Elderly cat has hyperthyroidism - help and support please on pill giving!

nikib_3

I use a tablet crusher then mix it in with food, they cost 2 quid from a chemist, I hope the tablets help your kit

greenmoneysaver_2

How is it all going Skintchick?

Sola

My friend's 16 year old cat is diabetic, kidney problems, hyperthyroid ... and he's thriving 3 years after diagnosis. He has 2 injections daily (won't eat until after he's had his jab), but with the tablet she crushes it between two spoons and stirs it into his food (special sachets she gets from somewhere - maybe low protein or something?).

sarahk1958

I was reading these posts with interest as I knew my cat was about to be prescribed tablets following a dental operation and I have had great problems in the past giving her them. On the morning after the operation when she was due her first tablet I wondered whether it might be possible to disguise them in her food (Felix). I put just a little into her bowl and selected the largest chunk I could find then put a small slice in the chunk with a sharp pointed knife and managed to push the pill into that so that it was completely hidden. She had her fifth pill in this way this morning and I have had no problems at all! I only put a very small amount of food into her bowl at first so that I can be sure she has eaten the magic chunk!!

skintchick

I do similar with tuna as my cat only eats biscuits. She is still dreadful at taking them and isn;t having her full dose as some days she just won;t eat it, but nearly a year on she is doing OK!

lowis

i had a cat who just would not swallow a pill...no matter how much i disguised it. in the end the quickest way was to wrap her in a towel, pincer her mouth open (gently) and pop the pill on the back of her tongue. i became an expert as she had a pill every day for 18 months! bless her, she was quite accepting of it after a few weeks. good luck x

Milford_Cubicle

I was reading this thread with interest too as it sounded exactly like my mum's elderly cat (pts earlier this year after making the magic 20 yrs old) and she had hyperthyroidism.

Mum's cat was truly a nightmare at the vets, would draw pints of blood from those holding her, absolutely could not be towel wrapped and was a seasoned pill spitter! (You could hold her mouth shut for 20 mins, she'd have swallowed several times and the second you let go, out it came.
Oddly, she was a lovely cat when at home although wouldn't be picked up or have her tummy stroked.

She had to have thyroxine 3 times a day towards the end, mum and dad finally discovered using salmon to disguise it or sausage meat was a winner

kiraroo

i dont know if your cat is still being sick but with elderly cats it's a good idea to raise the food bowl up when they're eating. I used to put a couple of books under my cat's food bowl. This is because the food can then go down the throat and into the stomach whilst the cat is eating, instead of getting on its way to the stomach, the cat standing up and then all the food going to the stomach at once, which makes the cat sick. Hope this makes sense.

My cat George had hyperthyroidism and kidney disease and he lived for four years with it, it was tumours in his bladder which took his life away in the end

ajb69

I will happily repeat the above advice about raising food bowls, stirring into food, hiding pills in cheese etc - this all works.

But we have one cat who was a b***ger to pill - probably because it was a big, foul-tasting pill which was difficult to hide in food or shove down the mouth. We found that putting the pills into empty capsules like these http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-197-gelatin-empty-capsules.aspx sorted it all out - they taste nice and go down easily.

Every cat is different. and this may not work for you (especially if they have a small throat) - but thought I'd mention it.

Cheers

drew

skintchick

I will try raising her bowl as I hadn;t heard of that but it makes sense.