Tiny Tabs

[lueyfufu]

Gus was prescribed a 14-day course of clindamycin for a mouth infection. (Sutures from a lower canine extraction irritated his gums, which led to infection.) Rather than manhandle him and syringe it down his throat, we decided to try the route of mixing it with food - initially just tuna Churu. Days 1 and 2 went great - he licked the plate clean! But with each subsequent dose, he started taking longer to finish, and by day 5, he decided he just wasn't interested anymore. We were able to help him along by adding salmon/mackerel broth to the med/Churu concoction, which worked for a few more doses. But by this morning (day 8), the Churu/broth combo wasn't enough and we also had to add some tuna flakes to get him to finish it. This is definitely not gonna work for the remaining doses.

This morning the vet checked his mouth and said it's looking better, but she wants him to have an additional 7 days of antibiotics. So now we're looking at TWO MORE weeks of trying to get this stuff into him. I know if we resort to the syringe-directly-into-mouth approach, it will mean dragging him out from under the bed/couch for a struggle twice a day. He's very crafty at escaping the burrito, even when hubby and I team up. And I hate the thought of him learning to run and hide every time we reach out to pet him or pick him up.

After talking to the vet, we found out the compounding pharmacy can do clindamycin in Tiny Tabs form, so I've placed an order and hope it will be here before we reach crisis status with the liquid. Vet said it can a week or longer, even with expedited shipping, so I'm not getting my hopes up.

We've had decent success with Pill Pockets for giving him Cerenia, Pepcid, etc. Although we did have an incident last Friday where he decided he needed to chew the salmon Pill Pocket, and he got a good taste of the Cerenia. Cue frantic drooling/gagging/foaming. He now won't accept salmon Pill Pockets, so we're down to chicken and I'm praying he never decides to chew one again. But so far, I've been able to get him to take Cerenia in a chicken Pill Pocket first thing in the morning when he's hungrier. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, I'm wondering - are Tiny Tabs coated? The picture of them on the Wedgewood Pharmacy site makes it look like maybe they are. I'm wondering if that will give us a better chance of protecting his mouth from getting the nasty bitter flavor, should the Pill Pocket happen to open up before he swallows it.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Call Wedgewood and ask - they are really pretty responsive. I have 'tiny tabs' (from Wedgewood) for gabapentin, and frankly they didn't look coated to me, but that is another med altogether.

Can you try other lickable treats besides Churu? I have used a whole host of them for Feeby, and she is better if she does not get the same one over and over again, so I switch them out - Tiki Cat Stix, Vitakraft, Temptations Purree, Catit, and Delectable Squeeze Ups, just to name the ones I can think of right off the top of my head. There are many more.

I also use pill pockets but as a 'mold' around some pills so that the size is smaller and less inclined to be chewed. Feeby is a 'chewer' and I have had recent (probably not permanent, though) luck with breaking a pill pocket in half, molding her ondansetron in one-half, and molding the other half similarly, and then feeding her both halves.

There are also pill maskers that are actual moldable around pills that she had liked in the past.

EDIT: forgot to add baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut).

 

[daftcat75]

I don't know Tiny Tabs or Pill Pockets. I do know that Wedgewood has excellent customer service if you want to call them up and speak with a tech or a pharmacist.

My Betty pills herself. I get size four or size five gelatin capsules and whatever meds or supplements she needs to take I will pack into one or two of those capsules. Then I twist the capsule in some Hills A/D and drop it on the carpet for her. It took us a few weeks and many, many lick and flicks where she would lick the A/D off and flick the pill away. But now she scoops the A/D coated pill and swallows it without fuss. Like a pro! Now I dread liquid meds. Just give me a pill that I can repack into a capsule for her. The capsules don't taste like anything. I don't get them flavored. But the contents, well, she's probably figured out by now not to bite into them anymore. But she loves to scoop up these A/D coated capsules.

 

[lueyfufu]

It could just be the Tiny Tabs were made to look shiny in the photo because it looks nicer, too.

We do plan to try mixing the liquid with some other treat in the meantime. After mixing up this morning's med/Churu/broth, I actually took the tiniest drop of a taste on my fingertip, and OMG it was so bad...bitter and disgusting!! (I may have drooled/gagged/foamed myself for a few minutes. lol) And I've continued to have the residual taste in my mouth all day long, even after eating breakfast and lunch, so I can't imagine how awful it's been for Gus after eating a whole batch. I think maybe it would take a lot more than just one tube's worth of lickable treat (plus broth, plus other stuff) to mask the bitterness of the medicine.

I also use the Pill Pockets to mold around the pill so they stay smallish. A whole pocket is way too big, at least for my kitty. And before The Incident last Friday, I would make up two - one with the pill, and a similarly-sized one without a pill. I'd give him the decoy first, then follow with the loaded one. It seemed to work fairly well. But now because I'm not certain he'll eat a second one, I give him the loaded one first, then follow closely with the decoy to encourage him to hurry up and swallow the first one.

 

[lueyfufu]

Another related question: Does encasing the pill with a little Pill Pocket before pilling Kitty the old fashioned way help prevent the pill from sticking in the esophagus? I've read about the dangers of dry pilling, with clindamycin particularly because it can cause esophageal ulcers and damage if it gets stuck.

 

[daftcat75]

Another related question: Does encasing the pill with a little Pill Pocket before pilling Kitty the old fashioned way help prevent the pill from sticking in the esophagus? I've read about the dangers of dry pilling, with clindamycin particularly because it can cause esophageal ulcers and damage if it gets stuck.

Pill pocket is meant for them to eat it themselves. Most cats don’t chew the pocket much so they won’t hit the pill. If you’re going the pop the pill into the cat, coat it in some wet food or a little bit of butter to ease its journey. I’d rather you watch the video I posted earlier and see if you can use a highly appealing recovery food like A/D to get your cat to take his own pills. My Betty will happily scoop and swallow any capsule I drop in front of her that’s coated in A/D. She takes two capsules in the morning and three at night. Some of them come as capsules and some i repack the cut pills into capsules so she never has to taste a pill. And we never have to wrestle at meds time.

 

[stephanietx]

We give our kitties medicine in cheese. We only have 1 who is a jerk about it. The others do great with the cheese.