Online I also found it can cause cancer in cats. Apparently it has several uses including treatment of cat skin disorders. My vet gave it to me with no mention of any side effects so I was surprised to see cancer and diabetes mentioned. She will probably say it's safe if I ask about it. But how do I know. It isn't something he will just need for a couple weeks. Anyway hoping someone has used it for their cat's skin and/or knows of alternatives.

Thanks anyway. Other people ask stuff on here and get suggestions from people with similar pet experiences so I was hoping for that too.

Many years ago I had a long haired torti / calico that would get itchy sores. Maybe from flea bites. No idea. I took her to a vet who prescribed ovaban and that quelled the eruptions and her gouging and licking at them. She was spayed.

Nowadays, after ruling out fleas, I would probably explore using something like benedryll or maybe an OTC cortisone cream.

more recently, with a small dog that had what wash thought to be an allergy --widespread very dry scaling skin, dandruff, brown specs then hyperpigmentation; licking of paws... Dog was tested for mange and for adrenal function (negative). Benadryl didn't help. Switched to all natural hypoallergenic shampoo (no help) and to zero grain, salmon and rice kibble for a year. The condition persisted. Then we added 1/8 to 1/4 can of lamb & rice to the kibble. After a few months, the horribly severe flaking skin was gone. We were not sure if it was the addition of the lamb & rice, but that is the only thing that was new. We gave the other changes a good year before adding the lamb.

best of luck. I hope kitty gets some comfort soon.

Like all medications, (human or otherwise), there are risk/benefit ratios that you have to weigh. If one cat allegedly develops cancer and/or diabetes from this medication, then it must be listed as a potential side effect. I do my own research and share any concerns with my MD or DVM. You could ask about alternative treatments. If I can't have a reasonable discussion, I switch providers. However, no one can guarantee that your cat will not develop these diseases with or without this medication.

Get a 2nd opinion.

I would get a second option.......ideally from a vet that specializes in dermatology. As nannygoat said, at some point we have to weight the pros and cons of certain meds and treatments, then choose what gives our pets a better quality of life.

Your cat is apparently pretty miserable if he's biting himself and pulling out hair and the stress from that, and the damage to his skin, could lead to other problems. I would get him an appt with a specialist and if that's not possible give him the magestrol until you find other treatments.

My neighbor has two cats and I was discussing this thread with her. She said one of her cats exhibited the same symptoms and the vet thought it was a flea bite allergy and prescribed a safe and effective flea control treatment. However, it did not work so the cat was tested for mites and parasites. Both came up negative so she decided to change to a raw food diet with Omega 3 fatty acid supplementation. This did the trick and the cat has a beautiful thick coat now.

What's your cat diagnosis? If it's flea/mosquito allergy, mites, parasites, or food intolerances, there are less risky treatments that may be beneficial.

Unknown cause, possibly an allergy. But not necessarily. It's definitely not a flea allergy.

"What's your cat diagnosis? If it's flea/mosquito allergy, mites, parasites, or food intolerances..."

Resulting in the Vet prescribing Progesterone?

Did the vet do blood/skin testing to find out what's causing the allergic reaction? Or suggest an elimination diet?

This medication is used to treat feline acquired symmetrical alopecia (FASA) which is a rare condition with very obvious clinical findings. It can also be indicated for stress induced alopecia. However, due to the potential side effects, it is not commonly prescribed to relieve allergic skin conditions.

A discussion with your vet is definitely warranted. I'd seek a second opinion as well. This does not sound like appropriate measures were taken to help your cat.

No she did not. He does have the symmetrical hairloss symptoms described in FASA but apparently there can be different causes for it based on what I read. If I give him the megestrol consistently it does work but I don't want it creating more problems. I guess I will have to look for a more expensive vet. This one is close to where I live and doesn't cost me an arm and leg for basic visits. But in this case it sounds like I need to look elsewhere.

I hear what nannygoat and SaltiDawg are saying. The vet probably thought megestrol would be worth trying based upon his experience.

ideally, the cat could see a canine dermatologist. Then probably have various exams done, biopsy, scraping. Those biopsies often need to be sent out to a vet pathologist. All of this can quickly add up. Sometimes the biopsy is t good enough or has to be re-done.

i went through a lot of this with my dog (along with changing the food and shampoo). After nearly $1,000 and still no answers for the three issues he had, I continued reading (evidenced based material) and was $forced$ to experiment (in a benign way). A couple of the issues cleared up (ulceration/ lateral focussed erosion on his tongue (presumably from contact with his molar that had a lot of plaque); and the copious dandruff and skin flaking. Another condition got slightly better with topical OTC cortisone and antibiotic ointment. But I was in line to spend several thousand and still have no guarantee of a form dx or cure. The dog was older and we were running out of vet money.

The point I'm making is that, yes, we do have to do our best to intelligently weigh things or seek rational alternatives that won't harm and could prove very helpful (as nannygoat illustrates with the cat situation above).

There are a handful of things it might be. Sensitivity to something in his environment or diet. Anxiety. Some pathological organism or mite like entity.

With my dog's very sore tongue, I tried giving him pieces of raw, air dried, aged beef (based on some articles I was reading). I also tried to clean his teeth and used Biotene mouthwash on a Q-tip along the lingual side of the adjacent teeth. Within a week, the seamingly intractable and progressive erosion had stopped. Raw red turned the color of the rest of his tongue, although the notch in his tongue remained. The alternative treatment was $$ with anesthesia, extractions, biopsy and no "guarantee" of halting the pathology.

I hope there is something you can safely and simply put on kitty's sores. Did you get back to your vet and ask him about your concerns? I would at least do that. And I doubt that a trial dose of the hormone is going to be problematic for kitty. You could see if it helps. Keep us posted.

Nannygoat, can you explain how using the Elizabethan collar would help distinguish between behavior and health problem? My experience in using them is that they always freak out my cats. Sure, there are times when they are needed but if a cat truly has a skin problem that is painful or uncomfortable, then not being able to get to it would only add to their stress level. Fighting the collar would just temporarily replace the issue with the legs.

As long as we're throwing out possible causes, I'll mention one that was discussed recently in another thread about a dog chewing its feet. One member shared her experience with a dog that chewed it's feet until they were mutilated. The vet diagnosed her dog with "a tumor on his spine that was causing numbness in his paws which irritated him, so he chewed them".

All these possibilities is why one should work with a specialist. BTW, I've always found that the specialist is no more expensive than my general vet, simply because they can isolate the problem faster and eliminate a lot of the tests that are 'trial and error'.

The explanation is in the link I provided.

My dogs always fought the collar too. But one had a serious itchy infection that necessitated wearing one 24/7 and I discovered there were softer and more comfortable versions.

If I were to try this rule-out method, I'd do it in consultation with my vet as there are psychotrophic meds that could be given for anxiety/stress reduction.