It's 2023... just a whine

[fraidycat]

But, it's 2023.

We have AI, we have pocket computers, we have billionaires going to space for funsies.

Why is it,  that we also still have PILLS for sick cats?

Sigh.

2 pills, 2x day, 10 days. 
 

I feel like such a meanie. 
 

Edited November 4, 2023 by fraidycat

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, fraidycat said:

But, it's 2023.

We have AI, we have pocket computers, we have billionaires going to space for funsies.

Why is it,  that we also still have PILLS for sick cats?

Sigh.

2 pills, 2x day, 10 days. 
 

I feel like such a meanie. 
 

This!!! 

We had to give our cat her last pill of this series the other day. It took both Mark and I, and it was like wrestling a lioness with rabies! We nearly lost all our hands and arms.

If the vet EVER says she has to have a pill again, I am paying to board her at the office, and they can lose their limbs trying to shove it down her throat.

This is not the dumbest idea vets  have though.  We once took a stray cat to a vet because it had an injured tail, and he told us we should soak the cat's tail 3 times a day. I looked at him like I was seeing a certified idiot. 

 

[Heartstrings]

My vet always gives shots to the cats.  I pay extra but it’s so worth it.  

[Catwoman]

4 hours ago, Heartstrings said:

My vet always gives shots to the cats.  I pay extra but it’s so worth it.  

I was just going to suggest to @fraidycat that she call the vet and see if shots are an option, too! 

Shots might not be an option for this particular medication, but so many vets don't suggest them even when they are available, so I think it's definitely worth asking. 

[El...]

Yes. It's horrible giving a cat meds. I insist on a shot if at all available. If my cat ever submitted to meds, I'd know she was dying. 

[GailV]

I currently give my cat a pill pocket EVERY DAY. She isn't taking any pills at the moment, but she comes trotting into the kitchen every afternoon for her "treat". 

Every once in a while I have to put an actual pill in the pill pocket, and she seems puzzled by the new taste.

I use Greenies brand. She gets 3 of the regular hard Greenies when we do her asthma inhaler twice a day, too. Occasionally I give her an additional half-Prednisolone in the pill pocket when her asthma starts to get out of control.

Other than that, I'd go for a shot whenever possible. Heck, now we're going in for monthly Solensia shots for her arthritis.

Once we had a cat's medication formulated into a transdermal cream I rubbed on the ears - that was for hyper-thyroid meds, and I had to wear gloves to touch it. Eventually that one segued into grinding up a pill and mixing it with a small ball of ground bison, which that cat adored (which always brought to mind the idea of her running down a bison out on the plains, just like her ancestors 😉). But apparently methimazole tastes better than a lot of meds so she didn't think the bison was unacceptable with the pill in it.

[stephanier.1765]

I have to give my cat two pills once a day every day. And as I'm holding her wrapped in a beach towel waiting for her to be nice and chill, I "chat" with her often about this very subject. LOL But seriously, there has to be a better way and I wish I was smart enough to invent that better way. Thankfully she is very forgiving and doesn't hold shoving a pill to the back of her mouth against me. Well I do get a little side eye at the time but that's it.

[fraidycat]

13 hours ago, Heartstrings said:

My vet always gives shots to the cats.  I pay extra but it’s so worth it.  

Ours have had the "two week" antibiotic shots before, but apparently that one will not touch this guy's ear/sinus infection. Which... rings true, since he did just have that shot a month ago for respiratory illness/crud and yet, here we are. He did seem to get better at first, but he's really quite ill right now. 
 

I will be contacting the vet on Monday to see about liquid or something though, because we are 3 days in. Days 1 & 2 were doable, day 3 he's feeling a little feistier and he's starting to win the battle at pill time. 
 

He's feeling poorly enough, that I am also force feeding him liquefied soft food by syringe and giving him subcutaneous fluids, so hiding the pills in food or treats is unfortunately not an option either.

Thanks for the commiseration.

If you've got some good vibes to spare, Mr. Bully could use all the healing vibes you've got. He's just a little over a year old. 

 

[Heartstrings]

11 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

Ours have had the "two week" antibiotic shots before, but apparently that one will not touch this guy's ear/sinus infection. Which... rings true, since he did just have that shot a month ago for respiratory illness/crud and yet, here we are. He did seem to get better at first, but he's really quite ill right now. 
 

I will be contacting the vet on Monday to see about liquid or something though, because we are 3 days in. Days 1 & 2 were doable, day 3 he's feeling a little feistier and he's starting to win the battle at pill time. 
 

He's feeling poorly enough, that I am also force feeding him liquefied soft food by syringe and giving him subcutaneous fluids, so hiding the pills in food or treats is unfortunately not an option either.

Thanks for the commiseration.

If you've got some good vibes to spare, Mr. Bully could use all the healing vibes you've got. He's just a little over a year old. 

 

He’s so cute!   Could you maybe crush the pills and add to the liquify food?  Hiding in food has never worked for me, they either refuse to eat it or somehow neatly eat all around the tiny pill.  I do think the pills work better or are stronger or something, so it’s probably worth the extra hassle.  Can you buy chain mail locally to protect yourself?  🤣. 

[stephanier.1765]

What works for us is wrapping her in a thin kid's beach towel. I lay the towel on the bed, place her almost in the middle with her front paws close enough to the edge so that her head doesn't get wrapped but back enough so that her paws do, I pull over from the left to get a good snug fit, and then I roll her (LOL) so that the rest of the towel is around her, good and snug. Then I sit down with the pills near by, hold her like an infant, and have a nice quiet chat with lots of head stroking. After a minute or two, I reposition her so that she is flat on her back with her head tipping backwards off my lap. This helps open her mouth wide enough that I can stick my thumb and index finger in there and essentially drop the pill straight to the back. The next part is going to sound ridiculous but it works for us. If she starts to use her tongue to work the pill out, I will copy her and make silly sounds so she is shocked into stopping and swallows the pill. All cats are different but maybe there might be something in this silly method that might work for you. Good luck! I really do hate giving cats pills.

[fraidycat]

A little bit of an update:

I did try to liquefy the pills this morning and that did not go well. Lol Who knew a cat could foam and slobber that much. 😂😂

He's really such a sweetheart and not viscious at all, so it's not that I really need protection from him. I'm just afraid he's going to injure himself trying to get away and he's good at pretending he swallowed then shaking his head and flinging softened pill fragments across the room or onto my face/hair/etc. Even when he's in a towel or blanket burrito.
 

He's a super sweet and loveable little turd. 😁💩

But, GOOD NEWS... he asked for, and consumed a good sized portion (for someone who hasn't eaten in 3.5 days) of soft food a little bit ago, so I don't have to force feed by syringe for today. Thank goodness. 
 

If he eats or drinks again later, we should be able to skip the sub-q fluid poke for today, too.

 

[Faith-manor]

5 hours ago, fraidycat said:

Ours have had the "two week" antibiotic shots before, but apparently that one will not touch this guy's ear/sinus infection. Which... rings true, since he did just have that shot a month ago for respiratory illness/crud and yet, here we are. He did seem to get better at first, but he's really quite ill right now. 
 

I will be contacting the vet on Monday to see about liquid or something though, because we are 3 days in. Days 1 & 2 were doable, day 3 he's feeling a little feistier and he's starting to win the battle at pill time. 
 

He's feeling poorly enough, that I am also force feeding him liquefied soft food by syringe and giving him subcutaneous fluids, so hiding the pills in food or treats is unfortunately not an option either.

Thanks for the commiseration.

If you've got some good vibes to spare, Mr. Bully could use all the healing vibes you've got. He's just a little over a year old. 

 

Poor baby!

Our cocker spaniel goes off his food and has the head tilt when his ear, yeast infection comes back. It doesn't happen often because he does allow us to use ear cleaner on him every night. But about once a year the yeast still overcomes the routine. He does seem very sick when he becomes symptomatic, yet he always bounces back quickly. I hope this little baby gets better very fast.