My pet might need steroids. What are they and how do they work?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The real answer is- it depends on why they were prescribed and for how long. If this is for an auto-immune disease, your pet’s life may depend on the steroids. Same for severe asthma or allergic reaction. If however, it is for itching or minor swelling/inflammation, or allergies, a shorter course or even a single injection may be safe. In general steroids do not tend to cause serious side effects unless they are used at high doses or for long courses of treatment. Long story short, it may be perfectly fine to skip the oral medication but definitely ask your doctor first.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Steroid use, dosing and the taper needs to be decided upon by a Vet that has examined the pet. We can not prescribe drugs or tell you how to use a drug because we legally are not allowed to. I am sorry. I recommend calling your Vet and asking them since they have a legal relationship with you. Have a great day!

Whether a long acting steroid or daily oral steroids are better will depend on whether one works better than the other for your kitty's condition. This is something that will have to be tried out. The good thing about short acting budesonide is that it can be stopped anytime if needed. The long acting steroid can not be stopped from working until its activity is over. Depending on the tyoe of long acting steroid this can be up to three months. Trust your vet to do the right thing and prescribe the proper treatment for your cat. If you have problems with pilling your cat there are ways to compound the medication into either a transdermal medicine or flavored chews (tuna, sardine, etc) which can be given like a treat.

You can feed her puppy food in small frequent meals to help her gain more weight. You should schedule a vet visit to have them check her over and see if there are any problems and maybe a reason why she was on the prednisone. Prednisone is a steroid that is often used for pain and inflammation or skin disease and allergies. If none of these are noted, you can stop the medicine and see how she responds

That is a low dose, however, there is no set time frame for you to see side effects. Some dogs are more sensitive and develop side effects quickly, and some dogs are on it longer before this happens. Side effects include excessive thirst and hunger, panting, developing a pot-bellied appearance, and losing overall muscle tone. It is not a medication that is ideal for long-term use. Allergies can be very frustrating to manage. If you have a veterinary dermatologist in your area, you may consider allergy testing and even allergy shots to try and make Lily more comfortable. This isn't available everywhere, but if other medications haven't helped, it might be worth looking into. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Great question! No, you absolutely CANNOT give a steroid (prednisone) at the same time as a NSAID (Metacam). This is a very big no-no! This can cause huge, life-threatening side effects. He can take a muscle relaxant and/or an opiate along with the steroid. You should also you vet about these medications as they are prescription medications. All these medications work synergistically together. You should also consider acupuncture. It works wonders for these injuries. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I do not recommend giving any pets any human medications without specific instructions from your vet. Steroids have to be given carefully in order to obtain the correct therapeutic effect and they must be weaned off it when finishing a course. This is a discussion best handled by your veterinarian.