wrote in message
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"Howard C. Berkowitz" wrote in
:



It varies by state, but some state pharmacy rules dictate variously
that a prescription for a cat will have a middle initial of C or F, or
actually spell out the species.

Oral corticosteroids should be therapeutically equivalent in cats and
humans, with the appropriate dose adjustments -- although cats seem to
be able to take what would be huge doses referenced to body weight.
Antibiotics also generally seem compatible.

I would be cautious in anything that affects the nervous system.
Opioids, for example, generally don't stop pain in cats and may cause
wild excitation. Still, certain drigs are usable in the controlled
context of an operating room.



I spoke to my vet who said that I shouldn't worry about the generic
Prednisolone at the pharmacy as long as it's Prednisolone and not
Prednisone. Sure enough, they had to order the Prednisolone.
The only difference I can visually see is the the pill from the vet was
rectangle and white, and this generic one is round and light orange. Both
are 5mg, and the difference in cost is substantial. The vet had quite a
markup. I see that even medi-vet.com only charges about .10¢ a pill.


Of the two, prednisolone is the active drug. Prednisone has to be converted,
by the liver, into prednisolone, so prednisolone becomes available more
quickly, and liver disease doesn't interfere with the conversion. The
dosages are roughly equivalent; both are less potent than some of the
synthetics. Potency really isn't an issue when giving them orally or by
injection into general tissue, because you can give a larger amount with
little problem. In general, the most potent corticosteroids are reserved
for cases where it's only possible to get a certain amount physically into
the area, such as in skin creams, joint injections, eyedrops, etc.