In the last few months, my two 14 year olds (same litter siblings) displayed similar symptoms of diarrhea and loss of weight (with the occasional vomiting). To cut a longer story somewhat short, I took them to the vet, and he gave me metronidazole to give them.
I usually use Gourmet Gold for their pills and it works like a charm, they like it so much they gallop them up whole.
So one of the two, Yuna, had no problem taking her metronidazole that way, and though she still hasn’t gained a lot of weight, the diarrhea stopped and slowly seems to be gaining.
Her brother Akira however, is extremely stubborn, he chews through everything and doesn’t eat anything whole, and the moment he gets even a hint of the bitter taste of metronidazole he either gives up the food altogether or slowly with his paw picks up the food all around it.
I tried forcing it down his throat, ended up getting bit and shredded, I have no pill pusher thingy, and can’t find one locally, though I’ll order one online. I also can’t find any empty capsules locally to try that method, so another thing I’ll be ordering just in case.
I tried giving the pill with some soft cheese and even grind it down in milk (I know the lactose would be bad for him, but I figure taking the pill would make up for it) and he wouldn’t go for it.
I tried wrapping it in an anchovy hoping the strong taste would mask the bitterness (or that he would find it yummy enough to eat whole) no luck there either.
I’m desperate enough, that as soon as I get paid in Monday so I can afford it, I will be taking him to the vet daily (including cab fare, I don’t have a car) so they can force it down his throat, considering they can, the vet who originally examined him couldn’t pull it off.
In the meantime, I grind it down to fine dust and mix it with Gourmet Gold and he seems to eat most of it that way. Thing is, in the metronidazole leaflet, it says the medicine might not work if crushed and he just pretty much did the last Gourmet dose I gave him, as brown water, so it might not be working or it might even be making things worse.
I was originally supposed to give him his dose like a month ago and his symptoms started long before that, but I focused on Yuna who was taking her medicine and another cat, that has another unrelated health issue that is still ongoing.
So I’m terrified he might get worse by Monday, since his issue has been unresolved for so long, he is skinny and pretty much does only watery stool. Though otherwise is his old self and he has managed to avoid getting dehydrated. I’m not even sure what is wrong with him, but since the metronidazole worked for Yuna I will assume it will work for him too.
Anyway, sorry for the long post I wanted to give as much info as possible, any advice on how I can get him to eat the pill with a type of food? Or any info if the metronidazole actually works crushed to dust would be appreciated.
I usually use Gourmet Gold for their pills and it works like a charm, they like it so much they gallop them up whole.
So one of the two, Yuna, had no problem taking her metronidazole that way, and though she still hasn’t gained a lot of weight, the diarrhea stopped and slowly seems to be gaining.
Her brother Akira however, is extremely stubborn, he chews through everything and doesn’t eat anything whole, and the moment he gets even a hint of the bitter taste of metronidazole he either gives up the food altogether or slowly with his paw picks up the food all around it.
I tried forcing it down his throat, ended up getting bit and shredded, I have no pill pusher thingy, and can’t find one locally, though I’ll order one online. I also can’t find any empty capsules locally to try that method, so another thing I’ll be ordering just in case.
I tried giving the pill with some soft cheese and even grind it down in milk (I know the lactose would be bad for him, but I figure taking the pill would make up for it) and he wouldn’t go for it.
I tried wrapping it in an anchovy hoping the strong taste would mask the bitterness (or that he would find it yummy enough to eat whole) no luck there either.
I’m desperate enough, that as soon as I get paid in Monday so I can afford it, I will be taking him to the vet daily (including cab fare, I don’t have a car) so they can force it down his throat, considering they can, the vet who originally examined him couldn’t pull it off.
In the meantime, I grind it down to fine dust and mix it with Gourmet Gold and he seems to eat most of it that way. Thing is, in the metronidazole leaflet, it says the medicine might not work if crushed and he just pretty much did the last Gourmet dose I gave him, as brown water, so it might not be working or it might even be making things worse.
I was originally supposed to give him his dose like a month ago and his symptoms started long before that, but I focused on Yuna who was taking her medicine and another cat, that has another unrelated health issue that is still ongoing.
So I’m terrified he might get worse by Monday, since his issue has been unresolved for so long, he is skinny and pretty much does only watery stool. Though otherwise is his old self and he has managed to avoid getting dehydrated. I’m not even sure what is wrong with him, but since the metronidazole worked for Yuna I will assume it will work for him too.
Anyway, sorry for the long post I wanted to give as much info as possible, any advice on how I can get him to eat the pill with a type of food? Or any info if the metronidazole actually works crushed to dust would be appreciated.