Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK

Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: Dawn F on May 02, 2014, 11:30:06 AM

Title: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Dawn F on May 02, 2014, 11:30:06 AM
am running out of ways to trick amber and she is now starting to go off food after months of anti biotics - I must get my girl well so any tricks you have are greatfully (or is that gratefully  :Crazy:) received
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Kay and Penny on May 02, 2014, 11:37:37 AM
I believe antibiotics are bitter tasting, so more difficult to disguise than other meds - when I had to dose Tosker, who eats very little wet food, I found keeping the abs in the fridge, and then mixing with a bit of tuna was the only way - chilling apparently dulls the taste

Tiffany takes her Cystease mixed in a bit of Gourmet pate, but that is odour and  taste less, so much easier to disguise

Trigger took twice daily Felimazole in bits of Webbox - I found the trick was to give two undoctored bits before and after the one with the tablet, and to give him the bits  by hand  sitting above him so they went well into his mouth while it was tilted back

also have you tried Marmite mixed in a blob of soft butter? most cats love it, and it can be smeared on their side to be licked off if necessary
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Dawn F on May 02, 2014, 11:43:52 AM
ooh interesting about keeping them cold will try that, since Feb we have been using them crushed into gourmet gold which she used to love but now is running, well ambling away every time I come near her with it - will try butter and marmite and the cold tab in tuna as she used to love both
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Liz on May 02, 2014, 14:48:33 PM
If she will eat corned beef its working a treat currently with Miss Clio feral who is Hyper T its M & S lean slices and it moulds round the tablets brilliantly and my other fail safe Tuna pate which currently does Max Hyper T and Miss kali kitten both of course from M & S as they won't eat any other versions and its not for want of trying :shocked: :rofl:

Also 1 tub of Tuna Pate worms 47 cats for anyone needing to worm :rofl:
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Dawn F on May 02, 2014, 14:58:13 PM
thanks Liz, think I'll go to the shops after work lol, oh will be miffed he isn't allowed corned beef! I've spoken to the vet today if we can get her runny nose free until sunday she can start the steriods again and hopefully turn a corner
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Tiggy's Mum on May 02, 2014, 15:33:17 PM
Hope you can find something that works Dawn  :hug: I use Natures Menu treats (dark pink packet, think they're chicken & Liver). I just cut in half and mould round the tablet. Lu absolutely LOVES these and will hoover them up but Riley won't willingly eat them so I put a dreamie on top and repeat until he eats the treat containing the tablet by accident!

Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Dawn F on May 02, 2014, 15:35:38 PM
she used to like dreamies but since this illness has no enthusiasm for anything edible poor girl, she has lost a kilo since christmas  :(
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Tiggy's Mum on May 02, 2014, 15:58:47 PM
Poor Amber :care:

I found when Riley was feeling poorly and refusing dreamies that he would still eat the Whiskas temptations anti-hairball, healthy coat and katzini versions. Worth a go in conjuction with a squishy treat to hide the tablet  :hug:
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Dawn F on May 02, 2014, 16:04:28 PM
thanks helen, will give it a go, my shopping list is growing  ;)
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on May 02, 2014, 17:49:37 PM
I hope you find something.  I sympathise as I am currently giving Jaffa a syringe full of yukky liquid 3 times a day, a tablet once a day and until recently an AB twice a day.  I am just shoving them down his throat at the moment!  The liquid can't be given any other way as it doesn't taste good so can't be added to food.  He doesn't have much enthusiasm for treats and any he does eat are investigated thoroughly before being eaten.  But long term I am looking at pill pockets etc.  Got to find a better way!  Mosi of course is virtually begging me to give him a syringe full of liquid  :rofl:  He wants whatever Jaffa is having  :innocent:  I will watch this thread with interest.
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: CarolM (Wendolene) on May 02, 2014, 18:54:16 PM
If she likes beef flavour  then I  can recommend  Sutherlands potted beef (supposedly a human food  :shify: ) available at Tesco and other supermarkets.  It's sticky so holds the tablet well, and even my Tiny who was a chewer rather than a hooverer would take his thyroid tabs in it.  I suppose it's the meaty equivalent of Liz's tuna pate.  Anything sticky in a flavour that she likes is worth a try.  Good luck.
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Stezzle on May 02, 2014, 20:20:06 PM
Licky use to have his with soft cheese wrapped in ham. Weebox or whiskas treat stick or cover it in butter. Now we are using a pill popper until in shows enough interest to take himself.
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: fluffybunny on May 05, 2014, 21:53:21 PM
Primula cream cheese with shrimp used to work well in this house  :sick:

I confess that these days I mostly just use the pin-cat-between-knees-and-chuck-down-throat technique  :rofl:
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: sheilarose on May 05, 2014, 22:18:39 PM
Beau is a cheese demon, I'll try him on the Primula  ;)

Thanks FB!
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: pappilon on May 05, 2014, 23:10:00 PM
Dawn , primula worked well for my Phoebe too but last month i discovered this mini cat sticks from Vitakraft they are very soft and meaty so you could hide anything in them. Would you like me to send you some to see if Amber likes them. First give her one with no meds in and if she shows interest then you could mix her meds in. They come in pack of 3 and in three dif taste.
Let me know . :hug: :hug: Sending her some gentle hugs.
Sorry i havent been reading the A-Team tread for a while but i was thinking if your vet would do a referrals for you to take her to RVC. They specials in small animals and were amazing with my cat Boy when no one could really decide what was the best treatment for him! They kept him over night and did all the tests and gave me a full report of what was wrong and the best treatment for him, I do recommend them. They are near Potters Bar. Just a thought :hug: :hug:
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: emmmy_lou on May 07, 2014, 10:00:45 AM
The webbox sticks worked quite well for me if the tablets arent too big.

For evie I could just squish a tablet into a bit of meat and she would eat it.

Anything for Denzel I need to just shove it down her throat!!! You can get the syringe type things to make that easier, but have never tried one myself.
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Dawn F on May 07, 2014, 10:17:11 AM
so far the thin ham is working best, although she has to stop the meds now anyway as she has been referred to a cat specialist - thanks for the very kind offer pav as ever you are very thoughtful  :hug:
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Lyn (Slugsta) on May 07, 2014, 16:01:31 PM
Emmy-Lou, my friends use one of the 'pill popper' things as one of their cats needs frequent medication. I've used it on occasion and it is a useful device.
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Liz on May 07, 2014, 17:20:22 PM
I have pill poppers and currently have 2 on M & S tuna pate and Clio feral Hyper T is in week 2 of having tablets rolled in M & S corn beef
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Hippykitty on May 08, 2014, 22:55:57 PM
When I first rescued Lucy and her sons, they had flu and were unhandleable. The vet gave me abs in a solution. I put a couple of drops in their food, making sure they ate from their own dishes.

Ask your vet for abs in a solution (I think the vet nurses had a powder which they dissolved in a liquid when I picked up the abs). My ferals fell for this trick.

A trick I've tried, successfully, with a domestic cat, has been to give her some munchie treats (such as Dreamies or Thomas), about half a dozen of them, and include amongst these the abs pill. She just greedily ate the pill thinking it was a treat, only realising her mistake after she'd eaten it. This only works a few times and is best if alternated with other methods.

Another method is to hide the pill in something your cat loves. I had a cat, Samantha, who LOVED cheese, so I would wrap the abs in some cheese which I sort of molded round the pill. She would rapidly eat the cheese then suddenly have a surprised look on her face; but too late, she'd taken the pill! Again this only works a few times and is best alternated.

The drops on food is the simplest method I've used, but you'd need to ask your vet about this. My vet at the time knew I was treating ferals.

Good luck.
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: pappilon on May 15, 2014, 07:01:19 AM
 Sending lots of positive vibes for Amber's visit today, and some  :hug: :hug: for you Dawn.
 
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Dawn F on May 16, 2014, 08:20:37 AM
she has gone she died coming out of GA
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: heather sullivan on May 16, 2014, 09:54:07 AM
ahhh sorry to hear that RIP :(
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Tiggy's Mum on May 16, 2014, 11:53:20 AM
Oh Dawn  :( So sorry to hear this  :hug: :hug: :hug:

You must be absolutely devastated  :hug: I know you must be thinking about all the 'what if's' but you were doing what was best for her, trying to give her a chance  :hug: :hug: :hug:

RIP little Amber x
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Dawn F on May 16, 2014, 11:55:50 AM
the referal vet found a tumour at the back of her nose which my own vet hadn't seen back in January and so was still treated her for chronic flu - I imagine if it was growing that quickly it wasn't going to end well - she ruled oh and I will a paw of iron and I'd like to think she made her own choice here as well, we are heartbroken of course but eventually will look back and smile at her funny little ways
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: pappilon on May 16, 2014, 18:55:17 PM
 Oh Dawn i am so sorry :hug: :hug: :hug:

 RIP sweet heart :'(
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: fluffybunny on May 16, 2014, 21:59:39 PM
Oh gosh Dawn I'm so very sorry to hear this, what an awful shock  :'(  Rest in peace, beautiful puss, and big hugs to you xxx
Title: Re: how to hide pills - ideas please
Post by: Lyn (Slugsta) on May 18, 2014, 17:42:42 PM
Dawn  :hug: I've been away for a few days so have only just seen this  :(

RIP Amber, play well at the bridge darling girl.