Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex - Treatment

Question
Hello,

My cat is suspected to have eosinophilic granuloma complex (2 vets have suspected the same thing, and he seems to be responding to treatment, so we are assuming it is the proper diagnosis). It all started as various skin problems, but he wasn't bothered by them. He was prescribed the corticosteriod prednisolone (though I am told it's more important that it is a corticosteriod than that exact one).

My vet is on vacation, and the replacement at the other hospital wants a whole appointment to answer my questions-too expensive. My questions are:

1) What are the side effects? (I tried looking it up on the internet- I only found the side-effect for humans; except weight gain, one site said weight gain)

2) If my cat is on a corticosteriod to suppress his immune system, is only the abnormal part suppressed or the whole thing? Do I have to worry if he gets another infection that he might not be able to fight it off?

3) They told me to suspect treatment for life, though the dose will go down to a preventative. Will his condition shorten his lifespan in comparison to other cats?

Thank you- this is all intimidating, especially not having those answers in the materials the hospital gave me.

Answer
Although the steroids do have side effects, fortunately cats do not have the serious side effects that people get. We have many cats on steroids for eosinophilic granulomas that live long, happy lives.  You can use a drug called Atopica for these, but it is much more expensive. We think that this condition is due to allergies.

The immune system can be depressed from high dose steroids, but at the low doses we use for this disease, there should not be any immune suppression.