Diarrhea after Dexamethasone in cats

The FDA has received 73 reports of diarrhea in cats after Dexamethasone. That is 9.5% of all reports for this medicine, compared with 5.1% across reports for all cat medicines, so it is reported unusually often with this medicine.

73Reports

77%Marked serious

30%Recovered

25%Died or euthanised

Same dayTypical onset

How soon it started

Same day

44 66%

1–2 days

7 10%

3–7 days

5 7.5%

1–4 weeks

5 7.5%

Over a month

6 9.0%

How the animals did

Recovered

20 27%

Recovered with lasting effects

2 2.7%

Still unwell when reported

20 27%

Died

8 11%

Euthanised

10 14%

Not known

13 18%

Problems reported at the same time

46 63%

29 40%

28 38%

21 29%

19 26%

18 25%

15 21%

14 19%

Age of the animals

Under 1 year

1–3 years

4–7 years

8–11 years

12+ years

About this medicine

Dexamethasone reduces inflammation and immune activity.

Steroids commonly cause increased thirst, urination and appetite, especially at higher doses.

Questions owners ask

Can Dexamethasone cause diarrhea in cats?: 73 reports link the two, but a report alone does not prove the medicine was the cause: other illnesses, other medicines or coincidence can be involved. Your vet can judge it for your animal.
How soon after a dose was it reported?: In half of the reports with dates, it started within the same day of the first dose.
What should I do?: Don't give another dose until you've spoken to your vet, and keep the packaging so you can tell them the product and dose. Your vet can also report it to the FDA (or you can, through the manufacturer or FDA form 1932a).

Diarrhea with similar medicines

Diarrhea after Prednisolone 102 reports · 8.3% of its reports
Diarrhea after Prednisone 79 reports · 8.9% of its reports
Diarrhea after Dexamethasone + Neomycin + Thiabendazole 38 reports · 4.7% of its reports

All reported side effects of Dexamethasone in cats · Medicines most reported with diarrhea