Should we go on prednisolone?

[Musiaka]

The old vet recommends the usage of Ursodiol. We will try it. I'm super scared that something will happen and we will need an emergency vet because I don't know how we will get there, but I'm also going crazy with the daily vomiting. That daily retching sound, out of nowhere, when he's acting all normal and I get hopeful that it won't happen again - its just awful. It got to the point that I feel constant anxiety when he's awake and calm down only when he's asleep. I'm not looking forward to him being awake even! Because sleeping means no vomiting. It's so awful

 

[Musiaka]

Today we're starting on both Prednisolone and Ursodiol. Gonna give 5 mg of Pred for 2 weeks, then 2,5 mg and then 2,5 mg every other day (which worked well for Musiaka before). So it's not a huge dose. Also gonna give him liver support supplement, continue with b12 and probiotics. Wish us luck!

 

[dustydiamond1]

Today we're starting on both Prednisolone and Ursodiol. Gonna give 5 mg of Pred for 2 weeks, then 2,5 mg and then 2,5 mg every other day (which worked well for Musiaka before). So it's not a huge dose. Also gonna give him liver support supplement, continue with b12 and probiotics. Wish us luck!

 

[Musiaka]

We're on day 4 of pred and Musiaka is feeling so much better! The vomiting disappeared after two days, he's eating way more and is back to being very playful! A bit difficult to give him ursodiol since he can taste even mixed in with treats, but we're making it work

 

[MissClouseau]

A bit difficult to give him ursodiol since he can taste even mixed in with treats, but we're making it work

How much do you give? My cat is super hard to give medicine but we actually had no issue giving Ursofalk (the same thing, different brand name.)

 

[Musiaka]

How much do you give? My cat is super hard to give medicine but we actually had no issue giving Ursofalk (the same thing, different brand name.)

50 mg, but I had to discontinue, it's so difficult to give it to Musiaka cause he seems to feel the taste in everything I try to mix it with. It became a traumatic experience for him, with him salivating and hiding from me. I'm looking into buying the suspension, maybe it's going to be easier

 

[Musiaka]

Otherwise Musiaka is doing great on pred! Big appetite, playful, no more vomiting and not even burping/lip smacking.
But I'm wondering about the dosage.

Our old vet prescribed 5 mg for a week and then to go down to 2,5 mg. Our new vet wants him on 5 mg for 2 weeks. Musiaka stopped vomiting after just 2 days on pred, so maybe a week is enough? The new vet says she likes it better when her patients stay on the same dosage for a longer time to make sure that the symptoms are not returning. It sounds reasonable, but at the same time - Musiaka's symptoms has already disappeared and the shorter he stays on a larger dose, the better.

What do you guys think?

 

[Foreverlouiemylove]

When our sweet and beautiful baby vomits, it feels so worried and terrible. I know I had it. Prednisolone is a steroid and I agree it is anyway not good for long term use. prednisolone also makes cat always thirsty and urinates very often. When I used it, I see it’s effective for some, but I felt sorry that he looked a bit exhausted to go bathroom multiple times. It feels make double as usual.
I found out myself there are many rip off money chasing vet clinics but there are good vets always. It was not easy for both my baby and me to get 2nd, 3rd opinions.
Every time we go other vet for opinions, same exams continues Which both of us hates.

My learning was that 2nd, 3rd opinions necessary for big decision. I hate vets do same tests for cat and it feels sorry for my cat and I feel like it’s kind of torture but i can’t rely on one vet recommendation.

If all of vets recommend a surgery to remove stones, I personally think they could be right.

Sometimes owner knows much better which one is right thing to do. Monitor your cat if he has any hard time to urinate or eat or play, and make a decision.

I have learned owner must study more about cat and make a best of best decision for baby. sometimes we really need to listen a vet but not 100%
For example, Chemo is not recommended 100% for any animals. Vet..specialists don’t know cat‘s condition than owner. Chemo can make nausea for them but vet usually said two things, it’s because of cancer, it’s because of acting of chemo. Not true 100%.
mirtazapine (appetite pill) doesn’t work with chemo. I thought it was because cancer is worsened and vet and assistance said same thing.
not true.
After deciding not effective of chemo on 2nd time, in a few days when chemo was all out of body, my baby started eating well again.

Im trying to say owner must monitor every day to see what baby wants to tell you.

bless your baby and you. you will get a best decision for him.
pray to God to get best answers for your best baby.

 

[Musiaka]

When our sweet and beautiful baby vomits, it feels so worried and terrible. I know I had it. Prednisolone is a steroid and I agree it is anyway not good for long term use. prednisolone also makes cat always thirsty and urinates very often. When I used it, I see it’s effective for some, but I felt sorry that he looked a bit exhausted to go bathroom multiple times. It feels make double as usual.
I found out myself there are many rip off money chasing vet clinics but there are good vets always. It was not easy for both my baby and me to get 2nd, 3rd opinions.
Every time we go other vet for opinions, same exams continues Which both of us hates.

My learning was that 2nd, 3rd opinions necessary for big decision. I hate vets do same tests for cat and it feels sorry for my cat and I feel like it’s kind of torture but i can’t rely on one vet recommendation.

If all of vets recommend a surgery to remove stones, I personally think they could be right.

Sometimes owner knows much better which one is right thing to do. Monitor your cat if he has any hard time to urinate or eat or play, and make a decision.

I have learned owner must study more about cat and make a best of best decision for baby. sometimes we really need to listen a vet but not 100%
For example, Chemo is not recommended 100% for any animals. Vet..specialists don’t know cat‘s condition than owner. Chemo can make nausea for them but vet usually said two things, it’s because of cancer, it’s because of acting of chemo. Not true 100%.
mirtazapine (appetite pill) doesn’t work with chemo. I thought it was because cancer is worsened and vet and assistance said same thing.
not true.
After deciding not effective of chemo on 2nd time, in a few days when chemo was all out of body, my baby started eating well again.

Im trying to say owner must monitor every day to see what baby wants to tell you.

bless your baby and you. you will get a best decision for him.
pray to God to get best answers for your best baby. View attachment 401753

Awww, what an absolute cutie!

Musiaka never had any increased thirst or urination on Prednisolone. He still doesn't touch water in any shape or form - he stopped drinking it ever since I changed his diet into all-wet. I try to give him some water by syringing him, but he resists so much! He pees the same amount and always in big quantities, sounds as if it's a human is peeing in there. But yes, absolutely, I'm going to monitor him closely, all blood labs and an ultrasound every 2-3 months.

We're not going to remove Musiaka's gallbladder despite what some of our vets say. Our new vet understands me and is helpful with choosing other options. We'll continue with Ursodiol when I get a suspension instead of the powder.

Yes, I do agree about getting different vet opinions! I like our new vet (even though I always sound like I don't trust her...) and our very first vet back in Sweden. But we also had one vet in between those two that really felt like a rip-off! She always had only one option for us. Nausea? There's only Cerenia. Acid reflux? There's only VetGastril (a suspension that helps stomach acids to settle, but which Musiaka absolutely despites). Liver enzymes too high? He has to eat Royal Canin's Hepatic. Glucose to high? He has to eat Royal Canin's Diabetic.

 

[Musiaka]

If anyone has an opinion about the dosage (if we should go for 1 week or 2 weeks on 5 mg), please let me know

 

[Foreverlouiemylove]

If you ever decide to give him prednisolone I put it in my cats food fruity flavored at a pharmecy to compound it. It increased her appetite. I emailed daves cat food company about low photos low protein Restricted Diet to get a sample of their cat food
and show it to my vet. Not sure that's what your cat needs but my cat no longer likes her prescription kidney food unless something more favorable is mixed in. She loves fortiflora but it gets used up her first meal. So warmed up and orijen freeze dried treats,crushable topper mixed in. Adds more protein but not much

when my vet vet prescribed a prednisolone, he prescribed also mirtazapine which is appetite increaser. It has two forms of topical ointment on one side ear or pill. It really helps.

 

[Foreverlouiemylove]

when my vet prescribed a prednisolone for lymphoma cancer, he prescribed also mirtazapine which is appetite increaser. It has two forms of topical ointment on one side ear or pill. It really helps.

 

[maggie101]

when my vet prescribed a prednisolone for lymphoma cancer, he prescribed also mirtazapine which is appetite increaser. It has two forms of topical ointment on one side ear or pill. It really helps.

He did also give me that and thinks she may also have lymphoma cancer. Recheck in January and decide after more testing. She is a pig after having one!

 

[MissClouseau]

50 mg, but I had to discontinue, it's so difficult to give it to Musiaka cause he seems to feel the taste in everything I try to mix it with. It became a traumatic experience for him, with him salivating and hiding from me. I'm looking into buying the suspension, maybe it's going to be easier

The right dosage for Musiaka might be different. but our vet said mix one 250mg capsule’s inside with 2,5ml water and give only 0,5ml of it to my cat.

I use a 2ml syringe, see the picture. And add it to my girl’s wet food. She used it before and even ate it with a teaspoon of yogurt. She’s also super picky about eating but she did and does totally fine eating this so I’m surprised Musiaka got nauseous.

 

[Musiaka]

The right dosage for Musiaka might be different. but our vet said mix one 250mg capsule’s inside with 2,5ml water and give only 0,5ml of it to my cat.

I use a 2ml syringe, see the picture. And add it to my girl’s wet food. She used it before and even ate it with a teaspoon of yogurt. She’s also super picky about eating but she did and does totally fine eating this so I’m surprised Musiaka got nauseous.

The vet has counted what dosage of Ursodiol he needs according to his weight, so it's probably right - 1/5 of a 250 mg capsule, to open it up and divide the powder. Musiaka gets nauseaus even if I give a supplement that says "good taste" on it, he's veery dramatic.
I was more wondering about the dosage of prednisolone, who's approach I should take - our old vet's, who recommended the higher dose for a week, or our new vet's, who wants him on the higher dose for 2 weeks.

 

[maggie101]

50 mg, but I had to discontinue, it's so difficult to give it to Musiaka cause he seems to feel the taste in everything I try to mix it with. It became a traumatic experience for him, with him salivating and hiding from me. I'm looking into buying the suspension, maybe it's going to be easier

Get ot flavored at a pharmacy

 

[Musiaka]

I will be more careful with dry pilling from now on...
Musiaka is good at swallowing prednisolone pills and I always follow up with his current favorite treat - slippery elm gastro intestinal paste for it to go down.
But pilling him SAMe (cause I figured I should probably give him some liver support while on pred) is way nore difficult and yesterday I pilled him two small pieces of it and he immediately vomited. He in general doesn't seem to feel good after any SAMe supplement, I don't understand why. Might be the taste, it's always so dramatic if he feels any of it. He's so sensitive to tastes.

We are on the last two days of 2,5 mg of pred daily and in two days I'll start giving him 2,5mg every second day. Maybe it's not that awful for the liver? It's a very small dose.
However I saw Musiaka drink some water today, which I haven't seen since June, that's when we switched to all-canned. It worried me slightly to see him drink. His appetite is still quite huge, but seems to be stabilizing. The first week all he wanted to do was to eat

 

[maggie101]

I will be more careful with dry pilling from now on...
Musiaka is good at swallowing prednisolone pills and I always follow up with his current favorite treat - slippery elm gastro intestinal paste for it to go down.
But pilling him SAMe (cause I figured I should probably give him some liver support while on pred) is way nore difficult and yesterday I pilled him two small pieces of it and he immediately vomited. He in general doesn't seem to feel good after any SAMe supplement, I don't understand why. Might be the taste, it's always so dramatic if he feels any of it. He's so sensitive to tastes.

We are on the last two days of 2,5 mg of pred daily and in two days I'll start giving him 2,5mg every second day. Maybe it's not that awful for the liver? It's a very small dose.
However I saw Musiaka drink some water today, which I haven't seen since June, that's when we switched to all-canned. It worried me slightly to see him drink. His appetite is still quite huge, but seems to be stabilizing. The first week all he wanted to do was to eat

I dip a pill in tiki, nulo, or churu tubes. It goes down her throat much easily other wise she will caugh it up and she likes it

 

[Musiaka]

I started giving him 2,5 mg every second day on the 26th, but it seems to be too soon, cause Musiaka vomited today again, for the first time since we started pred (if not counting that time he regurgitated the SAMe pill that I dry pilled incorrectly). Also, his excellent appetite disappeared now on the 2,5 mg esd. So back to 2,5 mg daily.
If he needs to stay on it for a bit longer, is it considered a big dose for a cat? Can such a dose have harmful effects?

 

[maggie101]

I was going to answer, but that is a question to ask your vet. My cat did have triaditis but also older and depends on their weight and how bad it is. Give him a call!