Meds ruining relationship with cat

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brokenheart

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The vet put my 17 year old cat on heart medication, which he despises. To me, it just smells very vaguely like celery, but it must taste awful to him and it makes him drool like crazy.

I got him as a rescue when he was 1 and it took a long time to get him to trust me. In his old age, he turned into a loving mushball. But now he runs when he sees me coming because he thinks I'm going to give him that nasty stuff. The vet said no to mixing it with another liquid he likes. (It comes in liquid form, and it's not available in pills for veterinary use.) I left a message at the office today asking to switch him to something else. If there isn't anything else, I'm thinking maybe I should give it to him 3 days a week (he's supposed to get it daily), so that he doesn't live his last years in fear.  It's not like he's overtly sick and the medication gives him instant relief. As is often the case with cats, you wouldn't even know something is wrong.

I don't know what to do. He's become so fearful again it breaks my heart. I'm going to ask the vet about the 3 days a week idea, maybe giving him a little more since he'd be getting it less frequently. I want him to live, but there has to be some way to achieve that without him hiding all the time. I miss him.
 
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donutte

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Brokenheart said:
The vet put my 17 year old cat on heart medication, which he despises. To me, it just smells very vaguely like celery, but it must taste awful to him and it makes him drool like crazy.

I got him as a rescue when he was 1 and it took a long time to get him to trust me. In his old age, he turned into a loving mushball. But now he runs when he sees me coming because he thinks I'm going to give him that nasty stuff. The vet said no to mixing it with another liquid he likes. (It comes in liquid form, and it's not available in pills for veterinary use.) I left a message at the office today asking to switch him to something else. If there isn't anything else, I'm thinking maybe I should give it to him 3 days a week (he's supposed to get it daily), so that he doesn't live his last years in fear.  It's not like he's overtly sick and the medication gives him instant relief. As is often the case with cats, you wouldn't even know something is wrong.

I don't know what to do. He's become so fearful again it breaks my heart. I'm going to ask the vet about the 3 days a week idea, maybe giving him a little more since he'd be getting it less frequently. I want him to live, but there has to be some way to achieve that without him hiding all the time. I miss him.
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I'm so sorry you are going through this. What is your kitty's name? And what is the medication you are giving your kitty? I'm wondering if it's something that can be compounded. The bad thing about that is it is more $$$$ but if you're ok with it, and it can be done, it's something to look into.

I don't understand why they say it can't be mixed with anything else. Can't think of anything like that at all.

And yes, I feel your pain. When my Lucky was sick with acute on chronic renal failure, watch him cower (since he was too weak to run) just made my heart break.
 
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brokenheart

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It's Diltiazem.

I'm so sorry about your Lucky.

My cat's name is Sebastian. Up until the vet put him on this medication, he was a happy cat. He'd usually hang out with me - especially since my other 17 year old cat who was my shadow died in June - now he hides. He did the daily zoom thing. And seeing him feeling safe after being so skittish for years was wonderful.

I'm not even sure giving it to him in pill form would be better. He'd probably be just as traumatized by my sticking something in his throat and he might still taste it..
 
donutte

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Brokenheart said:
It's Diltiazem.

I'm so sorry about your Lucky.

My cat's name is Sebastian. Up until the vet put him on this medication, he was a happy cat. He'd usually hang out with me - especially since my other 17 year old cat who was my shadow died in June - now he hides. He did the daily zoom thing. And seeing him feeling safe after being so skittish for years was wonderful.

I'm not even sure giving it to him in pill form would be better. He'd probably be just as traumatized by my sticking something in his throat and he might still taste it..
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I would ask if there are any other ways to administer the drug. When I say compounded, I mean into a treat :) I can't tell for sure if that is done though. If they were to give you pills, could you put it in a pill pocket? Of course that's assuming your kitty likes treats.
 
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Actually if you could find a pill, you could maybe break it into smaller pieces and feed it to him in cheese treats or pill pockets.  When we have to give meds, we always introduce a treat before and after. 

Before cutting back on the med, talk to your vet as some meds have to be tapered down.
 
donutte

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Maple wouldn't take the Prozac she needs, even in a pill pocket. I found putting it in the small half of an empty capsule, then putting THAT in the pill pocket, made a world of difference.
 
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Donutte, Where do you go to have meds compounded into a treat? I didn't even know that was possible!

Thank you so much for all the tips. Hopefully, there will be another med he can take. He'll still hate it, just because he hates taking meds, but at least maybe he won't hate me anymore.

Stephanie, I give him a treat after - either a little bit of cream cheese or strawberry ice cream, which he loves - but he won't eat it for about an hour. In the meantime, he drools like crazy and looks traumatized. And it's not available in pill form.
 
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@Brokenheart  dilitiazem is used in humans too.  You could look into the possibility of buying pills from a pharmacy.  I don't know what the regulations are in the US, though.  A 60mg pill would probably be able to be divided many times to make the dose small enough for Sebastian.  The smaller the better for hiding in cheese.
 
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brokenheart

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Brian, thank you, I'll look into that.
 
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I see you're in NYC...there is a company there called Best Pet Rx that compounds medicine for pets. They can make the liquid or pill a bunch of different flavors depending on what your cat prefers. There was one med that normally came as a liquid that my cat HATED. No matter what flavor we got, she would foam up and spit it out. They were able to give us pills instead even though it's not the usual formulation. I don't know if they could do it with Diltiazem, but it would be worth asking. Then you could try giving it to your cat in a pill pocket or a piece of meat/cheese.

Your vet would have to call in the prescription, and then they contact you for payment info and to see what flavor you want. Then they deliver the meds to you within a day or two.
 
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Thank you!

I just got off the phone with my cat's vet and there is a local pharmacist who can make it chicken-flavored! So I'm going to try that. Poor Sebastian, I wish I had known this from the start - but hopefully this will go over much better with him.

Thank you, everyone, for your advice and for caring enough to take the time to share it! (Sebastian would thank you, too, if he could for helping save him from the evil-tasting med.
)
 
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Turns out what he's been getting is the chicken flavored. I'm going to try another flavor, but I'm not so hopeful now; it may be the underlying medicine is just too bitter to cover up.
 
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Speaking of compounding pharmacies, can they do this one in a transdermal gel?  You would just rub it into the ear pinna and he wouldn't have to ingest it at all.  That's the way I have been giving my two antihistamines for a while now.  It just depends on whether they can do that with your particular drug.
 
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FurryPurry, that's a great idea! That's how my mother took her heart med. I will find out, thank you so much.
 
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