Help Getting Dasuquen Powder in Apollo

catlover73

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
2,627
Purraise
1,541
Location
Chicago area
My cat is currently under vet care for stress caused urinary issues. He does not presently have a UTI and we are dealing with an inflamation issue. He is supposed to get to 2 gel caps full at one time. This cats gets stressed out easily and does not like to be held. My normal go to is hiding meds in butter but this is not working with the powder. He will not finish all the butter like he was when I was hiding a pill in it. I have also tried mixing it with a little bit of milk since he likes to lick cereal bowls and that did not work. He will not touch plain yogurt at all. He also does not care for wet cat food and will not touch pill pockets either. He also does not care for cat treats either. I am at a bit of a loss. I know we can syringe the medicine into him but that causes a lot of extra stress that I would prefer to avoid if possible. He has to be wrapped in blanket and it takes two of us to give him liquid meds. I will do that if I have to since the dose is once a day. I need some help please. I live in the U.S. too if this helps.
 

Buffster7

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jul 1, 2019
Messages
887
Purraise
2,712
I hide Charlie's unpleasant meds in his Churu treats...or his Hartz squeeze-ups. I squeeze the treat out onto a plate and mix the med into it. He cannot resist those treats. Or I wonder if you could try mixing it in a dollop of baby food?

*Edit to add - I know you said he doesn't like treats, but wondered if you'd ever tried the squeezable ones. Most cats find them irresistible.
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,435
Purraise
33,197
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
Hi. Can you try mixing the powder with some canned tuna or chicken water to see if he will lap it up that way? I did that with Feeby's meds, and then gave her a piece of the tuna or chicken as a treat afterward. It might just be that the taste of it is particularly nasty. If that is the case, is there an alternative med you could try?

Also, given he has urinary issues, you might want to see if mixing some water with his dry food would be a way to get some more moisture in his diet. It might or might not work, but it is worth a try. A little at first, then more water over time. If he were to like it that way, you might be able to 'convert' him to wet foods down the road. Maybe even try to mix some wet food with his dry food.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

catlover73

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
2,627
Purraise
1,541
Location
Chicago area
Apollo is actually good with drinking water. We have two kitty fountains and a rock fountain. He uses all 3 fountains to drink. I think I am going to have to make a trip to the store to get some of the things mentioned here since I do not currently have them.
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,435
Purraise
33,197
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
The mention of baby food - it would be baby food meat with no onions, garlic, etc. Gerber is one example, Beechnut is another. A lot of cats for some reason like baby food meats.
 

AbbysMom

At Abby's beck and call
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
May 18, 2005
Messages
78,298
Purraise
19,403
Location
Massachusetts
Does it have to be all at once? At first when I started giving Abby Dasuquin, she would refuse the the whole capsule mixed into anything. I had to split it between two servings of food. My vet was OK with that.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

catlover73

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
2,627
Purraise
1,541
Location
Chicago area
The directions say two capsules in one meal. Apollo is a big cat. I think I am going to try doing one capsule at a time and see if that helps. I am also going to try the taste test with the plain yogurt again later. My other three would not leave him alone. It seemed like he may try it if the other cats are not around. He is taking a nap right now. Hopefully when he wakes up the other 3 will be asleep and I can try the yogurt again. I may run out later and look at the squeezable cat treats to try. Hubby is asleep right now and I do not drive. I am dealing with some knee issues myself so walking anywhere is not a good idea.

I know what to look for in the baby food since I used it with one of my other cats years ago. I am concerned he will not eat it though. He never tried to go near it when I was giving it to my other cat. He sniffed it and left the room. This was chicken flavor and he loves chicken. He is very food fussy. I am also going to do a food change too. The vet prescriptions for Urinary food are super expensive and my hubby is unemployed. The vet is fine with me trying different non-prescription foods due to our finances and Apollo being a fussy eater. A food change in my house would have to work for all 4 cats.
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

catlover73

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
2,627
Purraise
1,541
Location
Chicago area
I finally had some luck mixing one dose of his Dasuquen in some wet turkey flavored food. I am pretty sure between this and the other experiments today he has had the full dosage. I am going to try this first tomorrow and hope it continues working. I did discover my senior gal Starbuck likes yogurt. That might be useful in the future.
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
The directions say two capsules in one meal. Apollo is a big cat.

The instructions say 2 capsules per day for a cat 10 lbs or more.


Try giving one in the morning and one in the evening unless your vet has given you instructions to give two capsules in one meal.

While the capsule is meant to be opened and the contents sprinkled in food, you can give the capsule whole using a Pill Pocket or something similar.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

catlover73

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
2,627
Purraise
1,541
Location
Chicago area
Apollo is over 10 pounds and the vet directions are two capsules in one table spoon full of food. I did one capsule of powder in a table spoonful of food to make-up for what he did not take earlier in the day. The main issue now is trying to get him to eat a table spoon of food all at one time. Apollo is a grazer with his dry food. He eats small amounts throughout the day. I may have to break it up into two doses with smaller amounts of food to get all the medicine in him. I could always do the doses a couple hours apart to get him to eat all of it. Apollo will not eat pill pockets at all even without any medication. I tried to give him part of a pill pocket before using butter. He sniffed it and fled the room. I think the capsule itself may be too big to hide in butter without him noticing it. The butter trick I used was for a quarter of a Cerenia pill and that is really tiny. I am trying to avoid having to dump the capsules in a syringe with water if possible. Giving him liquid meds stresses him out and I am trying to avoid that. He did not put up a fuss with the powder in the wet food. I just had to crawl around on the floor following him around my closet to get him to finish it. I am dealing with knee issues right now so if I can avoid having to crawl around on the floor that would help too. I can be on the floor but crawling around sucks right now. I may try using a smaller amount of food and mixing in some water so it is more like the consistency of the bisque cat treats I was seeing online. I have 4 cats so leaving the wet food out for him to eat slowly will not work. Apollo will not eat if I close him in the bedroom alone to eat. I have to sit and watch his medicated food or he will let the others eat it. He prefers to eat with another cat near him. He eats dry food along side one of the other cats normally. Him and my senior gal Starbuck usually eat together.
 
Last edited:
Top