Adventures in pilling a cat

donutte

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I just feel the need to vent this stuff out or so. Not vent, more like, "I'm concerned and there isn't a whole lot I can do about it right now so I need to get it out of my system in another way." And not sure if this would go in Cat Health, I tend to think of that as being more about questions than stories/memoirs.

My Sara decided she didn't want to have the pill pockets anymore. Dangit. I can't find the other pill "wraps" I got for Lucky when I was desperate to get him to take his pills. And he liked those! For two days at least. Anyway, decided I don't want to go the food route with pills ever again after I managed to turn Lucky off to, of all things, tuna juice.

So I busted out the pill popper and gel caps. Somehow shoved her antibiotic and hyper-t meds in there and it actually fit! Put it in the pill popper, buttered it up a bit, and then went to get Sara.

And so the adventure began. Sara, who is all of just over 6 lbs, is like the most slippery eel when trying to get away. She is no longer a cat. She gets into positions no other cat gets into and just slips out of my grasp. I finally just had to grab her head and pop that thing in before the slippery eel slipped out of my grasp again. Oh, and the meowing. She is seriously one of the loudest cats I've ever had. And unlike Lucky, she despises being picked up.

I may skip the Pepcid today as I'm not sure I can handle giving her another pill so soon. I'm shaky as it is from my own meds and pilling cats just exacerbates it like you wouldn't believe. 

At least she ate. She didn't eat yesterday, but I think she just didn't like what we gave her. Tried the same food again today and she gave me a look like, "Would YOU eat this?" So tried something else. She gobbled it up so fast.
 
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donutte

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I'm hoping she will go back to liking the pill pockets later. I can honestly say she did NOT like the pill popper, lol. Don't blame her, but if I have to, I will. 

May try liverwurst though if she doesn't. I hate the idea of always using the pill popper. I feel like it's almost torture. For both of us!
 

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What about a little lactose free cheese? I feed Sasha a couple of tiny crumbs until she's begging for more, then I make a little sandwich with the pill. Does Sara like cheese?
 
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donutte

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Lactose free cheese, I didn't know there was such a thing!

Miss Sara, as a rule, likes pretty much anything. Except what she decides to not like. She may like cheese right now, but might not too. She did eat a regular treat when I gave her one later, so that gives me some hope. Need to dose her again in a few hours after they eat their dinner. Hoping so much she'll take the pill pocket. Or I may break down and find some human food anyway. No liver sausage in the house right now, but we have some other things I'm sure.
 

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Paté or other meat paste can work really well with some cats. Just coat the pill in paté and offer it as a treat. Worth a try ;)

This might help too[article="32724"][/article][article="22402"][/article]
 
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donutte

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Thank you! I definitely need to get creative with the pilling. Trying to hold Sara still is next time impossible. This morning was definitely not a "treat" morning for her though. I went through this earlier in the year with her when she went through a full-on "I'm not gonna eat and you can't make me" phase. Treats were of no use that time.

I just wasn't ready to put the battle gear back on so soon after losing Lucky :/
 

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:hugs: There's always a way through these things - its just it sometimes takes a while to find it. Try to stay calm when pilling her - it really helps.

Hang in there :vibes:
 

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[thread="237863"][/thread]

I began working at a shelter since starting the above thread, and that means constant pilling. What I've learned is 1) my own cat was much worse about taking pills than most, and 2) you need a whole arsenal of yummy things to try to hide pills in, because every cat has its own preferences and some love variety. Some pills can be cut into tiny pieces or ground up - check with your vet, the pharmacy or the producer.

We have the best luck with liverwurst, but soft cheese like mozzarella usually works, too. One hardcore feral we couldn't get close to couldn't resist multivitamin paste for cats, and two others took their pills in storebought vanilla pudding with whipped cream.

First try a little dab of the treat without the pill to test its acceptance. If your cat likes it, give her more dabs, some without and one or more with the pill (pieces).
 
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donutte

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Thanks everyone for all your help. I decided at one point yesterday to give her a pill pocket without a pill - success! And last night and this morning went well. I think she just wasn't feeling well yesterday, but she's definitely more herself today, actually hanging out on the counter and what-not.

I'm starting to seriously consider doing things other than pill pockets for the sheer fact they are NOT cheap at all. And when a bag of pill pockets won't even last a full two weeks (because she was on an antibiotic twice a day in addition to the other stuff) yeah, that sucks. Add to that I have four other kitties that demand treats when Sara gets pilled. I had to find a cheaper regular treat with similar consistency, which was harder than I thought.

Curious, how do you normally handle pilling when your cat won't eat? Sara unfortunately does have her moments, which thankfully are not frequent or long. I have read that a LOT of people go the gel cap / pill popper route, which admittedly is the second-easiest way to go (outside of hiding the pill in something. Yesterday really freaked me out because it brought back memories of when Lucky started to not take his pill pockets, on a Sunday. Off to the vet the following day, and the day after that, I got his horrible acute-on-chronic renal failure diagnosis.
 

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I generally take my life in my hands, put the pill on the back of the cat's tounge, and keep their head up while gently rubbing their throat until they swallow. They don't like it, but it often works. I should add that a pill gun is the safer way to do this though ;)

If you have real issues with pilling, it's sometimes worth trying liquid meds. My resolutely unpillable boy accept me syringing liquid meds much more easily.
 

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I generally take my life in my hands, put the pill on the back of the cat's tounge, and keep their head up while gently rubbing their throat until they swallow. They don't like it, but it often works. I should add that a pill gun is the safer way to do this though


If you have real issues with pilling, it's sometimes worth trying liquid meds. My resolutely unpillable boy accept me syringing liquid meds much more easily.
Wrapping the cat in a towel "burrito" before doing this can mean the difference between calling 911 and just taking a shot of scotch post-pilling (you , not the cat, although you might both need it!).  Just went through this giving Hekitty her Comfortis.  Dear Goddess, those pills look like they were meant for miniature horses!
 
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donutte

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I generally take my life in my hands
Funny, I was trying that (among a hundred other things) with Lucky. Ended up with tooth firmly in thumb. I think Sara's teeth are sharper for some reason, although I've not yet tested that theory. So yeah, pill gun at the ready, lol. Giving her liquids is pretty hard too, the only "plus" with her as a rule is she needs less of liquid meds because she's such a tiny thing.

She is definitely the type of kitty that needs to be wrapped in a burrito if I have to force the pilling. Hitting myself for not thinking of that the other day.

I think I was a bad parent last night, waited too long between her food and pilling her. She's vomited three times this morning (it's why I'm up as early as I am). Just foam, but still. Hoping she can even eat to take her meds this morning.
 

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Pilling Rigel was awful when he got back from hospital. He was already so sick and became even more miserable with each of the 3-times-daily medication sessions (and there were a lot of meds).

Far too late I found the solution: Hill's Critical Care canned food! He needed it for a very short while when he lost his appetite during a urinary infection and liked it so much that I decided to try wrapping the pills in it. To this day there is only one pill he will spit out even with the Critical Care: Baytril. The rest he gobbles up and asks for more.
 
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donutte

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Hmmm I have a feeling Sara won't be so easy to pill this morning for sure. She's been vomiting foam and dry heaving quite a bit. I tried to give her a Pepcid in a pill pocket, and she almost took it, but she was feeling poorly enough that the vultures (kittens) coming by made her lose interest. Because yes, the kittens always want her treat-wrapped pills.

Thinking I may need to take her in for some anti-nausea meds this morning.
 
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donutte

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Ok, she took a treat with a Pepcid in it. Gonna wait awhile before I feed her, then give her the other meds right after that.

It kills me that my little girl doesn't feel good :( Thankfully only three more doses of the antibiotic to go.
 
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donutte

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Gave her another treat, this time with her hyper-t meds in that - success. Got her to eat - more "woohoos". And then lastly, the treat-wrapped antibiotic. No dice. I really needed that to be given to her right after eating this time, but no, she didn't want it. I put butter on it, and she seemed to like it, but then the little vultures (kittens) decided to investigate.

Will try again later, after some more food. Note to self - put kittens in the bedroom when pilling Sara.
 
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Mamanyt1953

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Poor Kitten-Boo, poor you!  Bad, bad babies!  But then, saying "bad" and "kitten" in the same sentence is a bit of a redundancy.  They're all imps of Satan, sent to punish us for our sins till they hit a year and some.  But OMG...the cute factor is off the charts.  It's why they live to grow up. 

Hopefully you got the last pill down successfully, sans assistance from the Itteh Bitteh Kitteh Committeh.  (sneaking a tiny bit of catspeak in, but it's mostly standard English, easy to understand, and such a cute name from a gaggle of kittens)
 

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Vet: oh just tilt head, pop the pill in the 'v' clamp mouth, move on, bobsuruncle.
Me: you're a sorceress and that don't work for us mortals.
Sigh, besides trying to talk myself into giving subq you just reminded me I have to give a mirtazapine. The one Friday disintegrated and was mostly lost to drool. At least it's not a tapeworm tab. Most useless med available.
 
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donutte

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Vet: oh just tilt head, pop the pill in the 'v' clamp mouth, move on, bobsuruncle.
Me: you're a sorceress and that don't work for us mortals.
Sigh, besides trying to talk myself into giving subq you just reminded me I have to give a mirtazapine. The one Friday disintegrated and was mostly lost to drool. At least it's not a tapeworm tab. Most useless med available.
I think (if not for the fact it would mean she's much worse off) I'd rather give subqs. At least she won't puke those up if her tummy's not good. Kidney cat? Try a pill popper and gel caps help avoid the drool factor. Omg, for the ones that just won't eat treats, that's the best thing I've come across. And I've tried a lot. Using the pill popper terrifies me a bit though, hence me trying to do anything else but that.
 
Poor Kitten-Boo, poor you!  Bad, bad babies!  But then, saying "bad" and "kitten" in the same sentence is a bit of a redundancy.  They're all imps of Satan, sent to punish us for our sins till they hit a year and some.  But OMG...the cute factor is off the charts.  It's why they live to grow up. 

Hopefully you got the last pill down successfully, sans assistance from the Itteh Bitteh Kitteh Committeh.  (sneaking a tiny bit of catspeak in, but it's mostly standard English, easy to understand, and such a cute name from a gaggle of kittens)
I tried at noon, after I caught her eating some kibble (hey, that counts as food still). Kittens were on there five-hour nap so timing worked. But she didn't want it, and I didn't want to force it into her just to chance her puking it up. I decided to cut my losses and ditch the pill, which was slathered in pill pocket and butter. Let her rest, and then this evening she ate some dinner. Prepared her next-to-last antibiotic dose and hyper-t meds in the pill pockets, and she took them.

And now, hoping I don't wake up to hearing her puke like I did this morning. I swear, that wakes me up faster than anything right now. And these last few days have brought back some horrible memories of the beginning an almost 3-week period of time that was just awful. The paranoia is still there I'm afraid.
 
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