Hi everyone.. I have a 12 year old female short hair cat that has always been a petite girl.. For most of her life, she was around 8-8.5 lbs.. She had always been in good health, and I've always fed her a diet of free-choice dry food.. Over the years, she had been eating Evo, Wellness, and Natural Balance dry formulas. Generally, she would be given about twice what I would expect her to eat, and the left over would be discarded. A few months ago, I started noticing that she was eating less and less of the food that was given to her and took her to the vet after I noticed she was losing weight. Her weight had dropped to 5.6 lbs, the vet did a physical exam and found nothing remarkable. An X-Ray revealed a lesion about 4cm in her intestinal area.. Her lab work came back indicating normally functioning kidneys and liver -- but levels for albumin were low. The vet explained that since her liver enzymes were normal, the low albumin indicated that she was likely losing it due to the lesion. The vet advised that due to her age, the best course of action would likely be to keep her comfortable and treat the symptoms as opposed to aggressively targeting the cause, and I agreed with that.
The vet prescribed 0.25mL of prednisolone (elixir) to be given once a day. Additionally, he prescribed 3.25mg of mirtazapine to be given once every 3 days as an additional appetite stimulant. She started the medication about two weeks ago, and immediately noticed a difference with her. She began eating again, consuming between 180-200 cals/day (she had reduced her eating to only about 60 cals/day prior). She began to put weight back on as well. Also, prior to bringing her to the vet, she had become somewhat withdrawn, preferring to be by herself. Once she started the meds, within a day or so, her behavior changed dramatically as well -- she seemed very happy and content and much more sociable and affectionate. She also returned to her typical position sprawled out on her side or back, stretching out on whatever bed she decided to sleep on. (Prior, she had been assuming the meatloaf position most of the time). I noticed on the days she was given the mirtazapine, it tended to make her more sleepy than usual, and on those days, she ate a little less -- so after consulting with the vet, he said we could stop the mirtazapine, as the desired effect could be hit or miss with it.
After about 2 weeks on the prednisolone, he suggested that we drop the dose to 0.25mL every other day.. The result was like flipping a switch. She immediately stopped eating, became withdrawn again, and did not want to be bothered. She returned to the meatloaf position.. I went back to giving the prednisolone daily prior to speaking to the vet, and once again - it was like flipping a switch.. She began eating again, became very sociable and affectionate. Shes once again back to lying on her side and rolling around on her back, seemingly very content. I have to speak to the vet again once he returns to the office.
I'm well aware that long-term treatment with the prednisolone can lead to other issues.. I'm also aware that at some point, I'll have to make a decision on how to proceed. How long is "too long" as far as the medication goes? Is there a middle ground with the prednisolone that gives her a once daily dose, but perhaps a little lower as opposed to every other day with the 0.25mL?
Thanks for any feedback..
The vet prescribed 0.25mL of prednisolone (elixir) to be given once a day. Additionally, he prescribed 3.25mg of mirtazapine to be given once every 3 days as an additional appetite stimulant. She started the medication about two weeks ago, and immediately noticed a difference with her. She began eating again, consuming between 180-200 cals/day (she had reduced her eating to only about 60 cals/day prior). She began to put weight back on as well. Also, prior to bringing her to the vet, she had become somewhat withdrawn, preferring to be by herself. Once she started the meds, within a day or so, her behavior changed dramatically as well -- she seemed very happy and content and much more sociable and affectionate. She also returned to her typical position sprawled out on her side or back, stretching out on whatever bed she decided to sleep on. (Prior, she had been assuming the meatloaf position most of the time). I noticed on the days she was given the mirtazapine, it tended to make her more sleepy than usual, and on those days, she ate a little less -- so after consulting with the vet, he said we could stop the mirtazapine, as the desired effect could be hit or miss with it.
After about 2 weeks on the prednisolone, he suggested that we drop the dose to 0.25mL every other day.. The result was like flipping a switch. She immediately stopped eating, became withdrawn again, and did not want to be bothered. She returned to the meatloaf position.. I went back to giving the prednisolone daily prior to speaking to the vet, and once again - it was like flipping a switch.. She began eating again, became very sociable and affectionate. Shes once again back to lying on her side and rolling around on her back, seemingly very content. I have to speak to the vet again once he returns to the office.
I'm well aware that long-term treatment with the prednisolone can lead to other issues.. I'm also aware that at some point, I'll have to make a decision on how to proceed. How long is "too long" as far as the medication goes? Is there a middle ground with the prednisolone that gives her a once daily dose, but perhaps a little lower as opposed to every other day with the 0.25mL?
Thanks for any feedback..