Meds administered & prescribed by vet...Concerns about adverse effects...

I have recently taken my 8 yr. old Bombay, Shadow (aka PNut) to the vet for severe diarrhea, vomiting, asthma symptoms (coughing & sneezing) & bumps on the skin.
Administered by vet:
- Dexamethasone-SP 4mg Injection --> (a steroid)
  adverse reactions: accentuation of metabolic effects (?)
- Cerenia 10 mg Injection -- bacterial infections, Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) & giardiasis
- Not officially approved for veterinarian use (concern--then why prescribe?)
- Regulates immune system response, fights skin infections (his bumps?)
Adverse Reactions: Serious --> seizures, muscle weakness, liver disease (jaundice) --> can take up to 2 weeks to subside after discontinued use.
Less Serious --> vomiting (says to stop use if cat stops eating or vomiting does not stop)
I am concerned about the injections & this last one. Should I give him that last one? I don't know what I would do if he had a seizure. I dread the thought. And how do you tell if he has muscle weakness? Also it said that if he gets the severe side effects that it requires vet attention & I won't notice anything until after a week, which is how long he is on this medication. He also coughs. The vet said that it could be asthma. If this medication doesn't improve his condition, I have been advised to seek those other courses of treatment (mentioned above). Thanks in advance for any information you can provide. Please, reply A.S.A.P.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

All of the medications prescribed by your vet were totally appropriate and recommended for the conditions for which they were prescribed.

Cerenia is used often in cats and is totally safe if used correctly.  Use of Cerenia in cats is called "extra label".  Pfizer, the company that manufactures Cerenia, has assured me that it will be changing the label to include cats eventually.

Steroids are one of the important medications to treat asthma in cats and are necessary and can be life saving in serious cases.

All medications, even those considered natural have side effects.  The benefits do outweigh the risks in most cases if used appropriately.

I really do recommend that you have a chest X-Ray if asthma is suspected.   I also recommend that you follow your vets advise.

[redgrubs731]

I have an 11 year old Maltese. Our previous vet was giving him Prednisone. Our new vet states that the Predisone is the reason the dog is sick because he now has Cushing's disease. Our dog urinates large amount and often. He's on a special diet because the Vet said he's allergic to many foods, so now he eats DD diet- it's either venison & potatoes or salmon & potatoes and duck & potatoes because he has allergies. We give him Trilostne 2x daily. I see no change?