steroids for cats

[Elaine]

Does anyone know if I can buy Prednicare for my cat without a prescription or is it on prescription only?

About 4 years ago she was diagnosed with a skin condition that erupts in the winter as she is constantly licking herself and she breaks the skin in places. He insists that as he hasn't seen her in 6 months he won't prescribe a repeat prescription until he sees her. i did mention that he had prescribed these steroids on every previous occasion that he'd seen her and i wasn't happy about wasting my time taking her in, paying a consulting fee and then being given exactly what i had asked for in the first place.

i did a search on the internet and they seem to want a prescription upfront before dispatch.

Can anyone help?

Elaine

[ikefoona]

my cat has bad skin too and she was on steroids for a while but the vet didn't like giving them to her constantly. We tried Iams cat food and gave her no treats such as milk or chicken and eventually with some patience things began to get better. Worth a try?!

[ProperBoPeep]

I am a vet and get asked this question an awful lot by people with pets on long term medication.  There is a legal requirement to examine animals on long term medication at least every 6 months in order to prescribe repeat medication.  With certain medication that are known to have dangerous side effects (such as steroids), I often see them every 3 months.

You would be amazed what I unfortunately pick up on these routine examinations, that the owner hadn't noticed or thought was a problem.  I have recently had a dog die due to a perforated gastric ulcer due to long term steroid use.  He had not been seen for only 4 months but the owner hadn't realised that the odd signs he was showing was significant.

Most vets really do have your animals best interest at heart - you are not wasting your time by getting the animal checked. I'm sure you would feel awful if the medication designed to treat your cat actually made her poorly! 

Talking particulary about steroids in cats - they can cause gastric problems and also may make your cat more predisposed to developing diabetes.  On a less serious note they can make animals put on large amounts of weight - something else that your vet will monitor for you.

A final note - try thinking about getting a repeat prescription from a doctor without being seen by him or her for 6 months...

[julieblue65]

Hi, Prednicare are prescription only medicine. However, as I am having these for my dog, I have checked out the prices, and they are much cheaper on the net, around 33%, but you will need a prescription from the vet, but this will obviously still work out cheaper.