Hyperthyroid Meds- the trauma of getting them in the cat

evamilly · Aug 26, 2015

My cat has recently been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and has been given tablets to take to control it. I was wanting to hide them in food but her sense of smell is far too good and she won't touch them.

I have also tried Geenies pill pockets- she doesn't like them, even without the tablet.

I have tried easy pill cat putty- seems the same as the Greenies pill pockets, she won't touch it.

I have tried vivi treats- again she doesn't like the treat so she won't eat one with a pill inside.

I have tried cheese cat paste, she likes this but spits the pill out lol.

I had to put the pill in her mouth and got bitten today - although the pill stayed down- she is now hiding from me :bawling:

I was wondering if anyone had any food related tips, I don't want to use a pill gun either.

Thank you

catwoman707 · Aug 26, 2015

I requested the ear cream, it would be just too much drama getting my cat to take a pill twice a day for life!

The ear cream is perfect!! Morning dose is rubbed into her left ear, nighttime on the right

No tummy upset either!

evamilly · Aug 26, 2015

Thank you for your reply, yes I would like to try this I asked the vet for it as soon as he said ' I have prepared her tablets for collection' however he said he would like us to try tablets due to the inconsistancy of dosing with the ear cream, and also because they have supply issues. However I can't put her through the trauma of this every day, she was stray and it's taken a while for her to get used to us I don't want to traumatise her every day!

Have you had consistent T4 levels? How often should they be re-tested?

Thanks again

catwoman707 · Aug 26, 2015

Simone has been on methamizole for about 2 1/2 months now. On June 18th her T4 was 4.9+.

The initial dose was .05 ml, after 3 weeks I could see it was not right, she was sleeping constantly in odd places, her appetite decreased and she was looking thinner.

So I talked to her vet, and we agreed to drop her dose to about half that.

It took a couple weeks to recover and she was great then, so she had her T4 done on Aug 13th and it is now 1.6.

Yes, the hiding and lack of trusting is no good, I understand. Simone would do this same thing if I tried pilling her more than one time.

2bcat · Aug 26, 2015

Methimazole tablets are notably bitter if I remember right.

There is a special cat-specific coated tablet, not sure if available in UK. Or you could get little gel capsules to put them in. The latter is what I did after a cat went off pill pockets. She took the pill pockets fine for about 3 years and then we had trouble. When I had the gel capsules, she had additional meds to take so that helped. I coated them in butter and used the pill popper.

Never tried the ear gel but it is another option. The vet is not wrong about dosing as I understand it, but it may not be that out of whack. It's usually a lot more expensive.

Also not sure if you are looking into this or if they do it over ther (presumably they do) but while you see if you can get the thyroid level stabilized with methimazole and thus see if any other issues are uncovered, you can consider whether you want to try the radioiodine treatment. This is a cure that will eliminate the whole med issue once and for all, although it is a pricey option. I did a price comparison one time way back when, and when I was counting the pill pockets and cost of methimazole and cost of possibly more frequent blood draws, I thought it would come out ahead cost-wise if the cat lived 3 years. My cat lived about 3.5-4 years after hyperthyroid diagnosis, but she had kidney and heart issues at the end. She took the methimazole the whole time. If I had it to do over again, I would do the radioiodine treatment for sure.

evamilly · Aug 27, 2015

catwoman707 said:
Simone has been on methamizole for about 2 1/2 months now. On June 18th her T4 was 4.9+.
The initial dose was .05 ml, after 3 weeks I could see it was not right, she was sleeping constantly in odd places, her appetite decreased and she was looking thinner.
So I talked to her vet, and we agreed to drop her dose to about half that.
It took a couple weeks to recover and she was great then, so she had her T4 done on Aug 13th and it is now 1.6.

Yes, the hiding and lack of trusting is no good, I understand. Simone would do this same thing if I tried pilling her more than one time.

Thank you @catwoman707, I think the ear cream maybe the best option for us!

evamilly · Aug 27, 2015

2bcat said:
Methimazole tablets are notably bitter if I remember right.

There is a special cat-specific coated tablet, not sure if available in UK. Or you could get little gel capsules to put them in. The latter is what I did after a cat went off pill pockets. She took the pill pockets fine for about 3 years and then we had trouble. When I had the gel capsules, she had additional meds to take so that helped. I coated them in butter and used the pill popper.

Never tried the ear gel but it is another option. The vet is not wrong about dosing as I understand it, but it may not be that out of whack. It's usually a lot more expensive.

Also not sure if you are looking into this or if they do it over ther (presumably they do) but while you see if you can get the thyroid level stabilized with methimazole and thus see if any other issues are uncovered, you can consider whether you want to try the radioiodine treatment. This is a cure that will eliminate the whole med issue once and for all, although it is a pricey option. I did a price comparison one time way back when, and when I was counting the pill pockets and cost of methimazole and cost of possibly more frequent blood draws, I thought it would come out ahead cost-wise if the cat lived 3 years. My cat lived about 3.5-4 years after hyperthyroid diagnosis, but she had kidney and heart issues at the end. She took the methimazole the whole time. If I had it to do over again, I would do the radioiodine treatment for sure.

Thank you for the info

When discussing treatment options the vet didn't mention radio iodine treatment, he talked about surgery but said thyroid tissue can be located else where so surgery doesn't always work successfully. He felt meds were the best option, perhaps we will discuss more when her levels have stabilised. However her T4 was not elevated it was boarderline, a free T4 was done to make a diagnosis. Her ALT is elevated but I am told this will likely improve as her thyroid function normalises.
I have read a bit about the radio iodine treatment - it does seem a good option, although I don't like the idea of being away from her for so long. But will look into it more.

I will try gel caps and butter

Thanks again

cat pal · Aug 27, 2015

Just curious why you don't want to use a pill gun, I have to pill two cats sometimes multiple times daily and this gadget has been priceless -

evamilly · Aug 28, 2015

Thank you for your advice, I was wanting to disguise the tablet in food rather than force her to take it- especially since the tablet is every day for the rest of her life. However I have since realised she cannot be fooled by food. I have also been scratched/bitten trying to give them by hand, so will have to get a pill gun! Have ordered one that looks like a syringe with a grabber on the end for the pill, I think water is added to the syringe- although I'm not sure how safe it is to shoot water into a cats mouth, I worry she could aspirate! I have been looking for the other kind of pill shooter (without water).

cat pal · Aug 28, 2015

Yes, I've tried the "gentle" route too, but neither of my cats will reliably take anything edible - if they take it at all. I looked at my device "Dr Hanson's Bullseye Pillgun" sold to me by my vet but available online such as Amazon. Never have to stick my hand in their mouths.

It may sound rough, but even the skittish one is accustomed to it and doesn't mind it. I hold the scruff of their neck (gently), which draws their head back and mouth drops open - insert pillgun in mouth and pop! you're done, unless the pill occasionally doesn't go down and then just try it again!

evamilly · Aug 28, 2015

Thank you that's very helpful, I will look for this on Amazon. Yes she will just have to get used to it, at least until her levels have normalised and we can think about other treatments.

jcat · Aug 28, 2015

catwoman707 said:
I requested the ear cream, it would be just too much drama getting my cat to take a pill twice a day for life!

The ear cream is perfect!! Morning dose is rubbed into her left ear, nighttime on the right

No tummy upset either!

We recently had a feline boarder at the shelter who got the ear cream, and it was so easy! We used a small syringe to measure the right amount (and a latex fingerstall to make sure none of us got a dose!)

catwoman707 · Aug 28, 2015

jcat said:
We recently had a feline boarder at the shelter who got the ear cream, and it was so easy! We used a small syringe to measure the right amount (and a latex fingerstall to make sure none of us got a dose!)

Yep! I just slip on a finger that I cut from a latex glove, works perfectly.

SO easy, I can't imagine why the ear cream isn't used more.

Simone's med came in pre-filled 1 ml syringes, and she is nice and stable with great numbers now

evamilly · Sep 4, 2015

Thank you for the suggestions- if we do need to switch to the ear cream in the future will definitely wear a glove as I'm hypothyroid - so wouldn't want any of her meds lol! Fortunately we seem to have had a break through this week. I bought some Arden Grange liver paste for cats and dogs- I put the tablet in a little of this and she laps it up and doesn't even notice the tablet. So glad I don't have to restrain her anymore!

evamilly · Sep 11, 2015

So went back to the vet today and have now got the ear cream, so hopefully this will work well for her too :clap:

jcat · Sep 11, 2015

Mega

that it makes things far easier!

Hyperthyroid Meds- the trauma of getting them in the cat

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