Need help controlling adult cat for med application

[krystal55]

Hello -- It has been quite some time since I posted here. I am very worried about my 10 yr old cat Callie who was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. She seems to feel OK only she has lost some weight. Since many of us have trouble pilling our cats (me included!) I got interested in the idea of applying her felimazole in a cream form onto the skin of her inner ear flap. At first this went pretty well, but now after a couple days she's getting wise and darts away when she sees me coming and holding "something" hidden in my hand. If I can grab her on the back of her shoulders quickly enough I can easily apply the cream and it certainly isn't causing her any discomfort. But she can just as easily bolt away from me and hide under furniture and stuff where I have to dig her out , until we are both stressed out...My 3 cats are sweethearts and it would be heartbreaking if I caused any rift in our relationship. But Callie absolutely must have her meds in some form or I will lose her to an early and ugly death. Her life is literally in my hands but how can I help her get better if she begins to fight me about this simple (albeit hugely expensive) treatment?

I have considered buying a kitty harness although knowing Callie's ways it would probably have to be something I could leave on...I don't need the further battle of trying to get a harness on her 2x a day, every day. I have also considered a collar. When my mother was still living Callie would sit with her a lot, but when I'd have to leave for work I'd typically put Callie out because my mother could no longer manage it. Sometimes Callie would bolt away and hide and I'd have to find means of prying her out. It did seem to help and even calm her a little when I put a collar on her that had a small dangly thing I could get hold of, and she seemed to understand that.

Anyone else have any brilliant ideas about handling nervous kitties? I did try Feliways diffuser back when my youngest kitty was adopted and rather wild since she was half grown. But since the cats' headquarters is a large garage, the diffuser didn't help due to the vast size of the room. Feliway products are not cheap and I am low income; the cost of this special cream is over $100 USD per month.

Thank you,

Krystal

 

[jcat]

Is there any kind of creamy treat that she really loves, like liverwurst, baby food, cream cheese or the like? A couple of cats at the shelter have had to get the ear cream, and what has worked best is concealing your gloved hand with the cream on a finger behind your back while setting a saucer with a dollop of something yummy in front of the cat with the other hand. While he/she is licking up the treat, reach over and smear the cream inside the ear.

 

[krystal55]

Thanks - but what worked best for me was just patience, as well as enough agility (at 62) to crawl around under furniture and stuff to get hold on her while she was at that fearful stage. That finally passed when it dawned on her that I was not harming her and it was just a routine we had to be into every morning and evening. I have an extra small pet cage that I pop her into so I can go get the creme ready but she has to stay put till I'm done. Things are very low-stress currently.

I probably could have continued to use the pills crushed in food...but I kept reading that it is a bad idea to crush felimazole. My vet said today that the reason is that the coating is sweet, but the inside of the tablets can taste bitter. I thought the no-crushing rule was about absorption. Anyway I am holding onto the pills in case I run out of the topical ointment at a bad time. I was giving the pill in chicken pate soft food, but I never thought of baby food! Will keep that in mind too. I know Callie doesn't seem to care for peanut butter whereas the eldest kitty, Missy, goes for it, but she is a "piggy wig" albeit she is small and slim.

The cream seems to be working very well, Callie's T levels today are at the low side of normal, doctor R. and I are very pleased. She has not had any other testing at present so I don't know what her kidneys are doing. Now to make arrangements for her trip to the center for the 131 treatment. Because of the holidays this will probably get scheduled for late January, and we have our second order of the cream coming in about a week. Meaning Callie will be taking that for another 5 weeks (she's been getting it for 3 wks, one week to go on the second syringe).