administering Methimazole--a question

hi,

I'm going to start my cat (Cole) out on this initially. I am going to visit the facility that does the Radioactive Iodine treatment in the next month. Cole has been stressed from multiple vet visits (me too) and I decided to hold off a short while until we both are ready.

I just got the meds today. It came in syringe form (.1 ml doses)...I forget (or missed this)..do I need to rub this in his ear or just apply to the ear with the syringe?

I appreciate any tips on administering it..they told me to wear gloves.

thanks!
julie & cole

I would call your vet, I only know it as an oral medication.

hi,
it is meant to be applied to the inside of the ear...they told me & the instructions also confirm this..but I wasn't sure if it needed to be rubbed on or just applied (make sense?)
thanks!
julie

I have the methimazole ointment formulation for one of my cats. It's wonderful if they don't respond well to pilling (he was hiding from us all the time). I put on a latex glove and squeeze 0.1 ml onto my fingertip, then swipe the ointment into the upper part of his ear, so that it mostly lands on the bare skin of his ear. The ointment is supposed to enhance bloodflow and allow the absorption of the methimazole into the bloodstream. I swipe alternate ears morning and night (the right ear is the night ear, is how I remember) just to keep things even. It's very fast and easy.

You don't want to do this bare handed because of the risk of absorbing some of the methimazole through your skin. I also had a bad result (the cat's ears became inflamed) when I tried using other than a latex glove. I think the ointment transferred some of the plasticizer or other chemical from the non-latex plastic into his ears -- the inflammation cleared up immediately when I changed to latex gloves.

Another thing I've noticed is that over time there is a crusty orange buildup which I think may be old ointment. After researching on this site about cleaning cats' ears, I use a gauze pad barely damp with warm water so that no water will drip into his inner ear, and gently swab out his ears as needed. He tolerates both procedures really well.

Hope this is helpful!

Linda C.

thanks!! VERY helpful!!

I didn't know it came in an ointment, I will have to talk with my boss about it and see if we can get some in, thanks too.

Originally Posted by Petnurse2265

I didn't know it came in an ointment, I will have to talk with my boss about it and see if we can get some in, thanks too.

Click to expand...

Methimazole comes in three forms - pills, liquid, and transdermal (the kind applied to the ears or other bare skin).

I knew about the pills and the liquid, but the transdermal was news to me.

Hi,
I gave him his first dose last eve...very easy!
thanks again!

Good deal, glad it was easy! Re the transdermal Methimazole, my vet sent me to a "natural pharmacy", and I think they compound it on site. It's got a shorter shelf life than the pills, is the only thing.

Linda C.

As another transdermal methimazole user (er... well, PJ is...!), I swear by it. Until we can save up enough for the iodine treatment, and until she's evaluated again in March, its been great. She's been on it for a year and despite her minor set back last month, responds well. She is a terrible cat to pill (just catching her is a nightmare!), so this has been wonderful.

PJ's medicine is made at a local compounding pharmacy. They do lots of pet medications and despite the cost, I find it well worth the price and peace of not having to pill PJ twice a day!