My cat is onto me with the pills...

[FeebysOwner]

There are some non-chicken mousse options (instead of lickable treats) that you could use solely for his supplements. Tiki Cat, Applaws, Delectable Bisques, Wellness Core Tiny Tasters, Simply Nourish, and/or Solid Gold Perfect Pairings are the ones that come to mind. Even with the lickable treats Feeby gets, I interchange between about 7 of them in order to help prevent her from becoming tired of any of them.

I do agree that smaller doses might work better as the taste of the supplement might overwhelm the treats. I know that I could never get Feeby to take fish oil as she hates any kind of fish!!

 

[BluOnyx]

Delectable Bisques

I got 3 cases of these as he had been eating them with his supplements but decided he didn't want them anymore the other day. You know, after I bought the cases. lol I am just going to take a break from them and see if he will eat them again after a week off of them.

I know there are other brands, some of which I have tried in the past that he did not like. I think giving him so many options (since starting his meds) backfired because he is becoming picky now and he never was before.

 

[BluOnyx]

I spoke to soon. He didn't want to finish his pills with the treats tonight. I ended up having to mix one of the pills crushed up in the other cat's food, a small amount, which contains chicken. I figured a once off was better than nothing and if he hates the food it doesn't matter as it is not one of his normal foods.

I am hoping he takes everything okay in the morning. I am basically out of options after this. He has stopped eating more than half the foods he used to love because of medication. Hardly eats his other treats. I can't force feed him the medication either as he will fight (badly). I tried twice before and it took two of us for 20 min of fighting him and not a pill got in him.

If I manage to get his medication compounded, he likely won't take that with food either (liquid form). I am trying not to get worried or upset over this but it is very hard not to.

 

[BluOnyx]

I spoke to soon. He didn't want to finish his pills with the treats tonight. I ended up having to mix one of the pills crushed up in the other cat's food, a small amount, which contains chicken. I figured a once off was better than nothing and if he hates the food it doesn't matter as it is not one of his normal foods.

I am hoping he takes everything okay in the morning. I am basically out of options after this. He has stopped eating more than half the foods he used to love because of medication. Hardly eats his other treats. I can't force feed him the medication either as he will fight (badly). I tried twice before and it took two of us for 20 min of fighting him and not a pill got in him.

If I manage to get his medication compounded, he likely won't take that with food either (liquid form). I am trying not to get worried or upset over this but it is very hard not to.

He took almost everything (medication) with the treats. He missed half a dose of pimobendan. He also refused to eat the last BFF variety I had left with his fish oil and was reluctant to take his ubiquinol and taurine with the PureBites mixer. He is already being put off from that. He is also becoming very itchy from the chicken treats. I even tried buying fresh fish oil, just opened today and he does not want it. He didn't want to finish his meal either, became very frustrated and walked away.

I did not sleep good from worry. I don't have an appetite and just feel sick to my stomach. I am trying not to get stressed out because I know he can sense when I am. He goes to see his doctor in a few days so I am compiling a list of everything going on and questions. Hopefully we can find some easier ways to give him his medication. I can't force him to take them.

It just upsets me because he once loved eating his food. He was never picky. Always so happy when it was time to eat and now he looks at me with distrust and gets upset when it is time to eat. I also feel terrible because the treats I have been needing to use are making him itchy and uncomfortable.

 

[Lillyenn]

So this is a long shot but one of my cats sadly passed away more than a year ago due to fip. She has been sick for a while (about 6 months I think). Her teeth sucked and she had a very sensitive stomach. So we mostly gave her stuff like chicken breast, sensitive cat food and she also really liked chicken hearts. She loved her stomach insanely and she also had a very very strong sense of smell (which did not bode well for any medications).

She was horrible with medicine. If it was a pill and I tried to mix it into any food (and I did try everything I could think of) she would not eat it. If it was a liquid she would just let it flow out of her mouth with saliva. You could not force feed her she would spit anything out somehow.

We don't really have pocket treats here. So what I would do that actually ended up working great was: I would cut a well cooked chicken heart in half and push the pill inside the hole in it. If it was a bigger pill I would cut it into two parts with a knife as well.

She almost never noticed it if I gave her the chicken heart when 1., she was hungry 2., immidiately after I pushed the pill inside - this way she couldn't taste the pill since the taste of chicken heart was more intense (in a place where she couldn't see me doing it) 3., the heart was still warm but not too hot.

Due to her teeth not being the best + chicken heart being essentially the perfect pocket treat in shape and size for her, she did not chew into it enough to notice the pill.

She did notice sometimes when the pill was too big compared to the heart-piece size or when the heart has gone a little cold but this method still proved to be the most effective (it worked about 85-90% of the time which I was more than satisfied with compared to 0).

You could try this as well but I just basically wrote it out to try and give you some hope. Every cat is different. For some I can force feed them medicine. For others chicken heart would not work because they don't like it. Chicken heart was simply a more natural taste than something with a specific flavor. + she went crazy for it + it never upset her stomach. There is a good solution to your kitty you just have to find it. I was so relieved when I figured it out.

I know that this is easy to say, but try to not stress about it because if they notice that you are nervous or agitatated while trying to feed them, they catch on quick. If feeding is already more stressful because you are acting off and the food tastes bad then of course eating becomes a chore and not a joy. And all cats hate chores. You need a specific food that the cat loves that either has a strong enough taste or a strong enough smell so the pill is the least noticeable. Grinding it into powder and mixing it into something is always the worst choice that doesn't even work with my easy to medicate cats. It's best if they can swallow it with something whole or in like two pieces. If the pill sits inside any food for too long it becomes more and more noticable. And sometimes wrapping it in something that's not thick enough won't work. For example I tried this trick with chicken breast too (like cutting it in a specific shape and digging a little hole in it with a knife) it never worked because chicken breast was not solid enough like a heart (which is more chevy) and it also has a milder taste and smell.

I was super casual about the heart thing even the few times it didn't work because that way she never started being suspicious about hearts. She waited for them excitedly right until fip got it's final hold on her and she couldn't eat anymore.

 

[BluOnyx]

So this is a long shot but one of my cats sadly passed away more than a year ago due to fip. She has been sick for a while (about 6 months I think). Her teeth sucked and she had a very sensitive stomach. So we mostly gave her stuff like chicken breast, sensitive cat food and she also really liked chicken hearts. She loved her stomach insanely and she also had a very very strong sense of smell (which did not bode well for any medications).

She was horrible with medicine. If it was a pill and I tried to mix it into any food (and I did try everything I could think of) she would not eat it. If it was a liquid she would just let it flow out of her mouth with saliva. You could not force feed her she would spit anything out somehow.

We don't really have pocket treats here. So what I would do that actually ended up working great was: I would cut a well cooked chicken heart in half and push the pill inside the hole in it. If it was a bigger pill I would cut it into two parts with a knife as well.

She almost never noticed it if I gave her the chicken heart when 1., she was hungry 2., immidiately after I pushed the pill inside - this way she couldn't taste the pill since the taste of chicken heart was more intense (in a place where she couldn't see me doing it) 3., the heart was still warm but not too hot.

Due to her teeth not being the best + chicken heart being essentially the perfect pocket treat in shape and size for her, she did not chew into it enough to notice the pill.

She did notice sometimes when the pill was too big compared to the heart-piece size or when the heart has gone a little cold but this method still proved to be the most effective (it worked about 85-90% of the time which I was more than satisfied with compared to 0).

You could try this as well but I just basically wrote it out to try and give you some hope. Every cat is different. For some I can force feed them medicine. For others chicken heart would not work because they don't like it. Chicken heart was simply a more natural taste than something with a specific flavor. + she went crazy for it + it never upset her stomach. There is a good solution to your kitty you just have to find it. I was so relieved when I figured it out.

I know that this is easy to say, but try to not stress about it because if they notice that you are nervous or agitatated while trying to feed them, they catch on quick. If feeding is already more stressful because you are acting off and the food tastes bad then of course eating becomes a chore and not a joy. And all cats hate chores. You need a specific food that the cat loves that either has a strong enough taste or a strong enough smell so the pill is the least noticeable. Grinding it into powder and mixing it into something is always the worst choice that doesn't even work with my easy to medicate cats. It's best if they can swallow it with something whole or in like two pieces. If the pill sits inside any food for too long it becomes more and more noticable. And sometimes wrapping it in something that's not thick enough won't work. For example I tried this trick with chicken breast too (like cutting it in a specific shape and digging a little hole in it with a knife) it never worked because chicken breast was not solid enough like a heart (which is more chevy) and it also has a milder taste and smell.

I was super casual about the heart thing even the few times it didn't work because that way she never started being suspicious about hearts. She waited for them excitedly right until fip got it's final hold on her and she couldn't eat anymore.

He can't have chicken anything outside of the few treats he gets with his medication or he ends up with diarrhea pretty badly. Thanks for the information though. Someone else here may find it useful. I am sorry for your loss.

 

[BluOnyx]

I'll update this while I am here.

I ended up getting one of his pills compounded so he is getting 2 less per day and it is much smaller.

Instead of fish oil, he is getting sardines daily (small amounts) so he still gets his fatty acids.

I also mix his taurine in a new food that he has never had and will not let him taste it without it so he doesn't suspect anything. It is that Core 95 stuff in the turkey variety. I just add 4 taurine capsules to it and mix it up then divide it into 4 small containers. I keep it in the fridge to keep it fresh as possible. I read it can last up to 5 days if kept cold. Seems to be working thus far.

I had to double up his ubiquinol and give it to him once per day instead of twice. I have to hide it and make sure it is mixed well so he doesn't notice.

He stopped the vitamin C. I did get him some treats with vitamin C in them, but he ate 4 and has not wanted them since. Too healthy for his liking lol