > aren't kidding when they warn of an increased appetite. > > Do any of you know if this is a side effect that will taper off? Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not. All individual responses. >Perhaps > we can start lowering the dose sooner, since it seems to have helped the > wheezing quickly? I wouldn't. You really need to break the cycle of inflammation and the only good way to do that is to stay on the Pred for a few days - whatever your vet prescribed. >Would that help? He's already a little pudgy ;) so I > dont want him to get seriously overweight. I wouldn't worry about it too much - even if he is on Pred for 10 days, he isn't likely to gain *that* much weight. I would focus on high-quality canned foods high in protein and keep him away from the carby chow if you can, though. Protein will make him feel more satiated. >He has enough health > problems! By the same token, I don't want him to feel hungry. Today he > stayed in the vicinity of the kitchen almost all day and night. He > wanted FOOD, FOOD, and MORE FOOD! I felt terrible for him! I can relate! It screws up the metabolism too, and can be a bear to deal with. > His hunger/preocupation with eating seems to have caused more frequent > sqeak noises though, so at least we've got that going for us! I love the > squeak!! > > Thanks for any insight, > Pam Good luck, -L. >>Do any of you know if this is a side effect that will taper off? > > Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not. All individual responses. Fair enough. A YMMV kind of thing...at least that leaves the possibility of it tapering off! >>Perhaps >>we can start lowering the dose sooner, since it seems to have helped the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > only good way to do that is to stay on the Pred for a few days - > whatever your vet prescribed. Today was day 3. I am going to call the vet tomorrow just to chat with her and see what she says. She did indicate that we would play with the dosage according to how he responds, etc. I wont lower the dose without her approval though. >>Would that help? He's already a little pudgy ;) so I >>dont want him to get seriously overweight. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > carby chow if you can, though. Protein will make him feel more > satiated. He is on a prescription diet for pancreatitis. He eats the Eukanuba Low Residue diet...supplemented with fresh chicken that we cook for him. (We sprinkle some on top of the goosh food, usually, to stimulate his appetite. Perhaps, I can lessen the amt. of chicken treats he is getting, since his appetite seems to be plenty stimulated. He was on the pred when he got pancreatitis, and besides helping him with that, I noticed how much it helped his wheezing. And it does keep him eating more consistently. So, perhaps that is another good thing. Having him on steroids bugs me altogether, but in this case, the benefit is worth it. >>He has enough health >>problems! By the same token, I don't want him to feel hungry. Today he [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I can relate! It screws up the metabolism too, and can be a bear to > deal with. Ugh. It doesnt help that I have another cat who is only 6.25 pounds with a metabolism that most of us would kill for. ;) I have not yet been able to convert her to a wet diet, so she gets grazing privileges...and Dudley wants to eat her food, too. I have to put the food up on the window ledge for Luna since she can see it and jump up to get it. Dudley doesnt know it's there. You can tell he smells something, but he cant find it. LOL Thanks for your input, Lyn. Pam I would ask the vet about low calorie food while he's this ravenous. I'm sure he thinks you are starving him to death.........LOL Heck mine think I'm starving them if I don't drop everything I'm doing the second I come home and feed them.. Celeste > Dudley is back on the 'roids to help his asthma/wheezing. That stuff > kicks in FAST! But, he seems to be starved out of his mind, now. They [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks for any insight, > Pam > Dudley is back on the 'roids to help his asthma/wheezing. That > stuff kicks in FAST! But, he seems to be starved out of his [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Thanks for any insight, > Pam I've had two cats on steroids (different ones) for different reasons. I think they are a wonder drug that comes with a price, but if it helps in the short term for most, and even long term for others, is worth it. After a lot of thought over this, quality of life is (to me) more important than quantity of life. Since steroids seem to be prescribed for some type of auto-immune issue (allergy, inflammation) the goal would be to elliminate the source of the allergy/inflammation if possible. In the interrum, steroids can provide so much relief. Shadow was on prednisone for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Shamrock has (lessening) Depo Medrol shots for inhalent allergies that cause his skin to itch to the point that he pulls out fur and bite himself until he bleeds and gets infected. The oral prednisone for Shadow did increase his appetite. But the injectable Depo Medrol doesn't cause Shamrock to eat more. Maybe it's just because their individual systems don't respond the same. Shadow on the oral steroids never had a lessening of his appetite before he went to the bridge. He was always a fat cat except for the period of time when he had hepatic lipidosis.  SignatureCheryl /misses Shadow "The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath." - W.C. Fields > I've had two cats on steroids (different ones) for different > reasons. I think they are a wonder drug that comes with a price, > but if it helps in the short term for most, and even long term for > others, is worth it. After a lot of thought over this, quality of > life is (to me) more important than quantity of life. I completely agree. DH and I were discussing just this. He is worried about him being on the steroids, but I said I would rather have him around feeling content and comfortable, but for less time, than to let him be wheezy and uncomfortable for longer. He is an old kitty with lots of health issues and all I want is for him to feel happy and loved. Of course, I don't want him to feel starved to death either! > Since steroids seem to be prescribed for some type of auto-immune > issue (allergy, inflammation) the goal would be to elliminate the > source of the allergy/inflammation if possible. Dudley came to us with this wheezing/asthma type condition. We don't know much about it or what is causing it. > In the interrum, > steroids can provide so much relief. Shadow was on prednisone for > inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Shamrock has (lessening) Depo > Medrol shots for inhalent allergies that cause his skin to itch to > the point that he pulls out fur and bite himself until he bleeds > and gets infected. My Luna had some of the Depo shots as a younger kitty for pulling out the fur on her chest. She more or less outgrew the behavior so she hasnt had a shot in many years. Sometimes she still tugs at her fur, but no more bald patches. > The oral prednisone for Shadow did increase his appetite. But the > injectable Depo Medrol doesn't cause Shamrock to eat more. Maybe > it's just because their individual systems don't respond the same. > Shadow on the oral steroids never had a lessening of his appetite > before he went to the bridge. He was always a fat cat except for > the period of time when he had hepatic lipidosis. I spoke to the vet today. She suggested lowering his dose now since the wheezing has stopped. Starting in the morning, I am only going to give him a half a pill a day and see how that goes. Unfortunately, DH and I are going on vacation from tomorrow until Thursday, but luckily, I have a former student that is my pet sitter. She will be staying here the whole week so I can get frequent reports about how he is doing. When I spoke to the vet, I also asked about the Depo shots, but she explained to me why she is not a big fan of them unless a cat is incredibly difficult to medicate. (Dudley is super easy to pill) Her feelings is that once the meds are injected, since they are long acting, it is 4-6 weeks or more that the stuff is inside kitty's body and if there are side effects, there is not much you can do about it except wait it out. She prefers to try to control the problem with the oral meds. I don't have any issue with doing the oral meds, I just dont want Dudley to feel miserable and hungry all the time. He did seem a little less frantic about food today. Maybe tomorrow with just 1/2 a pill, it'll ease up even more. Pam > When I spoke to the vet, I also asked about the Depo shots, but > she explained to me why she is not a big fan of them unless a [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > inside kitty's body and if there are side effects, there is not > much you can do about it except wait it out. I totally agree. That's why I took Shamrock to a vet dermatologist - I was getting scared of all of the steroid shots, and he wasn't outgrowing the allergies. Luckily he never had any bad reactions. My initial thoughts were that at some point he would outgrow the allergies, since he was young when we found each other, and he showed up with bad skin. It got worse over time. I would never withold steroid shots while the cause wasn't found. He was miserable. His first vet refused to give him any more shots even when the cause wasn't found. I found a new vet. She prefers to try > to control the problem with the oral meds. Shamrock's dermatologist decided it was worth trying allergy shots. He's been on them since the end of May. He had a Depo shot May 9th, and one at the end of June. Now mid-August, he's close to when he'd need another shot. No sign of any discomfort yet. SignatureCheryl "The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath." - W.C. Fields |
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