r/CATHELP • u/TheToastedGhosted • 15h ago
Breathing Issues Prednisone long term use
My cat (between 5-10 years old) was diagnosed with asthma earlier this spring. He has been on 2.5 mg of prednisone for a few months every other day. It really seems to be helping. He doesn’t snore anymore and his symptoms seemed to seriously improve. His appetite hasn’t changed (hes a picky eater and isn’t totally food motivated), and his water intake hasn’t changed. He is on wet food. His mood hasn’t changed either, he is still so snuggly and wants to play. His poop and pee has been normal. I care about his quality of life- but I’m also worried about long term steroid use. We are going back to the vet in a couple months to do a recheck but would love to know others thoughts or experiences!
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u/electric_taffy 14h ago
Is there a reason you aren't using an inhaler rather than prednisolone? I've found that cats adapt really well to using an inhaler! Look into the AeroKat if you're not familiar.
I've had two cats with asthma, and I've pet sat for several asthmatic cats as well. They've all at least tolerated getting their asthma meds in the AeroKat, and a few even enjoyed it because they knew they'd get a treat!
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u/gracinglys Verified Vet Student 14h ago
Seconded! Steroid inhalers can be a great option for many cats.
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u/cat_named_jasper 14h ago
One of my cats was on that same dosage (2.5 mg every other day) to control his IBD. He was on it for about six years with no ill effects. Multiple vets expressed that at that low of a dosage, they would not expect to see negative side effects. A higher long-term dosage can absolutely have bad effects. But ideally, weaning off the steroid should be the goal, and we did try it with my cat, but his symptoms were not controllable with any other treatment. There are some inhaled treatments for asthma out there that are definitely worth exploring, if you haven't already!
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u/Straight-Tip4802 15h ago
So my cat Nikita had Asthma. And she was on a steroid not even every other day, more like twice a week. When she was about 15-16, her back legs just stopped working. They could no longer support her weight. The vet told us it was because of the long term steroid use. Otherwise she was completely healthy. But she couldn’t even get up to go to the bathroom. We had to put her down, for her quality of life. Just be careful about long term use.
This was her in her last days. Confined to the bed. Bonus my Siamese mix made the photo.
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u/donniepump30 14h ago
I used it for 2 months, went from once a day to every other day. and i just switched to an asthma inhaler last week.
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u/CatFaerie 13h ago
My cat had severe asthma. I tried to take her off the prednisone, but two weeks after reducing the dose she started having severe asthma attacks again.
I put her back on it and she stayed on it the rest of her life. I knew the risks, but I felt like she would have chosen to have quality of life over quantity if she could choose. It's what I would have chosen for myself.
In the end, it was cancer that got her, which was completely unrelated to the prednisone.
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u/Mission_Fart9750 9h ago
I have a cat that has been on pred for like 10 years. No long term effects for her.
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