Seeking Advice On Giving Cat Antacids

My cat has kidney failure and the vet prescribed antacids for the vomiting/nausua. I'm having a huge problem giving him them, the liquid form or tablets. He will not eat tablets if hidden in food, will gage up both the tablets and liquid if I make him swallow them. Does anyone have any advice/suggestions on what and how I can give him antacids?
Thank you, Deborah Woods.

You should not be giving him a full antacid, only 1/3 of a tab- at least that is what my vet told me-

Here is a thread already in progress about pilling cats

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50837

The dose of famotidine (2.5 mg) that I give Patrick means he only gets 1/4 of a very small 10 mg.pill (makes having a pill cutter very handy!), and I have no problem popping this tiny bit of pill in his throat.

I'm sorry to hear you and your kitty are having to deal with this, if you need or want, I have some good websites I can recommend, or if you want to talk about it, I (I have 2 with this, one diagnosed almost 3 years ago, one just diagnosed) and others on the forum, have (or have had) kitties with CRF.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

The dose of famotidine (2.5 mg) that I give Patrick means he only gets 1/4 of a very small 10 mg.pill (makes having a pill cutter very handy!), and I have no problem popping this tiny bit of pill in his throat.

I'm sorry to hear you and your kitty are having to deal with this, if you need or want, I have some good websites I can recommend, or if you want to talk about it, I (I have 2 with this, one diagnosed almost 3 years ago, one just diagnosed) and others on the forum, have (or have had) kitties with CRF.

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I also give my cat 1/4 of a pill, it is small but I can't get it down him. How do you give your cat the 1/4 pill? Could you explain the proceedure you use?
Thanks, Deborah.

I give him 1/4 of a tablet. Or I should say I try to give it to him.
Deborah

Hi Deborah,

I craddle him belly up in my arms, and with my index finger, gently pry his mouth open, then pop in the 1/4 tab. He swallows - though sometimes he spits it back out and we start again

mine gets 1/4 pill also i slip in in some cheese or tuna... I can do the pop method but i like to live

If you truly cant get a pill in.. my vet called a pharmacy to compound the liguid version.. it is expensive and hard for me to give..

I give my girl the same dose that Pat & Alix gives her cat. 98% of the time, she eats it in a little meatball I make out of canned food. She gets it first thing in the morning, before any other food, so she's hungry. I use a canned food that's not excessively moist so the meatball holds together, but it's so small she usually gets it down the hatch with the first one or two licks. The other 2% of the time that she won't take it that way, I use a pill gun. It's a two person operation - my husband holds her, and I do the pilling. It would definitely be trickier if you had to restrain your cat and simultaneously use the pillgun yourself, but I know a couple of acrobatic people who have managed it!

Originally Posted by KTLynn

It would definitely be trickier if you had to restrain your cat and simultaneously use the pillgun yourself, but I know a couple of acrobatic people who have managed it!

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Not with Patrick, but with other cats, I've managed the one person pill gun trick by simply scruffing them, then gentle but persistent pressure with the pill gun at the side of their mouth until they open, slide it in quickly and push the pill gun plunger.

then let go and run like heck....!

Pat, can I get those forum sites?  I have a senior female cat with kidney failure, and would like to see if there is some information on some of the symptoms she's having, and how to treat.

Your vet or some local vet should have pill poppers.  They sell them in pet stores too but the ones the vet have a much thinner – like a pencil.  We’ve had mixed results with them.  The key is to get the pill back behind the tongue. If you can do that by hand or with the pill popper its almost impossible for your cat to cough it back up.  If you blow in the cats mouth as soon as you release the pill I find that causes the cat to startle a bit and generally always swallow.  Works a charm once you get your technique down.  It helps to squirt a little water in their mouth if you have a syringe, after they’ve been pilled so the swallow and push the pill down to the stomach before it dissolves in their throat.

We've had to do 1/4 child  Pepcid too but it was so small the cat tolerated it well.  Some pills (prednisone) she will eat in a pill pocket.  I can’t recall if we just didn’t bother with those for the pepcid or if that was a time the pepcid was given with tramydol (which worked great but tasted awful and made her refuse pill pockets for about years).  Have you tried pill pockets?

Fat Boyz Mom said:

Pat, can I get those forum sites?  I have a senior female cat with kidney failure, and would like to see if there is some information on some of the symptoms she's having, and how to treat.

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Welcome to TCS. The site that I refer to for information on ckd is http://felinecrf.org/index.htm. I have it bookmarked and refer to it often when regarding treatments for Riley. I would suggest starting a new thread if you have any specfic questions or concerns so that people are more likely to see them and respond.

we purchased a pill cutter with built in grinder.  we add powder to a small serving of our cats favorite food, we cover the powder with another small serving of food.  wait just a few minutes for the powder to combine with food and drop in dish.  our cat eats it like there was nothing foreign in it. well it works for us, give it a try hope this helps!