W. V. Cats Forum

animalangel1 · Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:17 am Post subject:

Now Mark!!!! Shame on you

You can't REALLY think the five cats can outsmart a human as smart as yourself, can you???? Shocked

I mean, ok, maybe for a while but you DO catch on and that's the important thing, right???? I have complete faith in you Mark.... no matter WHAT tricks those kitties might try to pull on you. Just keep repeating "I AM the superior being, I AM the superior being"..... Wink

I hope the pharmacy will come up with something you can use....or that Dr.s Foster and Smith will have something that will work. Good luck with both (and with those sneaky cats!).

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Michelle

Maria · Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 11:18 am Post subject:

Mark,

I'm sorry Ranger has outsmarted you! Evil or Very Mad

You do a great job - and always get the ultimate victory - so be encouraged!

Mark, you might want to try this: after squirting the med into Ranger's mouth, hold his head up and gently rub/pat his throat as this should make him swallow. I know it worked with Jeremy at some point. I tried it and could see him swallowing.

Maria

Galensgranny · Site Administrator Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 2364

kb2zct wrote:

Guys:
Well, I discovered the problem today. Ranger, the little stinker, has been spitting out his liquid medicine. Instead of swallowing the medicine, he holds it in his mouth until I let him go. He then lets the medicine run out of his mouth.

So, for the past week or more, he has not been getting his full dosage.

Is there anyway I can encourage him to swallow as soon as I put the medicine in his mouth. Simply getting the medicine in his mouth has started to become a challenge, as he will “duck and bob” his head like a boxer. His rapid head movements make it hard for me to get the dropper in his mouth and to squeeze the medicine into it.

Mark

Oh my, such a smart, sneaky cat! He is like Jolie, who would cooperate so nicely with getting a pill shoved in her mouth, but then as she sauntered off, would turn her head and spit it out. So then, we were sure to follow the pill with a squirt of water to engage a swallow reflex. Next, we opened her mouth to look to see if the pill was still there. Only then did we release her.

But, your problem is a bit different, since you are starting with a liquid. Maybe try following with a small squirt of plain water. Maybe start with a small squirt of plain water as well, to wet the throat and get the swallow action started.

Though, those rapid head movements would make things tricky. Sumner is so squirmy. When I am alone, I put him on the bed and lie over his body, then shove the meds in very quickly, before he really knows what is happening. But he needs a pill rarely, for a once-in-a-while URI that happens even two or so years.

How about try blowing a quick puff of air in his face after putting the meds in his mouth? That might startle him a bit and make him swallow, forgetting he was trying not to swallow.

Here are some videos on giving cats medicine. But they probably didn't have a cat like Ranger to deal with.

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Margaret, a/k/a Galensgranny

kb2zct · Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 3:13 pm Post subject:

Dr Foster and Smith responded to my e-mail....

Quote:

Thank you for your interest in Drs. Foster & Smith Pharmacy. We can in fact compound the Amitriptyline into an animelt for your cat.

The price they quoted is three times higher than my local pharmacy's price. I guess the extra cost is for the special animelt.

If I fail to get the liquids in him, and if the local pharmacy cannot develop a flavor he likes, I have a "treat" like delivery mechanism available.

Mark

kb2zct · Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:00 pm Post subject:

The pharmacy called back this evening. They are going to work up a chicken flavored batch of medicine. They are going to try a oil base this time.

They are only going to make a few day's supply of the new batch. If it does not work, we'll try another flavor.

Mark

Galensgranny · Site Administrator Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 2364

Hmmm. I didn't know they could make a "melt" delivery of medications, but I have seen they have that for some sort of cold medication for children, so the knowledge of how to do that is known.

I hope Ranger likes the new chicken flavor!

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Margaret, a/k/a Galensgranny

kb2zct · Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:14 am Post subject:

I picked up Ranger’s new, chicken flavored, amitriptyline last night and used it this morning. The new formulation was not a success.

I tried to add the medicine to Ranger’s wet food. He could smell that something was up right away and walked away from the food two times. Each time I put the plate back in front of him.

On the third presentation, he ate a little of the food around where the medicine as, but not where I had mixed the medicine into the food. Think, “nibbling around the edges”. In any event, he could not have eaten more than ¼ -1/2 teaspoon of food.

So, it was back to injecting the liquid into his mouth. I managed to get him to swallow it today. I find that if I inject the medicine further back into his mouth, he is forced to swallow it. This worries me, because I do not want the medicine to go down the wrong “pipe”!

I did discuss with the vet the possibility of using a “melt in your mouth” delivery system. They can compound it, but may not have a product small enough for a cat.

Strange as this sounds – it is easier to give Ranger a sub-q injection than it is to give him his oral medication!

Mark

animalangel1 · Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:30 pm Post subject:

I'm sorry you are having so much trouble giving Ranger his medicine.... it seems to me that the amitriptyline has quite a distinctive smell to it that you are not aware of since he can find ways to eat around it and avoid it so well. I've always put liquid meds farther back in the throat with no problems... I think the idea of it going down the wrong "pipe" only happens if you tip the head back and I don't beleive you are doing this. I think as long as his head is in the normal position it should not be a problem. You should ask the vet to be sure though, of course.

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Michelle

kb2zct · Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 8:42 pm Post subject:

Just a short update on Ranger’s IC / FUS/ FLUTD…..

As I mentioned in my last post, the chicken flavored formulation has not worked out. If I mix the new formulation into his food, Ranger will refuse to eat it. With that being said, it is back to syringing the medicine into him.

I am getting better at this. The most important trick is to syringe the medicine deep into his mouth. The further back it is, the harder it is for him to spit it out and the faster he must swallow it.

I’ve also found the perfect “swallow reflex point”. Stroking this point (on his neck) causes him to swallow.

As I have been able to get more medicine into him, his condition has been showing greater improvement. Just this evening, I watched him leave a very large, wet spot in the litter box. It was the size of what the other cats “deposit”. He does not do it as fast (it takes him about 4 times longer to go the bathroom, but this is tremendous improvement.

Mark

animalangel1 · Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:11 am Post subject:

Oh that is EXCELLENT news Mark!!! I'm so happy for you! I'm glad you are getting the knack of the medicine and getting him to swallow, too. I knew you could do it!! KUDOS!

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Michelle