Does anyone know if Benadryl or Zyrtec are more palatable to a cat? The vet would like Abby to start on one of them today, but she is awful to pill.
Thanks.
Thanks.
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Benadryl vs Zyrtec
- Thread starter AbbysMom
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I don't know that either are palatable unless you have them compounded.
You can get them compounded into a chicken flavored liquid from Chewy.
diphenhydramine hcl compounded - Free shipping | Chewy
Or you can have many more flavor and formulation options including flavored treats from Wedgewood:
Diphenhydramine Medication & Information for Animals
Diphenhydramine is Benadryl. You can repeat those searches for cetirizine (Zyrtec.)
In both cases, you'll need to get a prescription written from the vet even though Benadryl and Zyrtec are OTC for humans. You can either have the vet fax in the prescription or you can have the vet give you a written prescription which you can mail into them. Chewy even will refund you up to $9 if you wanted to priority mail or rush the prescription in to them.
If you don't want to compound, or if you need to pill her until your compounded medicine arrives, ask your vet about some Hills A/D to coat the medicine in and use the carpet trick in this video.
If the pill is small enough, presumably you are cutting a human-sized pill into a cat-sized dose, you can place the pill fragment inside size 5 (or 4) gelatin capsules and use the A/D carpet trick above as well. This is what I do for my Betty who takes two pills twice a day. I simply re-package the fragments into size 5 capsules (bigger number = smaller capsule) and hide the pill inside a very small morsel of her food (which is I/D mixed with A/D) and she will take up the morsel and the pill in one or two bites. Paradoxically, the more food I use to cover the pill, the more likely it will be licked and flicked across the room. Instead, I use just enough food to make her think the pill itself is a meat morsel. She may try to bite the capsule once or twice but she ultimately just swallows it. We have a low lick-and-flick rate here since I started using smaller amounts of food to coat the capsule.
I like these in white or a color capsule rather than clear so it's really easy to spot a lick and flick.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0868XLPKN/?tag=thecatsite
You can get them compounded into a chicken flavored liquid from Chewy.
diphenhydramine hcl compounded - Free shipping | Chewy
Or you can have many more flavor and formulation options including flavored treats from Wedgewood:
Diphenhydramine Medication & Information for Animals
Diphenhydramine is Benadryl. You can repeat those searches for cetirizine (Zyrtec.)
In both cases, you'll need to get a prescription written from the vet even though Benadryl and Zyrtec are OTC for humans. You can either have the vet fax in the prescription or you can have the vet give you a written prescription which you can mail into them. Chewy even will refund you up to $9 if you wanted to priority mail or rush the prescription in to them.
If you don't want to compound, or if you need to pill her until your compounded medicine arrives, ask your vet about some Hills A/D to coat the medicine in and use the carpet trick in this video.
If the pill is small enough, presumably you are cutting a human-sized pill into a cat-sized dose, you can place the pill fragment inside size 5 (or 4) gelatin capsules and use the A/D carpet trick above as well. This is what I do for my Betty who takes two pills twice a day. I simply re-package the fragments into size 5 capsules (bigger number = smaller capsule) and hide the pill inside a very small morsel of her food (which is I/D mixed with A/D) and she will take up the morsel and the pill in one or two bites. Paradoxically, the more food I use to cover the pill, the more likely it will be licked and flicked across the room. Instead, I use just enough food to make her think the pill itself is a meat morsel. She may try to bite the capsule once or twice but she ultimately just swallows it. We have a low lick-and-flick rate here since I started using smaller amounts of food to coat the capsule.
I like these in white or a color capsule rather than clear so it's really easy to spot a lick and flick.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0868XLPKN/?tag=thecatsite
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My experience, although it was with a Kroger brand of Cetirizine HCl (a Zyrtec generic, basically), is that Zyrtec isn't really coated. It's a white pill that disintegrates quickly, so that means a cat might taste it sooner. I think it comes in a 10 mg dose.
Benadryl is smaller but also coated (pink pill) -- however, it's usually 25 mg per pill, so you'd have to break it in half to get a 12.5 mg dose. Benadryl is easy to break in half just using your fingers. To cut it smaller than 12.5 mg, you'd need a knife and your readers, lol.
Benadryl is smaller but also coated (pink pill) -- however, it's usually 25 mg per pill, so you'd have to break it in half to get a 12.5 mg dose. Benadryl is easy to break in half just using your fingers. To cut it smaller than 12.5 mg, you'd need a knife and your readers, lol.
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Or a pill cutter.
Betty takes ondansetron (Zofran) and famotidine (Zantac AC) twice a day. Both pills are the size of a rice grain and need to be quartered. Thankfully the safety margin is wide on both because these aren't exact doses we're dealing with here.
For a pill that might disintegrate quickly like Pepcid or that generic Zyrtec, you can try to make your own flavored suspension. Get a 5 cc syringe, remove the stopper, and place the pill inside. Replace the stopper and take up a small amount of warm water or chicken broth. Shake until the pill dissolves. If you can get this into the cat, good luck. Otherwise, you may still need to disguise this further like in a lick treat, baby food, or Hills A/D.
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My cat raises bloody hell with liquid meds. 
Pills are easier for some cats.
Pills are easier for some cats.
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Yeah. Liquids are a tough sell for Betty too. I can squirt a sucralfate suspension into the side of her mouth and hope for the best. But otherwise, I avoid liquids. I have seen the vet struggle to get Betty’s mouth open. So I’m fortunate that she’ll take food-coated capsules off the carpet. And she’s been a really good sport about her daily Mirataz wet willy (transdermal) in the ear each night.My cat raises bloody hell with liquid meds.
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Thank you both. 
I bought both the Benadryl and Zyrtec and had success yesterday with the Zyrtec wrapped in a treat.
Abby is allergic to chicken so it rules a fair amount of things out. I do better with her with liquid. She sees the vet again today. If this is going to be a long-term thing I may have to get it compounded.
I bought both the Benadryl and Zyrtec and had success yesterday with the Zyrtec wrapped in a treat. Abby is allergic to chicken so it rules a fair amount of things out. I do better with her with liquid. She sees the vet again today. If this is going to be a long-term thing I may have to get it compounded.
