Ideas or Suggestions Needed re: Meds

[stephanietx]

My older kitty, Callie, needs to take Cosequin for her arthritis plus some L-Lysine for her allergies and just general immune system boosting. I've not worried too much about it during the summer, but as the cooler weather approaches, I need to get her to take her meds. Here's the kicker, she's not a huge fan of canned food, which is how I prefer to give her these meds.

I used to be able to mix a dab of canned food, a little bit of pumpkin, and her meds and give to her, but now she just turns her nose up at it. (The little brat!!) She can't have any kind of fish (other than tuna) or everything will come back up. Soooooo...oh wise ones....what are some other things I can try to get her to eat her meds?? I don't want to be eating tuna everyday!

Stephanie

 

[cloud_shade]

Can you pill her instead? I've given the whole capsule to Willow because she's not a big eater of canned food either. If that won't work, you can try mixing everything together and syringing it into Callie's mouth (make sure you do it from the side so that it goes across the tongue or onto the roof of the mouth rather than back at the throat). Or, you could use baby food (no onions!) as the base and see if Callie will eat that.

 

[stephanietx]

Pilling is not an option as both meds are in powder form. She used to eat baby food with a little pumpkin but has since tired of that routine. We have tried syringing it into her mouth and that's a horrific experience for us all as she HATES to be held down and all h-e-double hockey sticks breaks out. That's the only time she's a terror, lashing out, biting, scratching, screaming, & etc. (I think she was abused prior to her life with me and that's how it was done.)

I'm thinking of boiling a chicken breast tonight and shredding a little bit of it up with some of the broth and trying that.

Stephanie

 

[cloud_shade]

I would try to find something she likes--whether it is boiled chicken or Pill Pockets or deli meat--and wrap the medicine in it. If she'll eat it, you could make some plain beef or turkey meat balls and then poke a little hole to stuff the meds inside.

If nothing else works, you could sprinkle the meds on top of her regular food and dampen it slightly so that it sticks--I think that may be what the Cosequin website recommends.

 

[momofmany]

Someone on this site mixes their L-Lysine into their water bowl. They measured how much water they drank each day and added a daily dose of L-Lysine to the water. They did say that it dissolved very well. If you have more than 1 cat, the L-Lysine isn't going to hurt them if they share the water.

I've mushed crushed pills into soft treats and poured it into pill pockets.

You can buy L-Lysine in pill form but frankly, the dose they need is huge and it does make them mad when you give it to them.

Can you get a pharmacist to make a liquid solution of the Cosequin and give it to her in a dropper?

 

[debskats]

The Cosequin can just be pilled, it doesn't have to be sprinkled onto Callie's food. Katy eats only dry food and that's how I have to give Cosequin to her. If you've giving L-lysine in the capsules, that might be a little more difficult because they're huge!

 

[gailuvscats]

You can buy very small gelatin capsules at the pharmacy, and fill them with the meds. Put a little butter on them and put them in the back of her throat with her nose facing the ceiling. she will swallow them.

 

[stephanietx]

I don't want to mess with her regular food because she'll stop eating it, which is not good. She's on a special food for kidney problems as it is. I'm going to try the chicken concoction tonight and see how that goes. Will keep the other ideas in my mind as well.

Thanks for all your suggestions!

Stephanie