swollen foot after cat fight

roguethecat

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oh, my trouble with the Rogue... 

last night I came home to him with a grossly swollen hind foot, hobbling and obviously in pain. The emergency vet put him on painkiller, did x-rays who say he's fine, and gave me antibiotics and painkiller to administer twice a day. Consensus is that the Rogue got into a fight (despite being neutered, and on sertraline = zoloft to stop him spraying) and the victim, probably his best buddy, had to bite the Rogue's foot in order to fend him off.

Only the painkillers taste bad. Really bad. Usually no problem if using pill pockets, but this morning the Rogue heartily bit into his and got a taste of the pill inside. He freaked and refused any and all pill pockets thereafter, even regular treats, even after having his mouth rinsed with a water.

Now he is, understandably, sulking and I am dreading the time when I have to force a pill down his throat (he gags, thrashes around, and is suffering enough as is).

Does anyone have experience with a swollen foot after a fight? The vet suggested warm compresses around the foot which we will try tonight but I seriously doubt the Rogue will enjoy them.

Does anyone have advice on how to get a cat back to eating pill pockets?

thanks much!
 

ruthm

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I'm so sorry your kitty is hurting. I don't have experience with cat fights, but I do have lots of experience with pilling a cat.  Pill pockets are great until the kitty gets a taste of the bitter pill hidden inside, that is usually enough to prevent them from ever eating one again. Try a different flavor next time.

I had my best luck with a size 4 gel cap from Thriving Pets. You can either dip the capsule into butter and chase it down with a spoonful of baby food.  Or this is what worked for me with Pepcid,  wrap a different flavor of Pill Pocket around the gelcap and offer a few extra pieces to make sure the "seed" pocket goes down.  The Duck flavored Pill Pocket is a favorite here.
 
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roguethecat

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thank you for the suggestions - I will try the gel cap trick! As I ruined my 2 pill pocked flavors for him, I'll see where I can get a new one. Duck sounds great.
 

ruthm

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I forgot to add, the Duck flavor  is found in the Dog section of Petco and other places.  Hope it works for  your guy!

 
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roguethecat

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found it... these are BIG treats, but I broke one and tried to mold over a gel cap. He really liked the flavor but didn't gobble it up like the others, so while he was busy licking the duck I shoved the gel cap into his mouth and got him to swallow. 

Thanks so much for your help!

Now I only have to master the hot  compress routine...
 
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