Administering sucralfate - any suggestions?

So Obi needs to get sucralfate.  It is supposed to be dissolved in water and syringed into his mouth 15 min - 1/2 hour before meals.  He HATES having stuff syringed into his mouth, and I am not very good at it - we are much better with pills.  Any suggestions?  TIA.

No real experience with this, but maybe if it smelled better (from a cat's viewpoint)?  How about getting a can of tuna packed in water, draining some of the water off, and using it to dissolve the sucralfate?  Or maybe making some catnip tea?  Also, I suspect that syringing is not actually a necessary part of it -- if you could persuade Obi to lap it up that should be equally useful, and he might be willing to do that with either tuna water or catnip tea.

Margret

Sorry, I cannot help you there. If it is supposed to be taken before food, then I would think that any food product would interfere with the absorption of the medicine. 

Could you ask the Vet for ideas?

My kitty Tiger needed to take Carafate when it was suspected she had a GI bleed. The ER Vet explained that it protects the stomach and intestinal lining by binding with the proteins excreted by the site of the bleed. This is the reason it needs to be  given on an empty stomach and not administered with food. Some friends of mine had good luck using something like the Cat In The Bag, or kitty burrito wrap, I was lucky, my girl accepted it.

It might be easier to give it to your kity upon waking from a nap? I approach from the right side, wrapped my left hand around to open kitty;s mouth, then administer the med with my right hand.   I don't think it is as horrible tasting as some of the other meds she needed.

Ruth M and other cat parents here:  This med is supposed to be given, as you all say, about an hour before meals.  But Obi is really interested in his food; so, when, for example, I wake up, he usually appears because he wants his chow.  Then I  have to syringe him; he hates it; then I have to wait an freaking half hour to feed him.  So he is going to catch on to this right quick, and hide until he hears the sounds of food being served.  It is really hard to force meds on a cat; he is easy to pill and is forgiving of that but this is different. 

Hi. Yes, an hour before a meal or two hours after a meal. I totally understand what you are saying about Obi catching on to the new routine. Is it possible to give it two hours after he eats? I'm actually giving sucralfate to Boo right now for suspected ulcers / GI bleed (his stools were dark), and I give it two hours after he eats so as not to interfere with his enthusiasm for meals (which is already very little). It is a pain to have to wait the two hours, especially in the mornings when I need to leave for work. But I do agree with @RuthM about it being given on an empty stomach and not with food. In my (and my vet's) opinion, this is more important than the administration method.

So administration.....I don't know about you, but when I crush the sucralfate and add water to it in a syringe, it....WILL...NOT....DISSOLVE. It drives me nuts because it's basically a grainy powder floating in water that never mixes, and then I'm left with some of the medication left behind in the syringe. I tried warming up the water, shaking vigorously, etc., but to no avail. According to the documentation, it is still best to give it this way (despite this non-dissolving conundrum   ) or by getting it as a compounded liquid from the vet.

Anyway, after two weeks of this, I started either pilling the sucralfate directly (not crushed or pre-dissolved) or putting the crushed sucralfate powder in a gel cap and pilling that. This still has some benefit, though not ideal, so I definitely wait the full two hours after a meal so that the sucralfate can do it's thing without any 'interference."

My boy January just came back from the vet. His stools were black instead of the normal brown color. He had this for about 2 weeks as I was observing his litter box motion because he was neutered on the 29th June.
So I thought that it could be due to the anesthesia. Few days later, his stools were soft and at the end was watery, but still blackish.
This morning between 2 and 4 am, we discovered that he vomited some blackish liquid. He did it twice at different spot of the house. I smelt it and it was not feces. It smell more like the food he ate the night before but has a tinge of blood smell.
After examination at the vet, vet suspect could be GI ulceration/bleeding. He was given Sucralfate tablets. It's half tablet 15 mins before food and also given a gut protector named Zantac syrup, also 15 mins before food. Both twice a day.
Supposed to mashed up to powder form for the pill and mix it wif some water and fill it in a syringe and give it to him. But instead, I gave him the tablet by mouth (1/2 tablet I broke into 1/4 for easy swallowing) which he spat it out twice before succession. The syrup was also administered through syringe but he did not like it and spat some out.
Best is before food but I guess if no choice, should able to be given with food. Mixed With a small portion of food before giving the rest. But then again, if the cat is sensitive to med taste, he won't eat and therefore waste the portion of med. this is what my vet told me to do because January don't like medicine.
Later I'll have to give him the med, hope it won't be that hard. And hope the med will clear his symptoms.

Hi, Go.  Good suggestion.  I will speak with the vet.  I generally have time in the AM but we are also right now giving Cerernia, and that is administered about an hour after he eats.  So this is a complex picture.  Part of the reason we started the sucralfate is that he was eaitng his breakfast and retreating under the bed.  I dont know about this behavior, he does not appear uncomfortable, but it is a change.  So the vet thought he might have some mild discomfort.  So what I am saying is that if this behavior continues, it will be even more difficult to get him to administer the sucralfate.IDK, this is just not a practical medication!  Not sure if he needs it or not....it would definitely be easier just to pill him.   Also, my regular vet is out of town till the end of the month, and the vet I am dealing with seems to have a somewhat different opinion of the importance of dissolving the sucralfate.  Go, are you using warm water do dissolve the sucralfate?  I am not having much difficulty with this - could be your water is harder than mine.