Urgent..cat who has epilepsy won't take medicine!

How delightful to meet you, lovely Pandora!      

She's gorgeous.  Thank you for posting her picture.  She has such an adorable face - you'd never know she'd been causing such trouble!  

Thank you. I took in her and her brother (his name is Tesla). He's a snuggle puss and identical to her. He's very bonded to her and when she has seizures he stays close. When she comes to, he meows and licks her and squeaks at her. Her really bad episode Saturday, he came over and rested his head on her.

Aw, that's really sweet of Tesla worrying about his sister.  I have a brother and sister pair, too though they don't look anything alike.  You've got a matched set!  I love grey kitties - they are so beautiful. 

I love her. I just want to kiss her face.

This is when Pandora found us and brought her brother Tesla. They were 5 months old here (October 2014):

Pandora Left, Tesla Right (before I TNRd them)


This is March 4, 2015 when I kept them- this is their FIRST night:

Pandora Left, Tesla Right


November 2015 I believe:

Tesla sitting up, Pandora laying down


And finally, Tesla cuddling in my lap, February 2016


and for shiggles, here is the entire colony I was the caretaker of. Pandora and Tesla are in this mix. I still care for 2 of their siblings in this photo. Mom and dad are gone.

About a week after the first pic posted in this reply, Pandora and Tesla brought their family!  In all fairness, their daddy Grayson found us first.

Dad named Grayson (cat on the left behind the hay bale) He was TNRd by a neighbor 2014

Mom had no name (next to dad kinda in the middle)

Tesla (he's the cat right next to the pile of food- to the left of the food, with his face facing towards me) I TNRd him in October 2014.

Pandora (she's the one closest to the camera) I TNRd her with Tesla in October 2014

Corky (back left stepping up) I TNRd him last week (he disappeared for many months and when he came back, I nabbed him)

Buttercup (on the stairs behind Tesla) I TNRd last summer

Shurples said:

Thank you. I took in her and her brother (his name is Tesla). He's a snuggle puss and identical to her. He's very bonded to her and when she has seizures he stays close. When she comes to, he meows and licks her and squeaks at her. Her really bad episode Saturday, he came over and rested his head on her.

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Awww what a sweet brother, she really is a pretty girl 

@zed,
thank you so much!

This is utterly adorable.  The sight of those two little kittens politely waiting on your doorstep is too cute for words.       I don't know much about cat genetics, but I think it is kind of unusual to get an entire litter of blue (gray) kittens like that.  Was Mom gray as well?  

I see what you mean about Pandora and Tesla being bonded.  Their first night in, they look like they are literally connected at their sides.  

Have you seen the thread on gray cats?  Your guys would make lovely additions:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/274478/post-pictures-of-your-precious-blue-gray-maltese-cats-here

What a charming story!  And the beautiful photo of Tesla and Pandora kissing at the door way turns my heart to mush.    

I love them all lol  I need to hit the lottery so I can have a farm with kitty fence and many beautiful kitties!

Shurples said:

Caspers, I'm going to look into that!!!!

Ginny, I posted last night she's onto me and I can't catch her anymore. And semi feral is the part about not being held.

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Believe me, I understand.  I had the very same problem with Nat.  

Beautiful story, you have a heart of gold. 

This cream is awesome. 3 for 3

Shurples said:

This cream is awesome. 3 for 3

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Happy dance!    

Pandora just had a seizure. I was instructed to give her the kepra to keep her from having a cluster..

I just did some googling.  Keppra[emoji]174[/emoji] is the drug of choice to control seizures.

If the vet says that is the medicine that will help Pandora then I trust the vet's advice.

I assume that you trust your vet's advice, too.  Yes?

So, the question is not simply what to do but HOW to do it.  Right?

I understand that Pandora is a feral kitty that is very hard to handle but, at this point, desperate times may call for desperate measures.  What can you tell us that will give us some ideas about how to deal with this dilemma?

Kepra doesn't work for me for two reasons...

1. It must be given 3 times per day. I work far away. I leave 7am and get home 630pm. I go to bed between 930 and 11pm (I'm up now because of the seizure. We are doing laundry since she peed everywhere). My husband has harder hours. Two days per week he's not home till midnight.

2. She CANNOT be handled. Scruffing causes mutilation. If she sees a blanket or towel she bolts. This is because she learned what I do to trap her. If I were to be lucky to catch her it takes two people (even at vet) to administer medication. With my work travel schedule and his work schedule weekly, there's no way.

This medication is NOT an option.

Shurples said:

Pandora just had a seizure. I was instructed to give her the kepra to keep her from having a cluster..

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Oh, no.  Was the seizure as severe as the one she had before?   Since the gel isn't as effective, why can't they  increase the amount of phenobarbital in it to bring it into the effective range?  I don't know anything about the mode of action of the drug or the limitations of transdermal meds so that might be a stupid question.   

You mentioned the pharmacist said something about "medicine meatballs" he could make up.  Is that still an option and can it be done with the kepra?  Also what about making the kepra into a transdermal gel since it's the more effective medicine.  I'm sure you've already thought of these things but I'm just throwing everything I can think of at the wall in case something sticks.

What a disappointment. You must be beside yourself right now.   

I feel for ya'!

I don't really believe in the classic idea of scruffing a cat, either.  It doesn't work on adult cats like it does for kittens.  For feral or aggressive cats, it probably does more harm than good.  (Psychological AND physical!)

I can just picture the scene you describe of two people trying to tackle a cat and wrap her up in a blanket like a Kitty Burrito.  Utter mayhem!  It's not very much fun, at all!

Going through this whole thing three times a day is a whole lot of "not-fun" but there has to be a way to do it by hook or by crook.

I don't understand why the meds you've got are grape flavored.  In my experience, grapes aren't good for cats and can make them sick.  I would expect that cats would have a dislike of the flavor of grapes because of that.  Couldn't they make it tuna flavor?  (Humor... I know she can't eat fish.)  But point is that the meds should be made in a flavor that's more palatable to cats.  Grape flavor is kind of a non-sequitur to me.

I'll try to rack my brain again.  There's got to be some way!