Cat not eating after taking prednisolone?
 

Hi there, I'm new here and I hope people still use this site, I need help :(

My 11-year-old cat, Prince, started wheezing every few days, about a month and a half ago. I took him to the vet, who took an x-ray and said it was feline asthma, and prescribed prednisolone for a month. My cat's breathing, weight and fever were all normal.

Prince took prednisolone for 2 weeks and during the third week it was half a pill, then the fourth week, half a pill every two days. During the third week, he gradually ate less and less, and started throwing up a lot whenever he did eat. He was still playing with my other pets but eventually he wouldn't even drink milk or the new cat food I bought (both wet and dry). He slept a lot more and seemed to be hunched up when he lay down sometimes.

I took him back to the vet, who took a blood test and an ultrasound of his stomach. There was nothing to be found, except a low amount of white blood cells, which the vet said may be due to two rotten teeth my cat has ? But he also said rotten teeth should not keep him from eating.

So we stopped the prednisolone about 2 weeks ago, before the end of the fourth week. For a day or two he was eating a bit again and sleeping less. But a few days after that, he stopped eating again and threw up twice. He also wheezed a few times too.

We waited for a while longer, he hasn't wheezed anymore and stopped throwing up, but he still wasn't eating much, for two weeks now! The vet prescribed anti-nausea medicine and antiobiotics, but all he will eat is milk and a little yogurt or cheese. He used to be a glutton :( I'm so worried.

Thanks for your help, sorry for the long read. :cat:

I don't have a lot of cat experience, but I wonder if the pred shut down his adrenal glands? Another possibility is that steroids are immune system suppressors--if there was an underlying infection, it may have taken off while Prince was on the pred. :(

Is there a cat-only vet in your area? A second opinion sounds like a good idea.

I hope you get some answers soon. :grouphug:

i think you should bring your cat to your nearest vet so that you will know what is really happening to your pet....

Rotten teeth sure as heck DID affect my cat's eating. They hurt her, she was actually crying out. Once removed, her two upper front canines, and recovered she ate again.

When one of my cats had asthma and stopped eating, she was given a prescription canned food, I think it was Hills, called canine/feline A/D. She loved it, but I guess you can't give it long term because of the nutrients. You might want to try it. I would skip the milk and try this instead, and definitely have the teeth pulled. I would think that would make a cat not want to eat.

What happens when adrenal glands shut down?

Thank you for your answers everyone :) I'm starting to think it might be his teeth, he seems to be trying to eat but unable to open his mouth too wide...

Symptoms of Addison's disease (underactivity of the adrenals) include lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, weight loss, diarrhea, shaking, frequent urination, increased thirst... among others.

If your cat has appetite but isn't eating much, it could well be the teeth! I hope so! That would be easier to treat than some of the other possibilities, like Addison's, which can be tricky to control. :thumbs up

It's dangerous for a cat to go too long without eating, so if it [I]is[/I] the teeth, best to get them seen to as soon as possible.