Lethargic Cats

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Cat Lethargic After Injection

I have a question. My seven-year-old, neutered male cat went to the vet Monday because of hair loss. The vet gave him a shot of 20 milligrams of Megage to stop the itching. Now all he does is sleep and nothing else. Is this normal? He had been drinking a lot of water. The vet said that drinking water is normal, But what about sleeping all the time? I asked the vet if the cat could be having a reaction to the medication and he said, "Not likely." Should I take him back to the vet? This is Friday and Saturday they will be closed for the weekend. I would like to now about this tomorrow if possible.

~~Lisa

Expert Reply

Hi, Lisa,

I have not heard of that particular medication and could not locate additional information on it. However, the most common medications for itching include cortisone injections. I have heard of one friend's diabetic cat having a poor reaction, loss of appetite and lethargy from cortisone injections, but this may have been unrelated to the shots and a healthy cat should recover fairly quickly from the injection.

The fact that your cat is still lethargic indicates that he may have an untreated condition of some sort, but it probably is not related to the cortisone shot. More likely, the hair loss is related to the condition. I know it may sound out in left field, but is it possible that your cat could be depressed? Cats can get depressed just like people and often for similar reasons, such as the loss of a companion pet, loss of another family member through divorce, death or a child going off to college. Changes also upset some cats.

If it were my cat, I'd go ahead and take him back to the vet or even take him to another vet for a second opinion. Every vet has a specialty area and it never hurts to get a second opinion, especially when you are particularly concerned about your pet's behavior. Please check back and let us know how he is doing and what the vet says.

~~Lori