my vet recommended Pepcid AC

My girl, Huckleberry has Kidney Disease.  I have had her two year now and she is 6.  This is young for a cat to have the condition.  I give her subcutanious fluids 2/3 times a week.  This last year she gain a little over a pound and the vet was very please.  For the last two weeks she has not pooped very much and she has not had much of an appetite.  I started her on 1/4 tab of pepsid, as suggested my the vet.  I hope it will increase her appetite.  My question is: 

I have to stick her at least twice and week and now get her to swallow the pepsid.  Is she going to start to hate me?  I love her more than anything and I cannot heal her.  I don't want her miserable either....but want her alive !!

Lee

Lees Cats said:

My girl, Huckleberry has Kidney Disease.  I have had her two year now and she is 6.  This is young for a cat to have the condition.  I give her subcutanious fluids 2/3 times a week.  This last year she gain a little over a pound and the vet was very please.  For the last two weeks she has not pooped very much and she has not had much of an appetite.  I started her on 1/4 tab of pepsid, as suggested my the vet.  I hope it will increase her appetite.  My question is: 

I have to stick her at least twice and week and now get her to swallow the pepsid.  Is she going to start to hate me?  I love her more than anything and I cannot heal her.  I don't want her miserable either....but want her alive !!

Lee

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She won't hate you. Cats adjust amazingly well to the things we have to do to them for their health and well being. Always give a special tasty treat after the fluids. Once you develop skill, giving the pill can be so quick she will barely notice.

For my Mazy cat, who really detests being messed with in any way, when she needs a pepcid I get her meal ready, and just before she is about to eat, I pop the pill in. then she eats right away, and washes it down. But she is an old hand at being given pills.

Here is my suggested method for people just starting out on pilling cats:

use a dot of something soft and wet s/he likes. You can try yogurt, even a little soft butter or cream cheese, or even a little favorite wet food, but yogurt or soft butter works better. Make sure you have everything ready, in a bowl is good. Pill, and spoon with a little yogurt (or whatever)

Use the holding position. Kneel on the floor with your feet crossed behind you, hold kitty between your knees facing out. S/he will try to back away and will not be able to.

With cat in holding position (as described above), put a dot of the yogurt (or whatever) on kitty's mouth to keep her busy and to get the saliva flowing (so the pill doesn't stick).

While kitty is licking her mouth, hold pill in one hand, pry open mouth with other, poke pill in, toward side of mouth and as far back as you can.

You can let go of her mouth at this point, but keep a hand on her to keep her still while you get another bit of yogurt (or ...) on your finger and put a dot on her nose and mouth. She will lick off the yogurt and swallow, pill and all.

this can work with liquids too.

I make it sound easier than it is, at first. It does take practice. And you have to approach it with confidence, kitty will sense if you are hesitant. But once you master this method you'll be able to pill any cat, any time. I know I can!

I've used [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]1/4 of a 10 mg pill of Pepcid for two cats, under a vet's advice, and it has always worked well.  I'm not sure why a vet would prescribe it for appetite, though.  It's for an upset, acidic stomach.  Chances are that something else is causing the problem if pepcid doesn't resolve the issue fairly quickly.  My experience is that tuna and lunch meat are very salty and hard on little kitty bodies and can cause some other problems.  Could it be that the regular food is causing a stomach disagreement?[/color]

Hi Bellaluna -

I almost named my cat that. Thank you for being so comprehensive! You said some great things in your post and I appreciate that. On second type opf antibiotics for my senior cat who has UTI. She vomits it up. Giving her acidophilus mixed into her food. I feel the same way you do about giving her pills - I wish I could tell her that I'm trying to help her not hurt her. I'm reminded of when my mom wanted me to take medicine as a child and I had to have the stuff that tasted good. So, we have to do teh same for out kitties. I tried smashing the pill to mix in with tuna (people tuna not cat food) as the smell overrides, but its hard to get the coating off. I have to pick it out. There has to be an easier way. She's restless on the new meds. Tomorrow I pick up something to help her with teh nausea as the 2nd antibiotic Zeniquin goes right to the GI tract. I laid out a seven course meal for her. I'll stand on my head if that works at this point! Whatever helps my furry child fell better!
 

xenakimbo said:

Hi Bellaluna -

I almost named my cat that. Thank you for being so comprehensive! You said some great things in your post and I appreciate that. On second type opf antibiotics for my senior cat who has UTI. She vomits it up. Giving her acidophilus mixed into her food. I feel the same way you do about giving her pills - I wish I could tell her that I'm trying to help her not hurt her. I'm reminded of when my mom wanted me to take medicine as a child and I had to have the stuff that tasted good. So, we have to do teh same for out kitties. I tried smashing the pill to mix in with tuna (people tuna not cat food) as the smell overrides, but its hard to get the coating off. I have to pick it out. There has to be an easier way. She's restless on the new meds. Tomorrow I pick up something to help her with teh nausea as the 2nd antibiotic Zeniquin goes right to the GI tract. I laid out a seven course meal for her. I'll stand on my head if that works at this point! Whatever helps my furry child fell better!
 

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Are you saying this pill you are trying to smash is in a capsule (when you say it's hard to get the coating off).  If it's a capsule, you should be able to twist it open at the seam.  I've encountered some pretty difficult ones to twist, but eventually they give in .  Otherwise, if it's in pill form, have you tried putting it between two spoons (nestle the pill in the bowl of one spoon,then lay the back of the  other spoon right on top of the pill, then apply pressure.  That should crush any pill.  OR, is it in some other variety?  How big is this pill?  Is thee any way to hide it inside a treat whole? (I;m guessing not...it was hard enough for me to hide 1/4 of a Pepcid A/C!)

I'll try the spoon trick. I've been using a hammer to smash her Zeniquin, brushing the pill powder into the food, then picking out the pink shell coating. We have 7 more days to go on this. Oy vey. Just picked up Cerenia today to help squelch her nausea. Thanks for the spoon tip! I'm also giving her pet acidophilus to offset the antibiotics killing off the good bacteria.
 

Don't forget, when giving the acidophilus during a course of  antibiotics, don't give them at the same time.  The acidophilus is really a probiotic, so you should give that half way in between giving the antibiotics.  For example, if you give the antibiotics at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., give the acidophilus around 2 p.m.  Or if you only have to give the antibiotic once a day, say in the morning,then give the acidophilus in the evening.  Otherwise they counteract each other to some extent. 

I've been giving my diabetic cat, Clark (who will be 13 in August this year) a 1/4 of regular strength Pepcid AC at night; it's really helped his stomach from taking all the insulin.

Regular Pepcid is what vets recommend, NOT the AC variety (Pepcid Complete). The AC formula has other things in it not recommended for cats. I give this to one of my cats when she vomits often, especially vomiting white foam and bile before breakfast is even given. I stopped giving it for awhile, when she was on an antibiotic for a stubborn UTI. My vet said he didn't know if it would interfere with the medication, so to be on the safe side, I should stop the Pepcid. She was on the antibiotic for over a month, once a day in the morning, right before or after eating her wet food breakfast. With her evening meal, I would mix in Proviable (a pre and probiotic combo). She's been off the antibiotic for a few weeks, but I'm continuing the Proviable for at least another month. Have just put her back on the Pepcid twice a day too, and the vomiting has stopped again. I'm seeing some hairballs in the vomit too. With warmer weather moving in, she's probably shedding more and thus accumulating more hair in her stomach. So, I'm going to brush her out more often as that helps prevent hairballs.

B-12 shots won't hurt your cat, well except for giving the shot itself. I used to give daily B-12 shots to an old cat (who's long gone now) while he was also on subQ fluids, to help him feel better. It did work, but he was in the later stages of renal failure anyway by then. I would administer the B-12 through a special port in the tube of the fluids. However, unless tests show it's necessary, I wouldn't give your cat anything they don't need. It's a waste of money and the daily shots might just stress out your cat more too. Also, injection sites can get very tender and other issues can happen where shots are given regularly.

If I ever need to put a cat on subQ fluids again, I'll have a port surgically attached to the cat to make it easier on them.

Jill-E said:

Regular Pepcid is what vets recommend, NOT the AC variety (Pepcid Complete). The AC formula has other things in it not recommended for cats..........

Click to expand...

OMG !

Jill-E.............

Please have a read of this:

 ...there are quite a few Pepcid products available these days so make sure you buy the correct one. You need Pepcid AC 10mg but not the chewable type, and not Pepcid Complete, both of which have some ingredients which make them unsuitable for CKD cats. There is also a new version called Pepcid Maximum Strength, which is the same as Pepcid AC except that it contains twice as much famotidine, so be very sure you have the correct strength (10mg tablets).

Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Famotidine (Pepcid AC)

Click to expand...

If you're wondering about drug interactions with Pepcid AC, scroll down a little at that link to "Famotidine Side Effects and Interactions".

And, "surgically attached" ports for fluids....?

Perhaps that entire site could benefit you.

Jill-E said:

Regular Pepcid is what vets recommend, NOT the AC variety (Pepcid Complete). The AC formula has other things in it not recommended for cats. I give this to one of my cats when she vomits often, especially vomiting white foam and bile before breakfast is even given. I stopped giving it for awhile, when she was on an antibiotic for a stubborn UTI. My vet said he didn't know if it would interfere with the medication, so to be on the safe side, I should stop the Pepcid. She was on the antibiotic for over a month, once a day in the morning, right before or after eating her wet food breakfast. With her evening meal, I would mix in Proviable (a pre and probiotic combo). She's been off the antibiotic for a few weeks, but I'm continuing the Proviable for at least another month. Have just put her back on the Pepcid twice a day too, and the vomiting has stopped again. I'm seeing some hairballs in the vomit too. With warmer weather moving in, she's probably shedding more and thus accumulating more hair in her stomach. So, I'm going to brush her out more often as that helps prevent hairballs.

B-12 shots won't hurt your cat, well except for giving the shot itself. I used to give daily B-12 shots to an old cat (who's long gone now) while he was also on subQ fluids, to help him feel better. It did work, but he was in the later stages of renal failure anyway by then. I would administer the B-12 through a special port in the tube of the fluids. However, unless tests show it's necessary, I wouldn't give your cat anything they don't need. It's a waste of money and the daily shots might just stress out your cat more too. Also, injection sites can get very tender and other issues can happen where shots are given regularly.

If I ever need to put a cat on subQ fluids again, I'll have a port surgically attached to the cat to make it easier on them.

Click to expand...

White Shadow said:

Jill-E said:

Regular Pepcid is what vets recommend, NOT the AC variety (Pepcid Complete). The AC formula has other things in it not recommended for cats..........

Click to expand...

OMG !

Jill-E.............

Please have a read of this:
[QUOTE url="[URL]http://www.felinecrf.org/nausea_vomiting_stomach_acid.htm#famotidine[/URL]"]
...there are quite a few Pepcid products available these days so make sure you buy the correct one. You need Pepcid AC 10mg but not the chewable type, and not Pepcid Complete, both of which have some ingredients which make them unsuitable for CKD cats. There is also a new version called Pepcid Maximum Strength, which is the same as Pepcid AC except that it contains twice as much famotidine, so be very sure you have the correct strength (10mg tablets).

Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Famotidine (Pepcid AC)

Click to expand...

If you're wondering about drug interactions with Pepcid AC, scroll down a little at that link to "Famotidine Side Effects and Interactions".





And, "surgically attached" ports for fluids....?





Perhaps that entire site could benefit you.


[/quote]Good advice, White Shadow, glad you caught that about the Pepcid ac vs complete.

Some people do go the surgically attached port method, but I don't think I ever would. The danger of infection is very high doing it that way. Vitamin B-12 shots can be beneficial but do not need to be given on a daily basis. My little Ootay got one every 10 days. We started with once every 2 weeks but the benefit was clearly wearing off by the 10th day so the vet upped it to every 10 days.

Pepcid ac does have some side effects, especially with long term use. Constipation and depletion of Vitaman B-12 being the most common.

Oops. I guess I was thinking the AC was the Complete formula. Not that I ever gave the Complete or chewable ones. I actually just bought the store brand.

However, my little cat, Angie, who took the antacid on and off for a few years, can no longer take any meds. She was just diagnosed with both lymphoma and leukemia, not the Feline Leukemia Virus. She's over 14 now. Our vet, whom we've known for many years, suspected both of these in early 2013 when she began to loose weight, was vomiting daily, and couldn't fight off a UTI. We've been getting her tested every 3 months to keep an eye on her progress. Late in April 2014, she took a bad turn for the worse, the day before I was heading out of town. I got the news 3 days later. I came home as fast as I could (5 days later). She's still with us, but we have made the choice to euthanize her so she won't suffer needlessly from incurable cancers, as soon as I choose which home service to use. Bless her little self for hanging in there until I got home.

My cats is going thru a bout of diahhreah. I thought this was anxiety caused as I've been out if town but it was only for 48 hours. I've been adding the dry BLUE food I put in his feeder when I'm away to his twice daily canned food, hoping his tummy would get used to it and not react but now I'm home and the diahhreah hasn't stopped. Without the dry food, he's no longer interested in his science diet canned food. Tonight i tried wellness canned food which he gobbled down and 1/3 a Pepcid. He's otherwise playful, purring and seems normal with a wet nose and all. Ok to wait to see if food change helps or think he need a visit to the vet??

Thank you for clarifying that I only want the one ingredient, famotidine. I looked for and found famotidine 10mg as a generic at the grocery store.

I have been using pepcid for my cats for years, whether they kidney disease or just an upset stomach, which causes them to throw up just spit. It does help them eat on e they are less nauseus, but until it kicks in, i give them 1/8 of a valium (5mg). Nothing gives a cat an appetite like valium! It crushes to a fine tasteless powder, so it can be put in any juice of catfood, or jar of gerber chicken& gravy, or turkey& gravy. Also tiny enough to flip in mouth. It also helped one of my cats w/ an aweful case of stomatitis. I would put it in the juice of catfood& w/ in 20 mins he was eating everything in site! Somehow it soothed the mouth soars!!!He was up to a full 5 mgs after 5 years of taking it.

I give my cat 1/4 of a famotidine tablet every other day. He also gets 1/8 of cyproheptadine tablet to stimulate his appetite twice a week. I have a trick to give him his pills with ease. You see, he loves Temptation Treats (most cats do, even the sickest). I take one of these treats and cut it half, then I push the tiny pill into the soft center of the treat. I then press the other half to kinda close it. Sometimes it will reopen, so press it again gently. If it crumbles, use another piece. I first give a plain Temptation treat to stimulate the appetite, then the "loaded" one, followed quickly by a plain one. My cat is 10 and has some issues with the esophagus and regurgitation. He is the sweetest guy, but a bit dense, so he is easily fooled. This methods may not work for every cat, especially the smart ones that "smell rat" and know you are trying to trick them. But it's worth trying.

After $1,500 my cat Jack is diagnosed to have an intestinal inflammation. We cannot find the cause. The symptoms were not eating, not drinking, lethargic, diarrhea, and vomiting. No diet changes helped. Finally, doses of prednisolone helped, and he is acting pretty much normal. However, he is still gaining weight after 1.5 years, even with reduced food, somewhat, and Science Diet Metabolic. Also, I give him 1/4 of a 10 mg Pepcid AC pill a day.

I give him the liquid prednisolone with a syringe, of course, no needle. I put my hand over his head, from behind, covering his eyes, and put my thumb and fore finger into the sides of his mouth to get it open, and then just dispense the liquid prednisolone onto his tongue. I get the liquid prednisolone from my local human pharmacy.

I give him the pill using the old fashion pill gun. The one that looks somewhat like a skinny syringe with the split blue/green-ish split rubber tip. I have tried a zillion newer fancy pill guns, and the oldie is much better. I have been using this model for my cats since time began, almost.

A TRICK - my cat hated medications, and fought getting caught, and then fought taking them. My vet showed me how to put a dab of Chicken or Turkey with Gravy Gerber baby food on my finger before the medications and after the medications. Giving it before entices Jack to come to me, and giving it after gets it all down, and stops his continuous swallowing and gurgling tummy. I think he swallows air if I don't get the baby food to him quickly after administering the prednisolone... Does this make the job easy? No. Does this make the job much easier? Absolutely!

I have tried all the tricks of crumbling, encasing, blah blah blah, to trick Jack. Well, he is waaaaay tooooo smart for tricks, and he is really good at sorting pills and food, and spitting out the pills. If I crush the pill and mix it with anything, he will no eat it, even if I smear it onto him...

I don't know what I will do if my Mia the cat ever needs daily medications, she screams, claws, and bites if I try to give her medications. She was on eye drops for a couple weeks, and it was hell giving her the drops...

Why fight the cat by giving him Prednisolone pills by mouth? There is transdermal Pred that you rub a tiny amount on the inner ear flap, once or twice a day. You can make it a part of a little "love session". No stress, no fuss.