Question About Denamarin

[Cici'sMom]

Hi all!
My cat was recently prescribed Denamarin by our vet after her ALT value came back slightly elevated at 141. I opted for the chewable tablets that are formulated for a dogs taste buds but safe for cats, thinking I could crush it up and disguise it, but it's proving to be a great struggle to try to get the supplement into her. Tried mixing with water and syringing it, hiding it in a small bit of her food, even tuna (which she loves and is something that is a rare treat for her). Tried it all but it's just not happening. My vet warned me that the regular tablets are quite large, and may be hard to give to her since she's not fond of taking meds. My question is- exactly how big are the Denamarin tablets for cats? Does anyone know if Denasyl tablets are the same size? Would consider getting those instead if they're smaller and easier to give. Also, has anyone had luck with giving these pills to cats that are more difficult to medicate? I've had some luck with hiding meds in a soft treat in the past, but they were small pills (antibiotics I believe). All advice welcome!! Thanks in advance

 

[Kieka]

I have only had luck pilling a cat by either hiding it in something else or forcing it down. I've had to pill one of my current cats when no one else was around and the only thing that work for him was putting him between my legs and kind of curling over him so he couldn't move. Then forcing it in the back corner of his mouth and holding his jaw shut until he swallowed..... which sounds way more violent and aggressive then it was when I type it out. He got treated after and was fine in a minute or two. He actually didn't fight too much until the end of his treatment; luckily by then other people were home.

I don't have any experience with any of the medications you are asking about.

Hoping that my response bumps it up so someone else can help you out more. Good luck.

 

[Cici'sMom]

I have only had luck pilling a cat by either hiding it in something else or forcing it down. I've had to pill one of my current cats when no one else was around and the only thing that work for him was putting him between my legs and kind of curling over him so he couldn't move. Then forcing it in the back corner of his mouth and holding his jaw shut until he swallowed..... which sounds way more violent and aggressive then it was when I type it out. He got treated after and was fine in a minute or two. He actually didn't fight too much until the end of his treatment; luckily by then other people were home.

I don't have any experience with any of the medications you are asking about.

Hoping that my response bumps it up so someone else can help you out more. Good luck.

Thank you! I appreciate your response! That might be a method to try if she gets wise to me hiding them with food.
I guess I sort of answered my own question, but figured I'd post it here so it may be of help someone else-
I spoke to a kind customer service rep at Nutramax today (makers of Denamarin) and she told me that the Denamarin and Denosyl for cats are the same exact size (8.2 mm diameter x 5.2 mm height). Not huge but definitely pretty big for a cat that's difficult to pill. However, she also told me that despite what the directions say, they can safely be split or broken as long as they are given immediately afterwards (in order to preserve the integrity and potency of the active ingredients). That puts me a little more at ease with feeling like I should be able to hide them in a treat (I've had great luck with using the Purina Whisker Lickin's soft treats for molding around smaller pills in the past). I hope this helps someone else who has a similar question in the future!

 

[foxden]

Some members purchase empty gelatin capsules, then break the pill to fit in the capsule. The cat does not taste the bitter pill, and the capsule(s) are easier to swallow.
Here are 2 posts where members have done this successfully
High Strung Girl Has A Lot Of Missing Fur?

Please help with Metronidazole/Proviable-forte administration

 

[Cici'sMom]

Some members purchase empty gelatin capsules, then break the pill to fit in the capsule. The cat does not taste the bitter pill, and the capsule(s) are easier to swallow.
Here are 2 posts where members have done this successfully
High Strung Girl Has A Lot Of Missing Fur?

Please help with Metronidazole/Proviable-forte administration

Oh wow, that's another option for sure, thanks so much! Didn't know they made flavored capsules either!

I was out and about earlier so I went ahead and purchased some of the Whisker Lickin's soft treats from pet supermarket and decided to give it a try with two tiny pieces of the chewable Denamarin (which are huge!) and it worked! I didn't want to push it and give her the whole 1/2 chewable dose cause I'd need a ton of treats to do that and I'm afraid she'd catch on, haha. The regular smaller Denamarin tablets for cats will be coming in the mail tomorrow and I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to sneak them into the treats undetected. If for some reason that doesn't work I will definitely give this a try!

 

[Cici'sMom]

Just wanted to update you that the whisker lickin's treats worked great with the 90mg Denamarin cut in half. Just halved the tablet and put one half in each treat. Highly recommend using them if anyone has a treat loving cat that's harder to pill!

 

[Katiekat412]

Curious if you’re still around...did you have good luck with Denamarin?