Sasha acting normal (like a brat)

Sasha came home from the vet with 3 MUST FOLLOW insrtuctions. Give liquid anti-inflamatory twice daily, give antibiotic pill once daily, feed only prescibed food.

Yesterday went well. I put the meat flavored pill in with his dry prescription food. He didn't notice and ate it. The anti-inflamatory liquid, so far, tastes good to him and he's licking it off my finger. He has decided he would rather starve than eat the food.

I put the pill in his prescription food again today. He refused to eat any of it. I put it in with some of his old food (against doctor orders). He ate the food but spit the pill back out several times. We then force fed him the pill. It is always a fight with him. He is strong, fast, and determined.

All he has eaten today is the tbsp of his old food . Yesterday he ate very little of the prescription food. He seems somewhat hungry. I'm certain he would eat the old food but I'm trying to starve him into submission. If he is anything like I was as a child, I will lose this test of wills.

Other than these things and the fact that he is still passing blood (drops here and there) and bloody urine, he seems normal. He is playing fetch with me as I write this post.

I learned many tricks about feeding while I was trying to get him to eat canned (failure there). Looks like it is going to be the test of wills. He has already lost 15% of his body weight since this health ordeal started 7 weeks ago. Upside is his weight is about where it should be. He still has some belly fat.

Sounds like a typical kitty to me. I having to try to medicate... Maybe try the "pill pockets"? I've heard a lot of people have had success with them. I hope he starts to eat his perscription food soon.

Tried pill pockets. He won't eat them even without pills.

Hey, digger. I would contact the vet ASAP -- cats WILL NOT EAT something they don't like or want unless you force it down their gullets!!! NOT eating can make him a different kind of sick and equally serious.

You may have to try different UTI formulas before you hit on one that Sasha will consume and is ok for his condition.

What did the vet give you?

Originally Posted by AddieBee

What did the vet give you?

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Royal Canin SO.

The reason is that SO is a different concept than the others. It promotes a dilute urine as opposed to an acetic urine.

I'll be talking with the vet tomorrow. Mean time I'm going to wait him out. He's sitting in my lap kneading my stomach at this moment. I'll offer him some SO again. Bet you he refuses it.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

cats WILL NOT EAT something they don't like or want unless you force it down their gullets!!!

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I had to manhandle him pretty good this morning to get him to swallow one pill. Headlock and hold, Becky PRYING his mouth open, he was still able to spit it back out three or four times. He is very strong willed.

Sounds like he's feeling better! You might send Sharky a PM and see if she can recommend some good food for you to get you through the weekend.

There's been several threads with pill giving tips. You really shouldn't have to wrestle him so much - so you must not be doing it right.

Your vet should have shown you an easier method.

Here's the one I (and others) use.
Sit on the floor, spread your knees but keep your ankles crossed. This keeps the cat from backing out from under you. Cat's butt goes between your knees. Scuff, lift front feet off the floor. Cats mouth should open some from this.
With your free hand, toss pill in the back of the mouth and poke it (carefully and quickly) with your finger to make sure it's too far back to be spit out - if you have long-ish nails cut them off or leave it to someone who doesn't have them.

It sounds awkward, and is a little at first. But after a couple times most people get it figured out and can get a pill down a cat in seconds.

A little butter to make the pill slide down easier can help.

Pretty much what we do. I hold him on the table top where he is positioned against my body. I have to do the headlock (grasp head with thumb and index below the eyes) because he flails his head from side to side when I scruff him. Vet taught me this method.

All these pill giving techniques work perfectly when performed (by me) at the vet. "There, see how easy that is". But he will lie perfectly still with no one holding him at all and let the vet stick a thermometer up his rear. He does't flinch (I mean it, absolutely no sign of even an involuntary tic). He laid perfectly still and let a vet do a cystosentisis. At home with us he is as wild as the day I captured him under our patio deck. If I hadn't had the vet trim his claws I would be a bloody mess. This is a unique cat!

Funny part is, as soon as the debacle is finally finished and I start giving him the "good boy" routine, he just sits there and accepts the praise like he is some kind of hero.

I know everyone thinks I must be doing it wrong. I am doing it by the book. But Sasha didn't read the book.

Sasha didn't read the book. Cute.

He sure has a lot of energy. I am so glad to hear he is mending. I am keeping my fingers crossed for all of you!

Sounds like he's still moving more than he should be able. Someone mentioned using harness (on a cat the isn't used to one) to make the cat hold still for claw trimming, I wonder how that would work for pilling?


I've had cats behave better than I thought they would at the vet. And I have these kittens who at first fooled the vet into thinking they were being good kittens.

Sasha is Eddie Haskell x10 And the vet is Mrs Cleaver

He did get hungry enough to eat another spoonful of SO.

Originally Posted by diggerled

Sasha is Eddie Haskell x10 And the vet is Mrs Cleaver

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Yeah he keeps his horns and pitchfork at the house JUST FOR YOU!!!

The method of pilling posted by strange_wings helped me today. When Becky opted out of the process I had little choice but to try a variation of it. With a bad back and knees, it was a pain.

I'm glad you found a way to make it work. The real key I've found is to be as quick as you possibly can - I used to have to sneak up on Tomas when he was distracted with food.

And I hear you about the back issues. The things we endure for our pets, though, right?