My cat needs to have medication and it's impossible to give him a pill

I have two cats who are brothers and around 15 years old.  They've lived with just me for their whole life and they do not appreciate visitors.  Recently, one of the two got very skinny and was throwing up and not eating.  I found out he has hyperthyroid.  So now I need to give him a pill twice a day.

My first issue is the difficulty I have giving him a pill.  There is no way that he will let me put the pill in his mouth.  I have pilled my neighbor's cat when they were on vacation, so I am familiar with how to do it.  My cat goes spastic and sometimes starts peeing when I try to do this.  So what I have to do is try and use the pill pockets and mix them in with regular cat treats.  I'd say about 50% of the time he eats the pill pockets, but he knows there is a pill in them so he eats around them.  I've tried cutting the pill and putting it in some gravy cat food.  That too, he figured out and eats around the pill parts.  I've also done the ear gel instead, which works when I can spend 15 minutes chasing him around the house as he knows what I'm trying to do.  Then his ears after some time get caked with old gel and then washing his ears becomes impossible as he goes spastic on that too. 

I'm really struggling to come up with something that works and doesn't require such an effort.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

My other frustration is that should I need to be gone for a week or two on vacation, I know nobody that I have come feed/water them could get him to eat his pills, so I feel like I'm trapped at home.  It's really been discouraging.

I feel like I've researched and tried everything possible, but nothing makes it easier for me or gives me any faith that someone else could medicate him while I'm gone.  I know there are medical procedures for this, but my vet wasn't very optimistic about this and said it's very expensive.

Any help from here would be appreciated.  And thank you for taking the time to read.

what is the medicine that is needed?

sometimes you can get compounded as treats or liquid meds.

if its that meds for hyperthyroid-you CAN get it as a transdermal gel-

http://www.wedgewoodpetrx.com/items/methimazole-twist-a-dose-transdermal-gel.html

is one option-you will probably need to have the vet fax the script to them or call them and get it started.

I have heard many good things about the transdermal gels for thyroid issues.

there are a few other mailorder pharmacies that also do treats in different flavors and send your vet the blanks with different flavors-diamond back pharmacy I think is one place.

wedgewood pharmacy is another good pharmacy.

check your phone listings-you probably have a local compounding pharmacy close by-they are getting more common now with us needing meds.

Yes, as I mentioned in my post I have done the transdermal gel as well in his ear.  It does work, but he knows when he sees me coming and he hides.  Then it becomes chasing him around and pulling out the couch, etc.  Then even after that, you need to clean their ears after so many applications as the gel leaves a waxy residue.  And when I try to clean his ears he goes ballistic and sometimes  pees, just like when I attempt to pill him.

I'd be very interested in the treats if they make them with the methimazole medication.  Thank you for the reply.

you are correct-I was trying to answer your question-you can roll the pill in butter and try to give it this way-do you have someone who can help hold him? Pilling a cat is a two person deal. one to hold and one to scruff, tilt head back and pop the pill in-but some cats don't cooperate. I have one who is not pillable. at all. Have you tried those pill guns? It helps get it further back in the mouth.

Sorry for not reading your entire post=I wanted to help.

hi and welcome to TCS!

have you tried the greenies pill pockets? or the flavor doh? they're medication 'wraps'. if your boy likes treats, that may be not only an easier way to pill him but a way that makes him happy.

you could even try just a bit of plain sliced deli ham or turkey, with a small dot or so of stage 1 meat jar baby food (gerber or beechnut brand, the kind that's pureed smooth and has only the meat, water, and some have a bit of cornstarch in them) used to stick the pill to, and then fold/roll the ham over the pill.

Yes, the pill pockets were what I mentioned in my initial post.  He's very good at finding the pills in them, even if I cut them in half and hide a half in each pocket.  Then he spits them out or avoids the pill pocket altogether.

I've done some research and some place have both hard and soft treats as an option, but I need to go through my vet of course to get those to try.  And I'm sure they are expensive.  If they worked, I would pay for them though.

I've come across this product that is "all natural", but I have my doubts about it.  I'm a fan of natural remedies, but when you have a specific medical condition that has a specific medication for it, I tend to doubt them.

I live alone, so I don't have someone else to help.  I can't as much as get his mouth open even when I'm somewhat forceful.  I am certain I can't pill him in this manner.  He is a very wild and temperamental cat.

None of my cats will take a pill.  They hate every pill pocket made.  What I have to do is give either liquid meds or crush the pill and dissolve it in some tuna water or chicken broth.  Either way I have to use a medication syringe inside the cheek to get the meds into them.  This is going to sound a bit insane, but if I'm alone and have to give them medication, I get them on the floor and almost sit on them.  I don't put my weight on them, but I use my legs to hold them in place so that I have both hands free.  Make sure the front paws are held by your knees and make sure your feet are together to prevent them wiggling out from behind.  This is literally the only way that I can medicate them, but it works.  lol  As far as feeling that you're a prisoner, you may have to board him at the vet's in order for him to be properly medicated if you travel.  I've had times when that was the only way I could leave town.

I like the pill popper

Different methods covered here 

I have watched and attempted every pilling method on youtube, but I have not one time been able to get a pill down.  All I got was peed on and my cat hating me the rest of the day.  And like I said, I did have to pill my neighbor's cat when they were gone for a few weeks and I did that alone.  Some cats are just impossible. 

I'm ordering both hard and soft cat treats from Wedgewoodpetrx via my vet to see if he will eat either of those.  The hard tablets are much less in cost, but I'm going to get both to see if either of them work.  I will post back my results so that it might help others who have difficult cats to pill like MaggyMay.  Thank you foxxycat for suggesting checking on other forms of methimazole.  I'm crossing my fingers that these treats work, even if I have to go with the more expensive ones. 

Thank you all for your suggestions.

jupiter6791 said:

 
I have watched and attempted every pilling method on youtube, but I have not one time been able to get a pill down.  All I got was peed on and my cat hating me the rest of the day.  And like I said, I did have to pill my neighbor's cat when they were gone for a few weeks and I did that alone.  Some cats are just impossible. 

I'm ordering both hard and soft cat treats from Wedgewoodpetrx via my vet to see if he will eat either of those.  The hard tablets are much less in cost, but I'm going to get both to see if either of them work.  I will post back my results so that it might help others who have difficult cats to pill like MaggyMay.  Thank you foxxycat for suggesting checking on other forms of methimazole.  I'm crossing my fingers that these treats work, even if I have to go with the more expensive ones. 

Thank you all for your suggestions.

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100% with you there - some cats are just impossible.  My two original cats, angels who are no longer here, took pills easily, but three of my current four have some traumatic pre-adoption stories and they are not so inclined.  I considered the pill popper in the video above, but mine are now used to doing it our way and they're normally very calm when Mommy is sitting on them.  lol  I would appreciate knowing your results.  Good luck!

Wrapping in burrito towel getting it down anyway you need to that's fast efficient,

ignore the pee...it can be a battle of wills.

I have great news!  I got some chewable medicated treats from my be through Wedgewood Pharmacy.  I wanted to get the tuna ones, but they only had chicken at the time.  My cat gobbles them up like candy

I had been giving a 2.5mg pill twice a day.  I found that the cost difference between the chewable treats in size 2.5 and 5mg were almost the same, so I had my vet get the 5mg and I split them in half on the score mark.  Also, the difference between getting 30 or 60 was the difference in $32 or $35, so I asked for the 60 count.  This gets me to about 60 cents per day vs 30 cents for the pills. 

For me, even if I could pill my cat better, the 30 cents per day extra is worth just giving him a treat.  And I think you can get the treats in 90 count for only a few dollars more too, so now that I know he will eat these, I'll get the largest quantity I can.  I know they have expiration dates, so I have to be aware of that and cut those dates in half for the 5mg pill since I'm halving them.

I would highly recommend these treats to everyone and I have no idea why they aren't more popular.  I had to do research and come on here to get suggestions whereas my vet led me to believe I could only get the pill or ear gel.  Part of that I think is because their main supplier didn't offer the treats.

Thank you to each of you for your suggestions!  This will make my life so much easier

And to clarify, what I got were the "gourmeds chewable treats".  They also make a chewable treat that is more soft I think and it costs way more.  What I got is below.  Just remember to buy in 60 or 90 quantity and also double the dose you need so you can split them in half.  They are very inexpensive this way.

http://www.wedgewoodpetrx.com/items/methimazole-gourmeds-chewable-tablets.html

That's great! I only learned about these other pharmacies from the yahoo lymphoma group=they often have to get 3 to 4 dif meds for the cats and that's where I learned about the treats compounded into chewables etc.

If Floey my 17 yr old kitty ever gets sick it would have to be injection or liquid-I cant get her mouth open-if I try to touch her face she brings her claws up and pierces my hands-even in a burrito and she still claws me-Its a two person job-she gets clipped at the groomers and she doesn't mind the poking and prodding but if I try to pry her mouth open forget it. Often that pill popper doesn't work because it only holds medium size pills. I even tried rolling pill in cheese-nope. She licks the cheese off and leaves the pill. I wish I could get her to take Pepcid AC because she needs it as she is my puker. But all I can do is feed her small amounts.

I am glad the treats are working!

foxxycat said:

 
That's great! I only learned about these other pharmacies from the yahoo lymphoma group=they often have to get 3 to 4 dif meds for the cats and that's where I learned about the treats compounded into chewables etc.

If Floey my 17 yr old kitty ever gets sick it would have to be injection or liquid-I cant get her mouth open-if I try to touch her face she brings her claws up and pierces my hands-even in a burrito and she still claws me-Its a two person job-she gets clipped at the groomers and she doesn't mind the poking and prodding but if I try to pry her mouth open forget it. Often that pill popper doesn't work because it only holds medium size pills. I even tried rolling pill in cheese-nope. She licks the cheese off and leaves the pill. I wish I could get her to take Pepcid AC because she needs it as she is my puker. But all I can do is feed her small amounts.

I am glad the treats are working!

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did you know -- you can dissolve pepcid ac in a bit of water, and then mix it into wet/canned food. i do that for our jaspurr, as he doesn't like being pilled. if you try it, i've found that it's best to mix the dissolved pepcid into a very small amount of wet food, so kitty will eat all of it -- get all the pepcid.