On Thu 09 Mar 2006 10:14:32a, Wilbur Post wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
):

Some of you say you have cats on depo medrol for a long time.
Is that better than occasional treatments of Prednisolone.

My Shamrock has had Depo shots nearly his entire life. The
dermatologist I took him to said they're mostly safe if given no
more than every 4 months. That cats metabolize steroids better than
humans and even dogs. That said, a cat that is at risk of diabetes
(genetics) can get it from steroids. Shamrock (4 years old) just
had a full blood panel, and so far his blood glucose is still in
the normal range. I've read that oral steroids are safer because
they are short lived compared to Depo that takes much longer to be
metabolized. However, in our experience, oral steroids take much
longer to show any effect, where injectable Depo shows improvement
within a couple of days.

My Shamrock gets allergy shots because his inhalent allergies were
tested for, and a serum created to specifically address them.
After nearly a year on the serum, it hasn't completely "cured" him.
The need for Depo has decreased in frequency, but all in all, I'd
say the allergy shots is a failure. It was an expensive "try" but
I'd do it again. Now his dermatologist is recommending a drug by
Novartis called Atopica. Atopica's label use is for dogs. Rarely
do people opt for this for dogs because the dogs that are mostly
genetically affected by allergies that cause skin erruptions are
big dogs, and Atopica dose is based on weight. It makes it too
expensive. Our dermatologist said that for Shamrock the first month
will be $80, then decreasing the dose until it reaches 1/2 of the
initial dose. $40 a month for life is worth it to me to keep him
comfortable. Nothing else has worked.

--
Cheryl