compounding medicine

ellen13 · Oct 26, 2007

I read once that if you couldn't give a cat medicine by mouth you could have it compounded into a paste and rub it in their ear. Has anybody had any experience with this?

Buddy has a gum infection and I tried giving him Clavamox and Cindamycin but found it impossible to get any in him. I asked my vet to have the Cindamycin compounded into a paste for me and I've been rubbing it in his ears for 3 weeks and his condition only seems to be getting worse.

Ellen

yosemite · Oct 26, 2007

Did you ask your vet about putting it in his ears before you did it? Did he not ask you why you needed the paste and how you were going to use it?

I've never heard of that myself.

I would suggest you call the vet and discuss this with him/her, especially if the problem is getting worse. I'd say the sooner the better.

Unfortunately we can't believe everything someone tells us so it really is better to contact the professionals.

Let us know what the vet says and how your kitty is doing.

pami · Oct 26, 2007

I have never heard of it either. I have had my vet call precriptions into a compounding pharmacy to make pills into liquid for easier and quicker administering, but never a paste on the ears.

To give liquids meds to a cat, his mouth does not need to be open. You can just just squirt it on the side of his mouth, outside of his teeth, inside of his lips and he will swallow.

ellen13 · Oct 26, 2007

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Did you ask your vet about putting it in his ears before you did it? Did he not ask you why you needed the paste and how you were going to use it?

I've never heard of that myself.

I would suggest you call the vet and discuss this with him/her, especially if the problem is getting worse. I'd say the sooner the better.

Unfortunately we can't believe everything someone tells us so it really is better to contact the professionals.

Let us know what the vet says and how your kitty is doing.

I asked my vet about ordering it for me and he called the prescription in to the compounding pharmacy he uses. It's called Transdermal Gel and it came with directions on how to appy it to the ears. It cost $180.00.

I took Buddy to the vet this morning and he gave him an injection of a steroid (I forgot the name) to reduce the inflamation and I'll have to bring him in every 2 or 3 weeks for the injection. He also gave me a oral hygiene rinse I can start giving him in a week (if I can get it in his mouth).

ellen13 · Oct 26, 2007

Originally Posted by Pami

I have never heard of it either. I have had my vet call precriptions into a compounding pharmacy to make pills into liquid for easier and quicker administering, but never a paste on the ears.

To give liquids meds to a cat, his mouth does not need to be open. You can just just squirt it on the side of his mouth, outside of his teeth, inside of his lips and he will swallow.

When I could't get the Clavamox and Cindamycin into Buddy, the vet called in a precription for tuna flavor Cindaymcin but I still couldn't get it into Buddy.

Everytime I tried to squirt it in his mouth he would jerk his head and it went everywhere but in or near his mouth. I also have a bad back, arthritis in my hands and I can't see very good which makes it all the more difficult.

white cat lover · Oct 26, 2007

I purr-sonally don't like Clavamox for gum infections. With the two gum infections I've dealt with....Clindamycin worked. I'm not sure what else to tell you....he probably got a Depo-Medrol shot(at least, that's what the vet did here for gum infections). That's basically what was done for the gum infections I've gone through.

cloud_shade · Oct 26, 2007

Not all medicines can be absorbed through the transdermal gel, and you need to be very diligent about cleaning the stuff off their ears each day or won't absorb at all. Also, you may want to ask the vet about injections of antibiotics if the transdermal gel isn't working.

aileen06 · Oct 26, 2007

My cat Rebby's stomach couldn't handle antibotics so our vet had him try the ear gel. It cost about 10 dollars more then the regular antibotics he would take but it was so much easier on him. Yes, you do have to make sure you clean the ear each time you apply it.

ellen13 · Oct 26, 2007

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

Not all medicines can be absorbed through the transdermal gel, and you need to be very diligent about cleaning the stuff off their ears each day or won't absorb at all. Also, you may want to ask the vet about injections of antibiotics if the transdermal gel isn't working.

I admit I haven't been that diligent about cleaning the ears because his ears always looked felt clean. How did you clean the ears? Do you mean me give him the injections? I thought about that but haven't discussed it with the vet and I don't know if I could do it.

ellen13 · Oct 26, 2007

Originally Posted by Aileen06

My cat Rebby's stomach couldn't handle antibotics so our vet had him try the ear gel. It cost about 10 dollars more then the regular antibotics he would take but it was so much easier on him. Yes, you do have to make sure you clean the ear each time you apply it.

How did you clean your cats ears? Where did you get the ear gel for only $10.00 more than the regular antibotics? I was charged an $180.00 for a 6 week supply but some of that included shipping.

cloud_shade · Oct 26, 2007

I've never used trandermals personally, so I'm not sure of the protocol behind the cleaning. I do know that the gel will build up over time if not removed, and the medicine won't reach the skin if that is the case.

As for injections, you could either have the vet do it or ask if the vet would be willing/able to show you how. My vet was able to teach me how to give an anti-nausea medication to Willow in her final days. I don't know whether there are restrictions on what they can send home but it would be worth asking about.

ellen13 · Oct 26, 2007

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

I've never used trandermals personally, so I'm not sure of the protocol behind the cleaning. I do know that the gel will build up over time if not removed, and the medicine won't reach the skin if that is the case.

As for injections, you could either have the vet do it or ask if the vet would be willing/able to show you how. My vet was able to teach me how to give an anti-nausea medication to Willow in her final days. I don't know whether there are restrictions on what they can send home but it would be worth asking about.

I did wipe his ears out a few times with a damp cloth but I wasn't diligent about it because I never felt any build up. I'll start wiping them out every day hope there's enough of the gel to heal his gums.

I have thought about asking the vet about giving him injections at home, but that would only be as a last resort. I had a cat that had FeLV and needed fluid twice a week and the vet showed me how to do it at home but I just couldn't bring myself to stick that big needle into poor Roger.

cloud_shade · Oct 26, 2007

If it's any consolation, I would imagine the needle for the antibiotics would be a lot smaller than the one for fluids. I was not keen on having to learn how to do injections, but I knew it was the best possible option for Willow through the weekend when the vet was unavailable. It was surprisingly easy, actually, and now I know I can do so if needed for future kitties.

aileen06 · Oct 27, 2007

Originally Posted by Ellen13

How did you clean your cats ears? Where did you get the ear gel for only $10.00 more than the regular antibotics? I was charged an $180.00 for a 6 week supply but some of that included shipping.

To clean the ears all you do is wipe the area you previously applied the medicine to with a damp cloth.Before you reapply, make sure the area is dry. I don't remember the name of the antibiotic it was something new the vet had gotten. I think it cost 58 dollars for a 21 day supply. I have a really good vet who just does cats and she has very reasonable prices.

ellen13 · Oct 27, 2007

Originally Posted by Aileen06

To clean the ears all you do is wipe the area you previously applied the medicine to with a damp cloth.Before you reapply, make sure the area is dry. I don't remember the name of the antibiotic it was something new the vet had gotten. I think it cost 58 dollars for a 21 day supply. I have a really good vet who just does cats and she has very reasonable prices.

Thanks for the information. You're so lucky to have such a good vet.

compounding medicine

ellen13

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