Side effects from Steroid shot

[stephanietx]

That would be concerning to me. Did he by any chance get a Convenia shot at the same time? Did the vet offer fluids?

My male cat gets diarrhea for steroid shots, so that's no longer an option for treatment for him. My female cat just likes to eat everything in sight, which isn't exactly out of the norm for her.

 

[MayBinky]

That would be concerning to me. Did he by any chance get a Convenia shot at the same time? Did the vet offer fluids?

My male cat gets diarrhea for steroid shots, so that's no longer an option for treatment for him. My female cat just likes to eat everything in sight, which isn't exactly out of the norm for her.

He didn't get a Convenia shot. He did get the rabies and that line of vaccines called FVRP I think. Most people I have spoke with think his symptoms are from the steroid injection. My vet did nothing when I went back there. I put my cat through hell getting him back in his carrier for the third time in two weeks and all she did was take him temperature and feel around on his body and laughed saying he's fine and I shouldn't worry. Since when is a usually extremely hyper-active healthy cat fine when he doesn't move all day and just wants to eat?? It will be a week since his shots tomorrow and he still is acting the same. He has also been so constipated. I had to give him miralax last night because he hadn't had a bowel movement all week. I switched his dry food to wet and ordered a kitty fountain for him so that he might want to drink more. He eats like crazy but seems disinterested in water. I know so many in this thread and on this site have had this same experience but none of them ever come back to say what happened with their animals. I am wondering if they go back to normal once the steroid has run its course.

 

[stephanietx]

I asked about convenia because my kitty has extreme lethargy (like a zombie) and only moves to eat after she's had the shot. It's possible that the stress of the visit has caused him to have a little upper respiratory infection, which would be the cause of the lethargy. The lack of movement and activity is probably contributing to the constipation. You can try adding plain canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, to the wet food and see if that helps him get things moving.

The steroid shot is long-acting, so it might take longer to get back to normal. We are still dealing with loose stools from time to time with my kitty who got diarrhea from his last shot a couple of months ago.

Also, you might get a bit more exposure if you start a new post with your questions. Just a suggestion, though.

 

[WelshWoman]

Hello from the UK. My boy Buster suffers with a seasonal allergy to grass pollen and scratches himself raw between late June and September. He first had a steroid jab in July 2013 before going into a cattery whilst we went away for a couple of days. When we collected him and got him home his behaviour was bizarre - he was terrified of a door mat with a cat picture of it, terrified of a hose pipe and just generally terrified. He was in a terrible state, panting, hiding. The vet said it was stress related cystitis from the cattery but it took 11 weeks to pass. Every year since he has had a steroid jab in July and often one in August too and every year he has had 'stress related cystitis'. This year he had a steroid jab on 12th July and within an hour of coming back from the vet he would not stay in the house. We had just installed a new filter into our pond and the box was on the lawn and he ran into the box and would not come out. When taken into the house he would race into a wardrobe and tuck himself into a back corner. It really is quite distressing to witness. I had gotten myself into such a state that I spoke to my brother who is a psychiatric nurse as I was struggling to deal with my own anxiety about Buster - I was afraid to let him out in case he disappeared, I was up and down in the night checking on him and I was becoming mentally exhausted. My brother has been a psychiatric nurse for 30 years and has spent most of those working in acute psychiatry. Whilst he reassured me about my own anxiety, he told me something very interesting about steroids. He said that he frequently has patients admitted who have had a severe reaction to steroids - called steroid psychosis. It is recognised in humans, and apparently in dogs too. He said that patients demonstrate absolute abject fear of their surroundings, suffer from illusions and manic behaviour. He is not a vet but suggested that the cat is displaying the same symptoms as those in people with steroid psychosis. I am now totally convinced that this is what Buster is experiencing every Summer - not stress related cystitis but steroid induced psychosis. In July 2013 he had 2 steroid jabs, one in July and one in August so no wonder his 'cystitis' lasted 11 weeks! Last year he had one jab and his behaviour lasted about 5 weeks and this year we are into week 2. What I can reassure everybody about is that it does go away once the steroid has worn off. I intend to discuss it with my vet next time I am there. Buster won't be getting a steroid jab in future - it doesn't even properly control the itching! I hope my experience helps in some way.

 

[bolt7]

Hello from the UK. My boy Buster suffers with a seasonal allergy to [...] I hope my experience helps in some way.

Hey everyone,

Apologies to bump such an old thread, however we are currently going through a very difficult time with our boy Whiskers, and the story above regarding Buster from WelshWoman is eerily similar to what we are going through.

Whiskers is a ten year old FIV+ kitty also based in the U.K. This year we have had some pretty big changes in his environment, moving house in January and introducing a new kitten to the family, Minny May, back in late January / early February. We have had Whiskers since the age of six and he always been a lovely, albeit a slightly stressy, cat. He is attached to my partner and tolerates myself. After moving, he was a bit upset at the neighborhood cats outside - we tried to make things as comfortable as possible for him (Feliway, even frosting up one of the windows at the back of the house facing the garden, as that is where the neighborhood moggies would spook him this most). This helped massively, and he can of course still look out of the windows facing the front, which was a somehow much less stressful ordeal for him). He also took the introduction of Minny May rather well - even better than we had perhaps thought.

Back in April, Minny May got spayed. This was a slightly delayed process due to COVID-19 restrictions, however upon her return, despite her being as happy as can be despite the operation, Whiskers had a rather extreme reaction to her. He was quite vocal about her after the op, and tried to keep his distance. We asked the vet about this, and they told us it was likely because she smelt of the vets - she had to stay in a cat ward for a few hours, and likely picked up scents he wouldn't like.

From there, Whiskers started to get stomach problems. He had diarrhea almost consistently for around five months. We took him to the vets a couple of times during this, as there were a couple of periods where he was not keeping down any food or water, and in addition we would find streaky blood in his vomit and excrement. The vets administered him anti-biotics and anti-nausea medicine on two occasions, in July and August, and despite stull having diarrhea - everything else tended to clear up in a day or two.

Back in August during that second visit, he was diagnosed with a bacteria infection called Campylobacter Jejuni. Other than giving him more anti-biotics and lots of rest, there was not much else the vet could do. As he has an auto-immune failure, we could only hope his system would fight it off. As both he and Minny are indoor cats only, the vet concluded it was likely that Minny picked something up from the cat ward when getting her op, and likely passed it on to him. I do wonder now if this is why he reacted so strongly on her return.

Thanks for reading so far, I appreciate this is long - but this is where things take a turn for the worse, and is the reason I made an account here / posted this.

Toward the start of September, Whiskers began to itch. He pulled out fur, to the point where he had missing patches on his neck and back. This got worse over the next couple of weeks. The scratching didn't stop, to the point where he scratched himself raw on his face (above his eye) and on his neck. We tried putting the ankle of a sock around his neck to stop him from getting to the affected area, but it didn't help. We administrated Frontline Spot On treatment to them both, just in case, but this didn't make much difference. We decided to take him to the vet.

On the 23rd of September, Whiskers went in for a check up. Although he did not find any, the vet put him down as having a potential flea allergy. The notes he left on their computer system read "could not find any fleas, but suspicious of flea allergy". He gave Whiskers a shot of anti-biotics (his third this year) and a steroid injection.

We did not question what was in either injection - they're a vet, they know best - right? I was not allowed to attend the examination due to COVID-19 restrictions (one person per patient), but my partner did. The vet informed her the steroid injection is likely to cause "increased hunger, thirst and urination" as a result. They agreed this was a good thing, as he has lost some weight this year. He then went on to tell her the rather vague statement of "things will get worse before they get better".

He was right. Things got a lot worse for poor Whiskers. The itching, scratching and fur pulling continued. He started running around the house, never walking. As he runs, he bites his fur, he acts frenzied and panicked, like something is constantly trying to get him or scratch at his fur. I spent many hours cleaning everything in the house - washing blankets, curtains, bedding, etc. We bought anti-flea spray, just in case, and fumigated the house.

After a few days (around 3 - 5 days), he became lethargic. Always hiding under blankets, always drooling. He lost his appetite, he stopped drinking. He only goes to the toilet if my partner literally picks him up and drops him by the litter tray - otherwise, he does so in the bed, on the couch, wherever he might be sleeping. This process of carrying him to the litter tray is traumatic - he wails, screams, hisses. My partner has been in tears on various occasions because of this, as he is nothing like himself.

Whiskers diarrhea has thankfully gotten better in the process, but it's the number ones that are the hassle. We have bought puppy pads and a water proof blanket, which both help - however it's still extremely stressful regardless, especially as we're both working from home at the moment and want to get him and the house cleaned up ASAP.

On Sunday, I took him into the vets for a check up. He usually puts up a fight when going to the vet, however this time he just walked right into his carrier. upon arrival, the vet did a blood test and a couple of hours later confirmed his kidney and liver are fine. They checked for fleas again and found nothing. They looked in his ears and couldn't find any mites. She wanted to give him another steroid injection, however now dubious of what the first one has potentially done to him, I declined and walked away with some steroid cream for his wounds instead.

Since then, Whiskers hasn't gotten any better. We're still having to feed him either while he's hiding under a blanket to get him to eat, or by dropping him right by his food bowls. He never stays stood for long, and tends to sit down directly over the bowls after he finishes eating. When he does go to the loo in the litter tray, he now sits and does not stand like he always has, spraying the back of the hooded box. It's like all his energy and motivation is gone, and he would happily remain under the blanket until he passes.

I called up the vet today to ask exactly what it was they gave him. It turns out the steroid was Dexafort:

"An injectable corticosteroid containing dexamethasone phenylpropionate and dexamethasone sodium phosphate for use in cattle, horses, dogs and cats."

The lady told me the steroid should only be in his system for around seven days, and it has now been over two weeks since his injection.

I'm not 100% sure the way he is acting is because of the steroids, however after reading Buster's story above, I'm 99% convinced it is somehow related. We can only hope he gets better at this point, as he means so much to us, especially my partner - he has helped her through some tough times.

I guess the moral of this story is - don't always trust your vet. Ask what they are giving them. Ask about the side effects, the do's and don'ts. Always take an itemized receipt, and remember - you know your cat better than anyone else, so even if the vet makes a suggestion, there's a strong possibility you still know best.

 

[kittenmittens84]

Hey everyone,

Apologies to bump such an old thread, however we are currently going through a very difficult time with our boy Whiskers, and the story above regarding Buster from WelshWoman is eerily similar to what we are going through.

Whiskers is a ten year old FIV+ kitty also based in the U.K. This year we have had some pretty big changes in his environment, moving house in January and introducing a new kitten to the family, Minny May, back in late January / early February. We have had Whiskers since the age of six and he always been a lovely, albeit a slightly stressy, cat. He is attached to my partner and tolerates myself. After moving, he was a bit upset at the neighborhood cats outside - we tried to make things as comfortable as possible for him (Feliway, even frosting up one of the windows at the back of the house facing the garden, as that is where the neighborhood moggies would spook him this most). This helped massively, and he can of course still look out of the windows facing the front, which was a somehow much less stressful ordeal for him). He also took the introduction of Minny May rather well - even better than we had perhaps thought.

Back in April, Minny May got spayed. This was a slightly delayed process due to COVID-19 restrictions, however upon her return, despite her being as happy as can be despite the operation, Whiskers had a rather extreme reaction to her. He was quite vocal about her after the op, and tried to keep his distance. We asked the vet about this, and they told us it was likely because she smelt of the vets - she had to stay in a cat ward for a few hours, and likely picked up scents he wouldn't like.

From there, Whiskers started to get stomach problems. He had diarrhea almost consistently for around five months. We took him to the vets a couple of times during this, as there were a couple of periods where he was not keeping down any food or water, and in addition we would find streaky blood in his vomit and excrement. The vets administered him anti-biotics and anti-nausea medicine on two occasions, in July and August, and despite stull having diarrhea - everything else tended to clear up in a day or two.

Back in August during that second visit, he was diagnosed with a bacteria infection called Campylobacter Jejuni. Other than giving him more anti-biotics and lots of rest, there was not much else the vet could do. As he has an auto-immune failure, we could only hope his system would fight it off. As both he and Minny are indoor cats only, the vet concluded it was likely that Minny picked something up from the cat ward when getting her op, and likely passed it on to him. I do wonder now if this is why he reacted so strongly on her return.

Thanks for reading so far, I appreciate this is long - but this is where things take a turn for the worse, and is the reason I made an account here / posted this.

Toward the start of September, Whiskers began to itch. He pulled out fur, to the point where he had missing patches on his neck and back. This got worse over the next couple of weeks. The scratching didn't stop, to the point where he scratched himself raw on his face (above his eye) and on his neck. We tried putting the ankle of a sock around his neck to stop him from getting to the affected area, but it didn't help. We administrated Frontline Spot On treatment to them both, just in case, but this didn't make much difference. We decided to take him to the vet.

On the 23rd of September, Whiskers went in for a check up. Although he did not find any, the vet put him down as having a potential flea allergy. The notes he left on their computer system read "could not find any fleas, but suspicious of flea allergy". He gave Whiskers a shot of anti-biotics (his third this year) and a steroid injection.

We did not question what was in either injection - they're a vet, they know best - right? I was not allowed to attend the examination due to COVID-19 restrictions (one person per patient), but my partner did. The vet informed her the steroid injection is likely to cause "increased hunger, thirst and urination" as a result. They agreed this was a good thing, as he has lost some weight this year. He then went on to tell her the rather vague statement of "things will get worse before they get better".

He was right. Things got a lot worse for poor Whiskers. The itching, scratching and fur pulling continued. He started running around the house, never walking. As he runs, he bites his fur, he acts frenzied and panicked, like something is constantly trying to get him or scratch at his fur. I spent many hours cleaning everything in the house - washing blankets, curtains, bedding, etc. We bought anti-flea spray, just in case, and fumigated the house.

After a few days (around 3 - 5 days), he became lethargic. Always hiding under blankets, always drooling. He lost his appetite, he stopped drinking. He only goes to the toilet if my partner literally picks him up and drops him by the litter tray - otherwise, he does so in the bed, on the couch, wherever he might be sleeping. This process of carrying him to the litter tray is traumatic - he wails, screams, hisses. My partner has been in tears on various occasions because of this, as he is nothing like himself.

Whiskers diarrhea has thankfully gotten better in the process, but it's the number ones that are the hassle. We have bought puppy pads and a water proof blanket, which both help - however it's still extremely stressful regardless, especially as we're both working from home at the moment and want to get him and the house cleaned up ASAP.

On Sunday, I took him into the vets for a check up. He usually puts up a fight when going to the vet, however this time he just walked right into his carrier. upon arrival, the vet did a blood test and a couple of hours later confirmed his kidney and liver are fine. They checked for fleas again and found nothing. They looked in his ears and couldn't find any mites. She wanted to give him another steroid injection, however now dubious of what the first one has potentially done to him, I declined and walked away with some steroid cream for his wounds instead.

Since then, Whiskers hasn't gotten any better. We're still having to feed him either while he's hiding under a blanket to get him to eat, or by dropping him right by his food bowls. He never stays stood for long, and tends to sit down directly over the bowls after he finishes eating. When he does go to the loo in the litter tray, he now sits and does not stand like he always has, spraying the back of the hooded box. It's like all his energy and motivation is gone, and he would happily remain under the blanket until he passes.

I called up the vet today to ask exactly what it was they gave him. It turns out the steroid was Dexafort:

"An injectable corticosteroid containing dexamethasone phenylpropionate and dexamethasone sodium phosphate for use in cattle, horses, dogs and cats."

The lady told me the steroid should only be in his system for around seven days, and it has now been over two weeks since his injection.

I'm not 100% sure the way he is acting is because of the steroids, however after reading Buster's story above, I'm 99% convinced it is somehow related. We can only hope he gets better at this point, as he means so much to us, especially my partner - he has helped her through some tough times.

I guess the moral of this story is - don't always trust your vet. Ask what they are giving them. Ask about the side effects, the do's and don'ts. Always take an itemized receipt, and remember - you know your cat better than anyone else, so even if the vet makes a suggestion, there's a strong possibility you still know best.

View attachment 353904

Sounds like it could be feline hyperthesia or some sort of anxiety disorder - I don’t think two weeks out from the appointment it necessarily has something to do with the steroid since that’s a long time

 

[bolt7]

Sounds like it could be feline hyperthesia or some sort of anxiety disorder - I don’t think two weeks out from the appointment it necessarily has something to do with the steroid since that’s a long time

Hey Kittenmittens84!

Thank you for your reply.

We have already looked into feline hyperesthesia. It's a great suggestion, and previously we noticed the hairs / skin on his back twitching, which can be a sign of hyperesthesia. He doesn't mind being petted and doesn't act as if he is in pain to the touch, though. His problems don't tend to happen in short episodes - it's consistent. As a result from what I have read about it, it doesn't quite fit the bill.

I too am surprised about the steroids potentially still having an effect on his body a couple of weeks later, but there are plenty of replies on this forum (and in this thread) that suggest some administrations of steroids have affected their cats for weeks. It could be coincidence, but it seems very strange to me that this would come on so soon after, and align incredibly similar to Buster's story here.

Anxiety is still a possibility, as is stress, but he seems physically weak and struggling to stand, which makes me think it is something more physical.

We just had a bit of an ordeal with him - my partner popped him down by his tray as he hadn't gone for a number one since morning, and he decided to run back into the living room and pee on the couch. Thankfully we had puppy pads down, but I'm not sure what he's thinking... very stressful for us all.