Popping pills

This morning I am at the end of my tether with trying to hide pills for Polly to take. She is taking Felimazole tablets twice a day. She is the worst cat to have to give pills to! She has been on them for 10 days and the first few days weren't too bad, I was managing to hide them in treats. Now though she has got wise to this and is avoiding coming in at food time or if she does come in she sees me and hides. This morning has been really stressful and with 2 other cats I can't just leave food down with the pill in. I'm thinking now she might have to have an operation just because the thought of going through this every day is too much for me and her. Have also started worrying about holiday next year, I can't expect my neighbour to faff about every morning and evening to get a pill into her. Please does anyone have any magic answers because at the moment I feel so stressed by it all

 

Have you tried using the pill holders that are held at the end of a slender tube, which you quickly place beyond the tongue, and then press down to push the tablet out?

Find out if you can freeze the meds, as they smell less, OR

ask for a prescription, go to a dispensing chemist, and find out what flavours they have, that your cat loves, and have the prescription made up into tablets or a solution of any flavour.

 

i hide pills in the food but i use sardines in tomato sauce.
hope you can get your cat to take them.

 

I usually grind pills to a powder and then mix with carnation milk.

 

Have you tried Pill Pockets yet? They're supposed to be really good. I have a friend who cuts her pills up then hides little bits in chunks of steak, and the cats go mad for them.

 

I would not be able to get anywere near Polly to hold her to do this, even if I did catch her it would be so stressful for her she wouldn't come near me again. This is a cat who avoids me like the plague for about 5 days or more after having flea treatment so unfortunately not an option. Thankyou for the suggestion though

Will try some nice smelly sardines!

Will try this also

I hadn't even heard of pill pockets but having looked them up this is the same thing I am doing at the moment with treats. I cut them open, scoop out some of the inside and put the pill in.

Back to the drawing board I think!

 

The pill pockets are really soft so you can put the pill in and mould it round the pill - they feel like play dough!!

Rowan wouldnt take his pills in a normal treat, but they went straight down in a pill pocket!

 

How old is your cat? TBH, if it has already proven to be this much of a struggle with the tablets then I would be booking her in for surgery as soon as her levels have stabilised.
I am on my 3rd HT cat and as he is nearing 18 the vet really is not keen to operate. If he was younger I would certainly have gone for that option as the twice daily pills are a PIA and can cause reactions over time or even cease to work.
If you have insurance..or extra cash!....then the best option out there is the radio active iodine, but it costs about £1200 and the cat has to stay at the facility in solitary for 2 weeks.

 

My other suggestion stands, tho. If you have the tablets made to taste like liver, or as a liquid that tastes of liver, or your cat's favorite flavour, the cat will eat it as a treat.

 

I have never been able to find a compounding pharmacy here in uk I dont think they exist.

 

Polly is only 12 so hopefully has quite a few more years left in her yet. My only worry with the operation is the vet cannot actually feel the enlarged glands in her neck so has said an operation would be exploratory, so does that mean I could be putting her through an operation and nothing be found? I'm not sure what he meant by that really but I have an appt tomorrow so will discuss it with him then. Not sure I could put her through the radio active iodine, she would hate being away for 2 weeks, so would I, and obviously very expensive!

 

It might be worth checking with the vet if it's okay to grind the tablets down and put them in wet cat food. I think there are a few tablets which become less effective when they are ground down, but I've never had any yet (much to my relief!). My boy is a two person job even in the vet's surgery, so the vet will have seen and heard all this before and may be able to come up with a solution.

 

If the vet cannot feel the enlarged tissue, and she is only 12 years old (young!!! ) then I would certainly be going for the Radio iodine. The procedure targets problematic tissue wherever it is within the chest cavity, whereas surgery would miss it.
Yes, it is more expensive up front but those tablets plus blood tests every 6 months for the rest of her life will soon add up cost wise.
Plus, remember that the medication can cause other health issues or even become ineffective, forcing the choice much further down the line. HT is exhausting for the body and will shorten a cat's life span....tablets do not provide perfect coverage to suppress this issue totally.
2 weeks in solitary is horrible....but it would pass, she would sleep and mope it away pretty easily and then HOME! No MORE pills and no more HT.

 

My girls takes a tablet each day, I crush one of them into a powder and mix with her food.

 

Have just found out the tablet can be ground down so it's an option but this morning and this evening she has taken the tablet in a treat no problem!

Does anybody have a cat that has had this treatment? I am so undecided what to do at the moment. I have just spoken to the vet and am keeping Polly on tablets for the time being. What other health issues can the tablets cause?

 

My friend had a cat go through this recently. The cat did lose a little weight while she was there, and was reasonably upset at the isolation, but once home she recovered quickly, an dit's done absolutely no lasting damage. i think you have to balance 2 weeks of upset against potentially upset with pills every day for the rest of her life. I know which I'd do if I had the money.

 

You do not have to make this decision in a rush, not this week or next....so why not join one of the Yahoo Hyper-T groups and ask this question on there?