Getting cat to take medication

[kg84]

My senior kitty was just diagnosed with a condition that is going to have her on daily pills for the rest of her life.

I have had to force feed her the pills so far which is traumatic for us both.

I've tried hiding them in everything I can think of... every kind of treat, crushed in food... she will not touch it when it has a pill inside. Can she smell the meds? She does not eat any table food like cheese or meat. Never has.

I literally bought every kind of food and treat from three different stores.

Any suggestions? She's always been a bit of a picky eater and does not finish her food. These pills she needs to take at a specific time each day so it's important she takes it all at once.

She's avoiding me now after a few days of forcing pills down her throat. And that makes me so sad.

 

[maggie101]

Can the pills be liquid and flavored at a pharmacy? If I have to give a pill to one of my cats I tilt her head back,dip a pill in a churu or tiki tube, drop in her mouth,close it and wait til she swallows then give her a little more as a treat

 

[LTS3]

Try these pilling tips:

Pilling Cats: Must-know Tips For Hiding Pills – TheCatSite Articles
The Best Pill-taking Secret I Know...
Pilling Cats and Dogs Safely
How We Give Our Pill Hating Cat A Pill
Getting Cat To Take Pills... Post Tips Here.

Give Pill Pockets a try if you haven't already. Dry forcing pills down can result in erosive esophagitis. Basically the outside coating of the pill will start to dissolve in the throat and cause burns and the pill may get stuck in the throat. If you have to dry pill, follow up with a syringe of water or some yummy moist treat to help push the pill down into the stomach.

Since this medicine will be given daily long term, ask the vet if the medicine can be compounded into another form for easier giving.

What is the medicine your cat needs to take?

 

[Antonio65]

Can the med be give in a different form than pills or tablets, like drops, eargel?
Like maggie101 said, can your pharmacy compound the med into a palatable product?

 

[kg84]

Thank you all, I will be talking to the vet tomorrow and will ask her if it can be compounded differently. I had a bit of luck today by crushing the pills into powder and mixing them with a yogurt like treat that we bought. I call it cat yogurt but it has no dairy, it's like liquified tuna that is the consistency of yogurt and comes in a tube. That worked and she ate it without noticing I had added the powder to it. When I tried it before leaving the pill whole she would just spit it out. Now I just need to confirm with the vet whether these pills are ok to crush like that into powder.

She's on two meds. One is prednisolone and one is florinef.

 

[Antonio65]

As far as I know, prednisolone can be split, so I think it can be crushed as well.
But yes, you'd definitely ask your vet if those pills can be crushed, especially Florinef, which I don't know.
Some pills lose part of their effectiveness if crushed.
Don't know what issue your cat has, from what I read Florinef can be used to counter the effects of Addison's, which is the opposite of what my cat had.
She would take Spironolactone, but the dosage was a whole tiny pill that she would get with no problems.

 

[LTS3]

Pred pills are small enough to hide in a Pill Pocket or other pill dough. I give pred to my cat with a bacon flavored pill dough

Wedgewood Pharmacy can compound the pred and the florinef into other forms. A local compounding pharmacy can also do this. Pred can be compounded into a transgermal gel among others. Florief can be made into a flavored chew treat.

Prednisolone for dogs and cats: Uses, Dosage & Side Effects

Prednisolone is commonly prescribed for inflammation, immunosuppression, pruritis, recurrent airway obstruction in horses in dogs, cats, and horses.

www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com

Florinef Medication & Information for Animals

Find custom compounded florinef medication for animals and articles with florinef information from Wedgewood Pharmacy, a leading veterinary pharmacy.

www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com

 

[kg84]

I spoke with the vet. She wasn't thrilled with me pulverizing the pills only because you cannot guarantee that you are not missing part of the dose when dealing with the powder and mixing it into another substance.

The vet sent our prescription over to Wedgewood and we are having it compounded into a liquid instead. Figures crossed that solves the issue!

 

[t c c]

Be careful putting medication in food-it can then cause the cat to not want to eat any food. If you haven't tried the "pill poppers"-you get better with them as time goes on. You can watch videos online of the positions you can get in, that will work the best during administration. And be sure to have a syringe with about 3 ml of water in it, so you can help wash the pill down afterwards.