Death after Prednisone in cats

The FDA has received 118 reports of death in cats after Prednisone. That is 13% of all reports for this medicine, compared with 8.9% across reports for all cat medicines.

118Reports

96%Marked serious

0.0%Recovered

100%Died or euthanised

8 daysTypical onset

How soon it started

Same day

19 21%

1–2 days

13 14%

3–7 days

12 13%

1–4 weeks

23 25%

Over a month

25 27%

How the animals did

Died

47 40%

Euthanised

71 60%

Problems reported at the same time

51 43%

38 32%

25 21%

24 20%

23 19%

22 19%

18 15%

17 14%

Age of the animals

Under 1 year

1–3 years

4–7 years

8–11 years

12+ years

About this medicine

Prednisone reduces inflammation and immune activity.

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

Questions owners ask

Can Prednisone cause death in cats?: 118 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 8 days 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).

Death with similar medicines

Death after Prednisolone 187 reports · 15% of its reports
Death after Dexamethasone + Neomycin + Thiabendazole 80 reports · 10.0% of its reports
Death after Dexamethasone 223 reports · 29% of its reports

All reported side effects of Prednisone in cats · Medicines most reported with death