RE: Prednisone vs dexamethasone for IBD / need advise

[Faye Lewis]

I have had a time with my cats and tapeworms this year.  The fleas have been 
controlled by Advantage and the cats were repeatedly dewormed with Droncit.  
Eventually, the problem did end.  However, during the 3 months of dealing 
with this problem, they developed severe diarrhea.  Not IBD (although, I was 
beginning to suspect it was involved).  I found that kefir really, really 
helped with the diarrhea.  It might even be helpful with IBD.  The only 
catch is that some cats don't like it.  You can buy kefir at SitNstay.com.  
6 of my  9 cats love the stuff and act like it is ice cream.  Those were the 
cats that would form better stools after eating it.  It is a good way of 
getting beneficial bacteria into the guts of your cats. The bacteria in 
kefir is different from yogurt and some people believe better.

This might not help you but it is inexpensive since I had such great results 
with it, I thought it worth suggesting.

From: Nina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Subject: Prednisone vs dexamethasone for IBD / need advise
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 09:09:55 -0800
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FILETIME=[BA1B4630:01C4E2C9]

Hello Everyone,
I've posted before about my "feral turned house cat" Gypsy.  We suspect she 
has Inflammatory Bowel Disease, (fecal tests showed no parasites or 
Giardia).  The only vet that she's seen is not my favorite.  He's kind of 
old school and is pretty annoyed at me for being so involved in her 
treatment.  Because Gypsy can't be pilled, or given shots, I have to have 
something compounded into a liquid to mix in her food.  When I asked my vet 
which tasted better, Prednisone or Dexamethasone, he thought Dex might.  
When I called my compound pharmacy, they told me to go with the Pred 
instead.  I guess I should have looked up dosage before I had my vet write 
the script for Pred, because Dex is recommended at .22 mg/kg/day initially 
and Pred at 2.2 mg/kg/day.  It seems to me that getting a smaller dose of 
something down her might be easier than the larger dose, even if it tastes 
worse.  I hate having to call the vet back and beg him to change his 
script.  Do you think I should order the Pred and cross my fingers that 
she'll eat it?  The poor little thing has been battling chronic diarrhea 
for so long, I just want to get her some relief before she dies from 
malnutrition.
Thanks,
Nina