prednisone and side effects in cats

Hi,

For anyone who's car has taken this, has your cat had loose stools?

My cat In general has had loose smelly stool but its gotten worse.

Grain free food is just not helping.

I have never heard of this as a side effect.  What is he taking it for?  You said in general he has had this issue before and it appears you changed foods.  Is he on dry or wet foods now.  It's possible the change in foods has caused the issue, especially if he is on the pred for IBD.  Grain free is good, but depending on his issue, it could be he needs a single protein food.  Are you also giving probiotics? 

They prescribed it for his loose stools, but it made him really sick.  That may have been because it was compounded improperly.  He's on a low dose now.  I had to go grain free and limited ingredient before he improved.

He is on both. It is for either for IBD or Lympothy. It is for inflammation and to help
Him eat. It just got a bit better tonight. I did not change his foods. He is on grain free as is an it doesn't help.

js124 said:

He is on both. It is for either for IBD or Lympothy. It is for inflammation and to help
Him eat. It just got a bit better tonight. I did not change his foods. He is on grain free as is an it doesn't help.

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When you say he is on both, do you mean he is eating both wet and dry foods?  Or do you mean he is on a single protein food and probiotics? 

I don't think it is the Pred that is causing the loose, stinky stool.  I think it is probably the food, because of either his IBD of Lympothy (?).  Cats with digestive issues need specific foods.  Grain free is a start, but sometimes they need more (or less as the case may be).  Has your Vet discussed very specific foods for him?

He eats both wet and dry. Just a tiny bit of dry a day. Trying to wean him off.
No I go to see him this sat for a follow up.
He wasn't eating at all so the vet said give him whatever he will eat, which was fancy feast mixed with his regular grain free Brand. Now that he is feeling better, I'm trying to Stick to th grain free but still mix so I don't upset his stomach even more. But the food switch was a while back so its not fr that. Ironically when he started getting fancy feast his poop got better but just started getting loose again

OK, I still think if he has possible IBD, it's the food that is causing the loose stools, NOT the pred.  I agree that any food is better than starving, too.  Try adding a probiotic to his food to see if that helps.  I don't think it could possibly hurt.  Lots of here give our cats probiotics.   Here's a thread about favorite probiotics:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/290395/your-favorite-probiotics

Hopefully at your next Vet appointment you can start discussion which foods might be better, ones that your cat will eat

I am currently giving one of my cats prednisone and have given it to other cats in the past. I have never had an issue with it causing loose stools. I agree it could be a food issue, but since every cat is different, you never know. I guess you won't know for sure until you see the vet though. Good luck!

his stool was much better yesterday! yeah!

he has a follow up at the vet sat so I will discuss food then.

Thanks everyone!

My cat was on pred for over a year or so and his stools were usually fairly well formed but a bit on the wet side to normal. What I found with my cat was that he gained weight while he was on it and he maintained it but nothing else really. If I take him off of it he drops some weight but no other changes. He was throwing up a lot back then and he isn't now so maybe I would see different results. I did not like giving my guy pills because he didn't like it so I had my vet check if there was something that would do the same but you could inject it. I have been giving my guy Dexamethasone in his daily sub-q and he hasn't started gaining weight or losing it so it seems like it works about the same as Pred from what I see.