I am trying to not turn this into a rant because I love my mom very much and know that she wants the best and is/was doing what she thought was best.
So I'm living with my mom during the week to attend a program near where she lives. She has had my childhood cat, Whiskers, up here with her. About two years ago, she mentioned how Whiskers (who is 15 this year) was losing weight and I just kind of chalked it up for how senior cats lose weight. Well the next time I saw her I actually kind of yelled at my mom because she was just bones. She maybe weighed 5.5lbs, and she had always been a fat, 10ish lb tabby with a lot of fluffy fur in her younger years. Long story short: vet trip ensued, she was diagnosed as hyperthyroid, and was given pills. Great. Problem solved, right?
No.
So I get up here and I notice how Whiskers wasn't really any...better. Still terribly gaunt. I ask if she has been given her medicine.
"Oh yeah! I crush it up in her food. But...some day I skip a dose or two."
Sigh.
I watched her "eat" her medicine (pick at the pieces with the crushed pill and barely eat around the rest). So I started pilling her twice a day, like the vet prescribed. The change has been extraordinary. She has started eating again (Friskies and Fancy Feast) and plays with toys. She feels good, probably for the first time in years. She has started to fill out already and has already put on almost a pound in 3 days. Before I started pilling her, she was peeing twice a day and maybe pooping. Now she is peeing several times a day (she had urinary crystals in the past, so I take all the pee I can get from her) and pooping regularly.
Moral of the story: You may have to just pill your cat instead of crushing the pills and hoping for the best. Do whatever you have to MAKE SURE YOUR CATS TAKE THEIR MEDICINE AS THE VET PRESCRIBES. Try different techniques. Get a different form if it's available. But for the love of God, you wouldn't just hope a child took their medicine if you hid it in their applesauce
So I'm living with my mom during the week to attend a program near where she lives. She has had my childhood cat, Whiskers, up here with her. About two years ago, she mentioned how Whiskers (who is 15 this year) was losing weight and I just kind of chalked it up for how senior cats lose weight. Well the next time I saw her I actually kind of yelled at my mom because she was just bones. She maybe weighed 5.5lbs, and she had always been a fat, 10ish lb tabby with a lot of fluffy fur in her younger years. Long story short: vet trip ensued, she was diagnosed as hyperthyroid, and was given pills. Great. Problem solved, right?
No.
So I get up here and I notice how Whiskers wasn't really any...better. Still terribly gaunt. I ask if she has been given her medicine.
"Oh yeah! I crush it up in her food. But...some day I skip a dose or two."
Sigh.
I watched her "eat" her medicine (pick at the pieces with the crushed pill and barely eat around the rest). So I started pilling her twice a day, like the vet prescribed. The change has been extraordinary. She has started eating again (Friskies and Fancy Feast) and plays with toys. She feels good, probably for the first time in years. She has started to fill out already and has already put on almost a pound in 3 days. Before I started pilling her, she was peeing twice a day and maybe pooping. Now she is peeing several times a day (she had urinary crystals in the past, so I take all the pee I can get from her) and pooping regularly.
Moral of the story: You may have to just pill your cat instead of crushing the pills and hoping for the best. Do whatever you have to MAKE SURE YOUR CATS TAKE THEIR MEDICINE AS THE VET PRESCRIBES. Try different techniques. Get a different form if it's available. But for the love of God, you wouldn't just hope a child took their medicine if you hid it in their applesauce
