Prednisone isn't usually prescribed for cats because they don't have as much of the liver enzyme required to metabolize it into the active form. Prednisolone is the active form, and it is the medication usually prescribed for cats and any species where liver disease is suspected.

Prednisolone is a glucocorticoid steroid. These medications have a lot of effects on every system of the body. One of the effects is muscle wasting, which may be why your cat is unable to use her back legs properly. Steroids do not spare the heart muscle either. If her heart is failing, she may be showing it by overall weakness. Another problem with steroids are that they cause increased urination, which may cause your cat to have lost too much potassium. Potassium deficiency can also cause the symptoms you describe. Yet another concern is that steroid use in cats especially can make them diabetic, which can cause generalized weakness and other serious problems.

What condition was the prednisone supposed to treat? Steroids are not generally prescribed for urinary marking conditions or other urinary problems as they tend to make those types of problems worse.

Since this is a new problem, you should at least talk to the vet about it, and ask about if the pred could be part of the cause. Because steroids can cause a lot of problems, s/he may suggest a PE and repeat bloodwork, which would be the only way to tell if she had a potassium deficiency or had become diabetic. What you are describing is NOT a normal aging process and may be treatable. Good luck.

I think there is a big communication problem with your vet. Prednisone treats inflammation. What does he think she has? Has he suggested a brain MRI?

Thank you for your reply, meghane. I looked at the pills, and it's prednisone, in a 5mg dose. So i'm going to call when they open tomorrow morning to ask about the alternative you mentioned.

I guess in my ramblings, the sequence of events was lost. I took her to the vet for the limp. She'd never been on any medication at all at that time, no changes in her food, nothing obvious stuck in her paws, so her difficulty jumping and walking really did seem to come from out of the blue. Quite honestly, i only briefly mentioned her territory marking to the vet, because i thought it might be relevant to the diagnosis. But once Holiday developed the limp, it just sort of "wiped out" the territory marking issue in my mind, because one, i knew, was "normal" cat behavior (in response to what she saw out the window), the other was most assuredly not.

After his exam, he diagnosed her with "crepidus (spelling?)" and prescribed the medication. He also gave me a glocosamine (spelling?) powder to mix in with her food, but she won't eat when i do this. So i've had to give up on that just to keep her fed. She's drinking, eating, and eliminating normally. But since she has "good days" and "not so good," i can't really tell if she's getting better.

I just started the second bottle of pills. The vet suggested i play with spacing them out, perhaps one every other day, to see how that effects her gait.

As i said, she doesn't SEEM to be in any pain, she's very affectionate and so on.

Hi, laurabs. Yes, i think my original message was just very confusing. I took her to the vet for the limp, and his diagnosis was "crepidus," as i mentioned above. But i'm alarmed, now, about this medication, so i'm going to stop giving it to her until i learn more and speak to the vet again.

He's mentioned other tests, but there's a cost consideration, and he wanted to try the pills first. So we're taking this one step at a time.

Thank you for your reply ...

Please do NOT stop giving the Pred without first speaking with your vet. An animal's body must be weaned off of Pred gradually, or you can cause very serious side effects. Continue to give the Pred as prescribed until you discuss other options with your vet.

Laurie

Please do NOT stop giving the Pred without first speaking with your vet. An animal's body must be weaned off of Pred gradually, or you can cause very serious side effects. Continue to give the Pred as prescribed until you discuss other options with your vet.

Laurie

I'm no cat expert, but were this a dog I'd definitely suspect back trouble. I'd have a chiropractor look at her.

Prednisone is a very dangerous drug for cats. One of my cats was treated for asthma with prednisone 9 years ago -not sure prednisolone was available then-- and became diabetic--Fortunately, he was in remission after a year. My 12-year cat was recently treated with prednisolone towards the end because of a brain tumor but he only lasted a week.
My "asthma cat" recently developed a limp that lasted 2 weeks after a rabies shot and was treated with metacam (for pain) , and kidney problems started (from the vaccine? from metacam?). More vaccines the following year, and now his hind leg is completely useless.
Anyway, be sure your vet explains clearly what she thinks your cat is suffering from. As Meghane wrote, prednisolone is the more tolerated form for cats.

Hope you were able to talk with your vet today, and get some reassuring news. Please keep us posted. Thinking of you and Holiday,
Anne-Marie