Help! advise needed

minnie

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Minnie's most recent tests were not that bad. Her Kidney's were stable and she has gained almost a pound since the end of June when she vary skinny and frail and very sick. At the end of June I had given her a ten day course of Zeniquin tablets which worked and she went from eating nothing to eating two small cans a day by day eleven. Medicating her was horrible though she acted like I was trying to poison her fought so hard and wanted nothing to do with me, but vet said this antibiotic does not come in liquid and the dose was only once a day and all I wanted to do was help her, still it was awful. She did feel better after and she did forgive me so it was worth it!
Since June I have been adding a teaspoon of Colloidal silver in her water. Although she is not in great health she is got a good appetite and happy as long as I am not trying to medicate her.
Many times I have felt very stressed when I feared her health was deteriorating and the advise I was given was if I think I have a good vet to trust him. I think I have a good vet. My Vet says that I should give Minnie 5 days of Zeniquin once a day at the beginning of every month just to treat likely recurring infection. So I did at the beginning of June for the first time since June. There is no nice way to do it is a real struggle and when I think I have swallowed it I realize she has spit it out several times, sometimes I don't even know if she has ingested it or not because the pill is so small and she can fling it and forcing her breaks my heart but I really want to help her in every way I can. I read that Zeniquin is supposed to be used no less than 10 days so I am concerned but I read on the Internet so I don't know if that information is correct but I worry about not treating the infection long enough or her developing immunity, and I don't feel that I could give her pills again in another month they make her not trust me and I feel so mean and unsuccessful.
Do pill dispensers make pills easier to give to very resistant Cats? Does anyone have any suggestions? Does anybody else have similar struggle to Medicate there cat? Has anybody used Zeniquin or have any knowledge on how to use it. Minnie was diagnosed with a bad Kidney infection and Kidney failure this past in April. I don't want her to suffer but do want to do everything I can to keep her happy for as long as possible as I love her and she is my best friend and I would do anything for her.
Any thoughts appreciated! I am sorry for making this so long.
 

pat

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My only advice is to visit this site if you haven't already - www.felinecrf.org
it is the best site on the "net for information on chronic renal failure, it's associated issues, how to treat them.
 

gailuvscats

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I put butter on the pill and try to push it into the throat with my findger so he can't spit it out. Pull the head all the way back so nose is pointing up, open mouth and push pill in. I sit on the floor or couch and have them immobilized with my legs or body.
 

heatherhug

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I lost my 12 year old to kidney failure a few months ago. Im not saying that to stress you out, but to relieve you a bit that you were able to catch it before it got your kitty too sick. My 'Max' was too far into bad shape to 'fix'. My other 19 year old was then diagnosed with beginning stages of kidney failure too. Luckily we caught her in time so that I can keep my eye on her. Im surprised you didnt mention anywhere about giving her injections of liquid, which Ive read alot, heard from friends with cats and heard from different vets is VERY common for kidney failure. You may want to ask vet why he isnt having you give your kitty liquids. I give them to my 19 year old once a week. It isnt the funnest thing to do, but putting her through the liquid therapy reduced her 'BUN' level (kidney function test) from danger zone to normal zone. She now eats K/D and Renal LP and is considered very healthy. I only had to give her antibotics for a couple weeks after the hospital....BUT she isnt a fan of the pills either. I pry open her mouth drop the pill as far down as I can get it on her tongue, then quickly hold her mouth closed with one hand while massaging her throat to provoke her to swallow hopefully. Sometimes I have to try that a few times and she gets the idea to just swallow the darn thing.
 

pat

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Originally Posted by heatherhug

I lost my 12 year old to kidney failure a few months ago. Im not saying that to stress you out, but to relieve you a bit that you were able to catch it before it got your kitty too sick. My 'Max' was too far into bad shape to 'fix'. My other 19 year old was then diagnosed with beginning stages of kidney failure too. Luckily we caught her in time so that I can keep my eye on her.
Just wanted to also recommend to you that you read over this site, if you haven't already
www.felinecrf.org
I recently lost my almost 19 year old, who had had crf for almost 4 years, and currently have a 17 year old and a 2 y.o. who both have early crf, so it's a topic near and dear to my heart.
 
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