Giving Pills (with a pill gun)

Since their is another post concerning giving pills I thought I would
post this question. I recently bought a pill gun to use the next time I
give pills. Any comments on the usage or tips on the pill gun would be
appreciated. My male cat in particular is hard to give pills to. Plus it
might help other people in the same situation.

"rrb_041303" wrote in message
news:rMz3b.9385$QT5.4949@fed1read02...
Since their is another post concerning giving pills I thought I
would
post this question. I recently bought a pill gun to use the next
time I
give pills. Any comments on the usage or tips on the pill gun would
be
appreciated. My male cat in particular is hard to give pills to.
Plus it
might help other people in the same situation.

What type of pill gun did you get? There are a couple of different
kinds. I bought one when I found out Shadow would probably be on
pills for life but never had any luck with it. It was shortish, and
had a metal pincer end and the plunger would push the pill out when
plung...ered. I gave up on that quickly and got him used to just
taking the pill with my fingers. He used to be hard to pill, now it
is routine. He runs to the kitchen when I say "medicine". A few
months after I tried the pill gun, I saw what a real one looks like.
It's much longer with a rubber end and the "trigger" is much faster.
People I know swear by those. I just got Shadow (and Shamrock for
that matter, he gets a vitamin pill so he's used to it for times he
*needs* to be medicated) used to it by giving a treat of cooked
chicken chunks immediately following med time. But only for the
prednisone and supplements -- flagyl must be given on an empty stomach
and no food given for a half hour after. He is used to that routine
too. Bugs the heck out of me waiting for his breakfast in the morning
after getting that pill, though.

Is a piller available from pharmacies or do we have to do to a pet shop to
get one?
Jazz's mama (who doesn't need it yet, but just in case....)

--

Irulan
from the stars we came, to the stars we return
from now until the end of time


"Ginger-lyn Summer" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Aug 2003 20:29:42 -0700, rrb_041303
wrote:

Since their is another post concerning giving pills I thought I would
post this question. I recently bought a pill gun to use the next time I
give pills. Any comments on the usage or tips on the pill gun would be
appreciated. My male cat in particular is hard to give pills to. Plus it
might help other people in the same situation.

Well, I use the plastic kind Cheryl mentioned to give Cosmo his daily
dosages of Lasix. He is a cranky cat, and when I tried pilling him
without it, he tended to bite my fingers. I pill him right before
feeding time, so I know he is going to be around, waiting for food. I
get down on the floor, pet him, talk to him softly/silly, tilt his
head back, and gently push the piller against his mouth until he opens
it. Then I put the piller in, and push the plunger quickly, and pull
it out. I make sure he's swallowed the pill, and then pet him and
tell him what a good boy he is. It has worked amazingly well for a
cat that won't let me groom him or trim his claws. Only problem is
that he bites the piller, and since it's rubber, I'm going to have to
get a new one soon since it is starting to split.

Anyway, hope that helps!

Ginger-lyn

lrulan wrote:
Is a piller available from pharmacies or do we have to do to a pet shop to
get one?

They sell it at Petsmart and also at your vet's.

--
Victor M. Martinez

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv

Cheryl wrote:

"rrb_041303" wrote in message
news:rMz3b.9385$QT5.4949@fed1read02...

Since their is another post concerning giving pills I thought I

would

post this question. I recently bought a pill gun to use the next

time I

give pills. Any comments on the usage or tips on the pill gun would

be

appreciated. My male cat in particular is hard to give pills to.

Plus it

might help other people in the same situation.


What type of pill gun did you get? There are a couple of different
kinds. I bought one when I found out Shadow would probably be on
pills for life but never had any luck with it. It was shortish, and
had a metal pincer end and the plunger would push the pill out when
plung...ered. I gave up on that quickly and got him used to just
taking the pill with my fingers. He used to be hard to pill, now it
is routine. He runs to the kitchen when I say "medicine". A few
months after I tried the pill gun, I saw what a real one looks like.
It's much longer with a rubber end and the "trigger" is much faster.
People I know swear by those. I just got Shadow (and Shamrock for
that matter, he gets a vitamin pill so he's used to it for times he
*needs* to be medicated) used to it by giving a treat of cooked
chicken chunks immediately following med time. But only for the
prednisone and supplements -- flagyl must be given on an empty stomach
and no food given for a half hour after. He is used to that routine
too. Bugs the heck out of me waiting for his breakfast in the morning
after getting that pill, though.



I have the Top Paw pill gun. It is all plastic, and says that you can
put a little water in it to help with swallowing the pill. About the
Flagyl I think it unusual that it cannot be given with food. I found a
few references that it can be given either way, and oen that says it
should be given with food. But your vet knows best I suppose. How is
Shadow doing by the way? Also how is Shamrock?

Take care.

Rich

rrb_041303 wrote:

Since their is another post concerning giving pills I thought I would
post this question. I recently bought a pill gun to use the next time I
give pills. Any comments on the usage or tips on the pill gun would be
appreciated. My male cat in particular is hard to give pills to. Plus it
might help other people in the same situation.

It still depends upon the cat! My major problem with the "pill shooter"
was with keeping the pill in place until I got the "gun" positioned in
the cat's mouth. I finally concluded that the "force the mouth open and
chuck the pill as far back as you can" method worked as well as any (and
required fewer hands). For those who find liquid medications easier,
that ALSO depends upon the cat. Ever try to get the stains from that
pink, cherry-flavoured gunk out of light colored clothing? (I always
end up with far more of it on me than I manage to get down the cat!)

Cheryl wrote:

A few
months after I tried the pill gun, I saw what a real one looks like.
It's much longer with a rubber end and the "trigger" is much faster.
People I know swear by those.

That's the kind I have - I've been know to swear AT it, but never "by"
it! I think it all depends upon the individual cat - I've had one or
two with whom it worked, but generally it's hard enough to open the
mouth and get the pill in (and swallowed), using only two hands -
juggling a gadget as well is just more than I can cope with.

Cheryl wrote:
He's hanging in there.... still uncontrollable diarrhea with some days
worse than others. But he's playful sometimes, eats like a pig (which
I have to monitor closely) and seems ok for the most part as long as I
keep his butt shaved and bring him to the vet for anal sack
expressions occasionally. Shamrock is good, though his skin is firing
up again at the moment. I'm going to try eliminating fish products.


Glad to hear that he is hanging in there. You have by best wishes, and
the cats strongest purrs for both of them.


Sorry for the silliness in alt.cats but I think it might have worked.
Though they did follow through with a small hipcrime flooding.
Idiots.

No apology is really necessary don't worry about it. Yeah it seems like
it worked. Plus I reported certain of the posts to teranews, and the
hipcrime to dizum which might have had an affect as well.


Of course I'm probably kill filed by most of the group there
now.


Maybe or maybe not. It is not the most active group anyway. With only
marginal activity and sometimes no new posts at all.

On Fri, 29 Aug 2003 17:35:08 -0400, "Cheryl"
wrote:

snipped

Sorry for the silliness in alt.cats but I think it might have worked.
Though they did follow through with a small hipcrime flooding.
Idiots. Of course I'm probably kill filed by most of the group there
now.

I loved the troll-b-que in alt. cats, and hopefully it worked.

Nan

you should always tilt their head back, pry open their mouth and shove the
pill down it's throat, then massage the throat while holding the mouth
closed. I know it sounds brutal but my kitties had that panleukopenia thing
and the doctor told me how to give them their pills

"rrb_041303" wrote in message
news:rMz3b.9385$QT5.4949@fed1read02...
Since their is another post concerning giving pills I thought I would
post this question. I recently bought a pill gun to use the next time I
give pills. Any comments on the usage or tips on the pill gun would be
appreciated. My male cat in particular is hard to give pills to. Plus it
might help other people in the same situation.