Pilling Raphael and other tales of horror

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

Hello everyone! So, it's been a while since i was last here...since March, according to the thingy on top there. I've been a busy girl, and while I've been away, Raphael thought it would be a fun idea to stop eating, need to be rushed the the emergency vet (from hell) and contract a borderline case of Hepatic Lipidosis and also Pancreatits (the pancreatitis caused the FHL, because it hurt and made him lethargic, so he went an estimated 18-20 hours without eating anything).

So, he's eating again, and until the pilling episode, he was acting chipper and normal again. He's transitioning to a special diet, and that's going ok. But the doctor put him on Denamarin, which apparently only comes in pills. The doctor, apparently ignoring my concerns about getting medicine into my extremely fractious little dude, also gave me metronoidazole in pill form.

Well, when Raphael meets pill, all sorts of disaster break loose.

First, he jerked himself around while I had the pill gun in his mouth, and stabbed himself with it. Then he scratched his own face somehow during the scuffle, not to mention giving my husband a nice set of shallow scratches and me a couple puncture wounds. He screams. He foams at the mouth. He will not be scruffed and burritoing him worked long enough to get ONE pill in him, but wasn't about to fall for it again. The second pill ended up all over me and the floor and his face. And then he proceeded to drool relentlessly.

So, this other vet is apparently a complete moron (my regular one is in Israel at the moment), I guess my question is multi-faceted:

1. Has anyone else dealt with either pancreatitis or hepatic lipidosis? I know they're both reversible, and these are both slight, early cases. I also know that the treatments are pretty wide-ranging and there's really no magic bullet.

2. How do you get a pill in a cat that will just have none of it? He was semi-feral, has calmed down in his old age, but is apparently ready to release his inner feral when he sees the pill gun.

3. Has anyone ever heard of injectable suspensions of either of these drugs? Raphael, being the weirdo he is, will take injections, but he won't take pills and liquid is only very slightly easier to get into him.

Thanks guys!

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Originally Posted by Shanynne

((This post turned out to be quite long, so bear with me))

Yes Me! eeerrr I mean Samson. I had to give him 5 meds/day 3 of which were pills including the metronoidazole & Denamarin.

I can *so* completely sympathize with you, giving Samson the pills was the most stressful part of all, left me in tears every time. He did the same thing, and still does, the head jerking thingy. Thankfully though he has never scratched me.

And yes he runs and hides when he sees the pill gun! I now hide it under my shirt when I go to pick him up or I have it ready close by hidden under magazine or something. But as soon as he sees it, he wants to run!

However, your kitty does sound worse than mine at accepting the pill gun. When you say he won't be burritoed do you mean he wont' accept being wrapped in a towel?

This is what the vet recommended for me and it works, but be prepared he will still do the head jerking thing, so you will have to have a very firm grip.

Place your thumb and middle finger on each side of his mouth at the corners of his lips. With your fingers gently pry his mouth open by squeezing inward against his teeth. As I'm holding Samson this way, I also have my arm, the one that his holding his mouth, wrapped around him pressing his body against me. In your case you will probably need your husband to hold Raphael, maybe with a towel under his neck & over his front paws.

I also use my hand to partially cover his eyes so he doesn't see the pill gun coming. And, I approach his mouth from the side sort of sliding it into his mouth sideways. Try to be as calm as possible...I know, not the easiest thing to do under the circumstances. Also, try to be as quick as possible. Stick the pill gun into his mouth "click it" and close Raphael's mouth right away, so he does not have time to chew and spit the pill out. Be patient, there are days where you are going to have to start over.

Also try to have that "I mean business attitude". Ever notice how at the vet, a complete stranger can just grab your cat and *easily* make him swallow a pill? Frustrating isnt' it? Well, anyways, my point is, if you can develop that same "no nonsense approach" it will make a big difference.

I also whenever possible, administer the pills to Samson, when he is very relaxed or even sleeping (don't worry he will wake up). I start by petting him etc. then I get into position and by the time he starts struggling in earnest, it's over. But you have to have a very firm grip on his mouth, not pressing against his lips but his teeth. It's difficult for the cat to really go anywhere when you're holding his mouth that way and Samson *hates* being scruffed as well!

Getting the Metrozone compounded into a liquid though is the best way, because with the liquid you can just shoot it right into his mouth. Not necessarily pleasant, but doesn't give him a whole lot of time to taste it. I have also squirted water into Samson's mouth afterwards to help get rid of the taste and also to make sure he was getting enough water. I don't know if it can be administered via a shot.

It's a long road to recovery, and I'm still assist feeding Samson, and he's on the Hills a/d feline/canine recovery food, which thankfully he likes, but your baby Raphael will get better!

Try practicing holding his mouth in advance so he gets used to the feeling a bit, if you can.

All of the above being said, it still won't be easy. It will still be quite a struggle. Lionessrampant, there were times when I would get Samson to give him his morning meds and he would look at me with such sad eyes, it would almost make me cry. But I would look back at him with sad eyes myself and explain to him that he needed the meds, that I didn't like to give it to him, but that for him to get better he needed it.

Hang in there and let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!

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Originally Posted by Hesster

If he is back to eating OK, my suggestion would be to get a pill crusher, grind the pill down to powder form, then mix it in with his food. That's what we did with Willow when she was on Clavamox for a UTI. You can buy a pill crusher at the pet store, or just about any drug store should have them.

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