Long term steriod injections

[completelyclueless1]

Hi everyone

It's my first time posting here and I'm just looking for a bit of advice/similar experiences.

We rescued our boy at age 2 and he is now 14. He's a moggy and has always had a sensitive tummy and loose poos, but nothing to worry about really.

About a year ago his poos turned to water and he lost a lot of weight quickly. The vet diagnosed severe IBS and prescribed steroid tablets which worked a treat for about six months but then stopped being so effective.

The vet explained that his intestines were probably so irritated that they could no longer absorb the tablets, and so he started to get a monthly steroid injection.

He was like a new cat when he started on these injections, but over time the effectiveness dipped and he is now on fortnightly injections. The injections don't cost very much and they are easy to administer so I don't mind them at all (he isn't insured).

All of a sudden in the last week he has started to chomp on plants to make himself vomit. This happens at least once a day. He has only ever done this once every few months in the past and I don't really know what it signifies?

I'm just struggling to know what to do for the best. He is very thin and creaky, his coat is oily and dull and the steroids are causing his eyes to look cloudy.

But he spends the day curled up all cosy on the sofa and he purrs the evenings away on our laps. So he is still finding pleasure in life.

Sometimes when I'm cleaning up his liquid poo or the sick that has started to appear every day I think to myself "by god life would be easier without this". Then I'm ashamed of myself, he's been the most amazing companion, great with the children, and I shouldn't begrudge him an old age.

So I am scared that my judgement is being clouded for selfish reasons. Or that I'm doing the wrong thing keeping him going just to prove to myself I'm not selfish. It's very confusing.

I have had to make this decision in the past with horses, but I found that much more obvious. With cats it seems like they can still be quite happy even when they are a shadow of their former selves?

Sorry for the ramble and thank you for reading x

Just bumping because I could really do with some wise words/advice

It’s not an easy one as each cat is a different case.

My boy had the same type of issues, plus an autoimmune condition that caused his cells to replicate too much, so would grow a lump at the back of his mouth and one of his paws. He was on steroids for a number of years. Initially the injections, then moved to daily tablets, then needed an injection every six months to kickstart everything again whilst being on tablets too.

You say he’s thin and his coat is dull. Are these recent changes, or has he been like that for a while?

I can only go by my experience, but my boy very quickly lost weight and his coat changed quickly, it was like he’d aged 10 years in the space of a week. An X-ray and scan was done and it turned out he had a tumour in his stomach which had burst, so the toxins were leaking and nothing could be done. It was a huge shock, he was only 10. For peace of mind, I’d probably ask the vet for bloods to be taken and an X-ray done.

Purring can sometimes be an indication of pain, they really are so good at masking things.

I hope the above hasn’t unnecessarily worried you, but just wanted to let you know my experience. Hopefully the vets can get to the bottom of whether any other issues are lurking.

Our old cat had IBD, amongst other things. She became diabetic as a result of a damaged pancreas so couldn't have steroids. As an aside steroids can lead to diabetes in cats (I'm no vet so not sure on risks etc)
She was on hypoallergenic food (which I'm not sure if it helped or not) and also had Chlorambucil tablets which are also used to treat leukaemia. It did mean her immune system was suppressed (but steroids can also cause that I believe) as she was on chemotherapy tablets. She started with tablets more frequently then the frequency was reduced gradually; any flare ups we'd speak to vet and may increase the frequency or see how she went. It was a fine balancing act but it helped. I think they work as they're treating an autoimmune response which is similar to what causes leukaemia.
I can't remember the full ins and outs but we had a fabulous vet who did her research before starting with this.
Obviously, this is a strong medication and you would have to wear gloves when handling the tablets so it might not be the first choice.

Thank you so much for your responses and experiences.

Yes he has always had a lovely shiny coat (he's long haired), but this last year it has really dulled and flattened.

I must admit we've had that same experience with him, when in the space of a week he aged about ten years, he was like a walking cat skeleton. That was when an injection was tried for the first time and he bounced back, so we were lucky in that instance.

I'm very sorry you have had these difficult experiences as well. I had read that cats hide there paid, that is what is playing on my mind so much

I think I just don't know how you make this decision with a cat. I feel like it is harder/more complicated than with other animals.

Long term steroids can cause diabetes amongst order things. I would only want to use them in an emergency.
My cat has had colitis for 20 years. I've tried everything on the planet over the years and have finally got it controlled on biscuit only gastric diet. This is further complicated by her newly diagnosed kidney disease. Shes now supposed to be on the kidney diet which gives her awful diarrhoea. I've decided to keep her on the gastric diet and just make her comfortable.

I know it's not ideal, but we've tried prescribed diets, organic diets, the whole shebang throughout his life as he has always had a dicky tummy.

The vet says this is all that's left, other than a biopsy and then potentially chemotherapy. I can't put him through that I don't think .