To anyone here who has or has had, a kitty on long-term Prednisone......did you notice any behavior/personality changes and if so, what were they?
Taco's (15.5 yrs old) been on it now for a good 4 weeks, dosing as follows:
2.5mg twice daily x 4 days
2.5mg daily x 4 days
2.5mg every 2nd day (which is what he's currently on)
He has osteosarcoma (malignant tumors) of the soft tissue; a half-egg sized lump to his scruff and one half that size to his right side. He's had surgery twice to remove the scruff tumors (Apr and May 2008) but it recurred, obviously (which I knew there was, unfortunately, a high risk for).
With this type of tumor, it apparently is "driven" by inflammation so if you can give an anti-inflammatory (like Piroxicam) or Prednisone, you can at least slow down the growth of the tumor. Piroxicam wasn't an option for him due to early stages of CRF so I opted for the Pred. I had to adjust his twice daily insulin dose by a half unit, to account for the slightly elevated blood sugar due to the Pred, no biggie.
But I've noticed that sometimes he seems sort of "spaced out." He'll just sit there in the hall and stare. Sometimes just not his usual talkative self. He's still very active (as an 18.4 lb kitty can be!) and eats well. But he just seems a little more aloof and "off."
I have read that Pred can caused "behavioral changes" but in everything I've read, it fails to give more specific info on what "kind" of behavioral changes.
Can anyone please comment on their experiences? This kind of wigs me out a bit. I sometimes wonder "has the cancer spread and to his brain?" but there are days when he's sharp as a whip and very friendly and chatty and his usual sucky self.
He spends more time down in my basement which is odd. 2 weeks ago I reorganized my rec room in my basement and since then, that is "THE" place to spend the day......on the futon down there....whereas before, he was always upstairs in his cozy cat bed or sprawled across the top of the couch or on the cushions of the couch. He just won't stay out of the basement, it's bizarre to me. And it's not that it's cooler down there (it's not). That kind of wigs me out, too. I know cats are notorious (or at least my 5 are) for being like children in the respect that when they encounter something "new", they think it's pretty cool (eg: buy a new cat bad, well that's the place to be for weeks)
Thoughts?
Many thanks
Lisa
Taco's (15.5 yrs old) been on it now for a good 4 weeks, dosing as follows:
2.5mg twice daily x 4 days
2.5mg daily x 4 days
2.5mg every 2nd day (which is what he's currently on)
He has osteosarcoma (malignant tumors) of the soft tissue; a half-egg sized lump to his scruff and one half that size to his right side. He's had surgery twice to remove the scruff tumors (Apr and May 2008) but it recurred, obviously (which I knew there was, unfortunately, a high risk for).
With this type of tumor, it apparently is "driven" by inflammation so if you can give an anti-inflammatory (like Piroxicam) or Prednisone, you can at least slow down the growth of the tumor. Piroxicam wasn't an option for him due to early stages of CRF so I opted for the Pred. I had to adjust his twice daily insulin dose by a half unit, to account for the slightly elevated blood sugar due to the Pred, no biggie.
But I've noticed that sometimes he seems sort of "spaced out." He'll just sit there in the hall and stare. Sometimes just not his usual talkative self. He's still very active (as an 18.4 lb kitty can be!) and eats well. But he just seems a little more aloof and "off."
I have read that Pred can caused "behavioral changes" but in everything I've read, it fails to give more specific info on what "kind" of behavioral changes.
Can anyone please comment on their experiences? This kind of wigs me out a bit. I sometimes wonder "has the cancer spread and to his brain?" but there are days when he's sharp as a whip and very friendly and chatty and his usual sucky self.
He spends more time down in my basement which is odd. 2 weeks ago I reorganized my rec room in my basement and since then, that is "THE" place to spend the day......on the futon down there....whereas before, he was always upstairs in his cozy cat bed or sprawled across the top of the couch or on the cushions of the couch. He just won't stay out of the basement, it's bizarre to me. And it's not that it's cooler down there (it's not). That kind of wigs me out, too. I know cats are notorious (or at least my 5 are) for being like children in the respect that when they encounter something "new", they think it's pretty cool (eg: buy a new cat bad, well that's the place to be for weeks)
Thoughts?
Many thanks
Lisa
