# Long Term Prednisolone (steroid) Use and Feline Herpes Virus



## punk4life2882 (Aug 27, 2011)

My two year old cat Monty is most likely going to be on Prednisolone (steroids) for the rest of his life because of IBD. He was just recently diagnosed with Feline Herpes Virus. I have read some things about steroids and the herpes virus and it does not sound good. Since the steroids suppress the immune system i guess it may not allow the herpes virus to go dormant. One website said that if a cat is one steroids and had the herpes virus that they will have a shortened life span. Just wondering if anyone else has read or heard anything about this and if you have any suggestions?


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

I don't know about cats but I had to take prednisone to bring my IBD under control.
I don't have currently have insurance so I can't afford the expensive latest drug.
My Doctor won't let me take it for a long period of time, it can cause liver damage in human and has quite a few side effect.
Luckily it brought my IBD under control but then I handle to slowly reduce the dosage over a period of several weeks, if I tapered of too fast I'd get a terrible headache and generally feel like crap.


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## Buggzter (Jun 28, 2011)

Check online for anti-viral drugs for herpes, and see if there are any that are usable for cats. That should help fight the herpes issue while the cat is on prednisone. Acyclovir or famciclovir might be possibilities, although again I don't know if they are usable with cats - they work great with people though!

I only know some with drugs concerning humans as I'm a pharmacy technician, but I know that's sometimes an issue for humans as well. I don't know if sulfasalazine can be used with cats, but that's a colitis drug my husband takes - I know a few people with IBD on it, and it's possible that cats can take it too. Not too expensive, though more than prednisone (one of the cheapest drugs being made right now, really - there are a few out there you can buy like 500 tablets for around $20 with the Walgreen's discount card...).

I would think that it's sensable that the prednisone would let the herpes run more rampant in the cat's system unless it is controlled by another medication. This is a tricky situation I'd think, and I hope you can get things figured out without too much worry.


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## westfayetteville (Sep 22, 2011)

HI Punk4life2882
here is a site you can check out to help with IBD, the first site, just scrol down to the IBD part. Also there is a very good book you should read"Your Cat, Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life" By Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkin
http://www.catinfo.org/ 
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth
What type of food are you feeding Monty?


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## punk4life2882 (Aug 27, 2011)

Hey westfayetteville
I am currently feeding him Royal Canine limited ingredient venison wet and hard food. 

Thank you everyone for the info and suggestions!

I made an appointment with a holistic vet and I am going to have a consult with her Friday. Hopefully she will look at all his symptoms as a whole and not try to treat every symptom separately like the other vets are doing.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

There is a very informative and knowledgable IBD group on yahoo. One of my friends belonged to it and was grateful for all the advice there. Vets can be sketchy with knowledge and help with this disease, outside of throwing a few meds at it. Thats is why my friend started her own research of IBD.

Herpes virus will be in your cats system the rest of its life. Is it manifesting in its eyes?


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## punk4life2882 (Aug 27, 2011)

Mitts & Tess: Yes it is manifesting in his eyes. I am currently putting ointment in his eyes to prevent ulcers. 

Auntie crazy: I have heard about the raw diet. I guess I am a little hesitant to put him on one because I always hear that its good for them but can also harm them.


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## westfayetteville (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi Punk4life2882
A lot of people I know feed Raw without any problem,that is what our cats are ment to eat( never saw a cat cook a mouse) however you have to be comfortable with it, if you decide not to go raw, then if it were me I would feed a wet food under 10% carbs Dry matter( they say a mouse is about 6 or 7 carbs) 
No wheat,corn,rice,soy,potatos,sweet potatos or vegies and no "kitty crack"(Dry Food) If you want a list of the foods I know, just say so and I will copy and paste here, that said Raw is still the best and cheaper.


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## Valentine's Heart (Mar 18, 2011)

I wish you the best of this journey. Valentine had IBD and herpes. He had ulcers in both eyes. Anti-viral drops helped some, but it was such a battle and so painful for him. I didn't know as much about nutrition then and just followed the advise of my vet. He too eat Royal Canin and almost starved to death on it -- he hated it that much. Had I to do it over again, I would have tried the raw diet. Anything is worth a shot to get the cat off of the Prednisolone. The anti-viral drops were extremely expensive and hard to get except at all cat exclusive vets. If there is anything at all that you can do exclusively with diet, I would try it.


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