Urgent advice needed: steroid made my cat sick

[Carolyn-m]

My senior cat (he’s around 17) gets regular steroid and b12 shots for his IBD. Quickly after Monday’s shot his breathing became rapid and loud and he became subdued and started hiding under a chair.
The vet then did an ultrasound and blood pressure checks - he is NOT in heart failure but his heart beat is slow and BP high. She found a large mass in his lungs which looks like a tumour. She gave him antibiotics in case the reaction was due to an underlying infection, but he is not getting better.

Has anyone else’s cat had this reaction to steroids? Do you think it will lessen in time as the steroid wears off? Vet is pushing us to get him PTS but I am angry as he was ok until he had this stupid shot. He is eating fine, just he’s very subdued and poorly due to the effect on his breathing. I know that eventually he will succumb to the cancer but even a few months more with him would be great if he was back to how he was before the shot. He was so loving and active and had the biggest personality. The vet is trying to say it has nothing to do with the shot but obviously they don’t want us to say they caused this sudden and drastic decline. Any thoughts?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm sorry you haven't gotten any responses yet. I don't really have any experience with giving steroid injections or pills to any of my cats so am not really qualified to help you here. What surprises me though is that typically steroids help reduce inflammation, so if anything I would have thought they would help reduce that mass, not make it worse. How often does he get that shot? It is once a month, more often, less often? I'm asking for anyone else who might read your thread, just in case they think it's important.

Are you now treating him for the high BP? It's good that he's still eating fine. That means he's not ready to throw in the towel yet. Hoping his breathing gets better. But the next question is, do you want to see an oncologist about that mass? Is that even an option?

 

[fionasmom]

Steroid injections can last anywhere from days to weeks, depending on what is used. I am sorry that you are facing this and that the vet has gone directly to PTS. The vet may not be wrong about a tumor in the lungs being the reason for the decline. If he has taken the steroid shots successfully in the past, it may not be what is causing this reaction. However, you have the right to continue to ask for treatment for your cat and are the only one who can decide when and if he needs to be let go.

I agree that you might need to make a decision about seeing another vet, such as an oncologist, to evaluate what is happening.