Cat on Prednisolone is ALWAYS hungry!!!

Our cat, 13 y/o Mr. Tiggs, was a very sick kitty for a while. Vomiting, not eating, diarrhea. He lost 3/4's of a pound in 1 month, and was down to 8.5 pounds.

So, after many inconclusive tests, the vet feels he has either inflammatory bowel disease or cancer of the lower intestine (we can't afford a biopsy, which still may be indeterminate). We are giving him Prednisolone once a day.

Miracle! The vomiting has completely stopped. The diarrhea has completely stopped. His loss of appetite has completely stopped. Meaning he always has an appetite.

Sooo...our still underweight cat is eating 3 cans of Science Diet i/d prescription cat food per day, and would eat more if he could manage a can opener. He is ready for his next meal 1/2 hour after having a half can of his last. He is putting on weight rapidly, which is good, but having a cat dance on ones face at 1am to be fed is getting to be a little tiresome.

The vet has said, "He's underweight. If he's hungry, feed him." Well, we really can't afford a case of this food a day. Does anyone have any reasonable suggestions as to how to get him on a more manageable diet?

Humans who take prednisone also tend to gain weight because of eating. I know I gained about 15 lbs while on prednisone. I couldn't seem to get enough to eat.

That is an unfortunate side effect. When Jordan was on that stuff he was forever knocking the garbage can over & trying to find food in there. I see you are feeding only wet food, is there a reason you are not feeding dry. I know some people feel it is not good, but in this case leaving some dry food out, might help kitty not be so hungry all the time.

Ah, yes... predisone... Cortisone treatment will make you hungry, hungry, hungry!!! I agree.. what about dry? The only thing of it is that dry by its nature is more calorie dense than wet.

See if you can get a scrip for that food and buy it online cheaper than the vets.. tell him you can't afford it.

I'm off to the vet right now to buy some Hills i/d dry food. Do any of you know of a website that sells prescription cat foods? The cost really is hurting us.

Thanks for your input. I was thinking of dry to deal with vacations and such, but I never thought of it for slowing down his eating.

It may not. He may just eat the entire bowl and then cry for more. Though the crunch may give him some psychological satisfaction, so feeding a combination may be the answer.

Now that he is stabilized your vet should be talking about weaning him down on the steroid, to the lowest possible dose to control the symptoms.

That will help with the appetite problem.

Welcome to the forum and please keep us on Mr Tiggs.

Well, he just nommed a quarter cup of the dry stuff without coming up for air, so at least we know he likes it. I'm thinking that the dry is probably cheaper than the wet (not a clue...depends on how much of each he eats). We'll experiment. He's 9.5 pounds now (supposed to be about 12 ideally).

I looked online and it really isn't any cheaper than what the vet is selling it for, so we'll probably stick with the vet.

watch for scarf and barf with the dry. Once it goes in, it swells a bit in their tummies!