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Pilling Buster



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 10th 09, 10:42 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Takayuki
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Posts: 3,818
Default Pilling Buster

I took Buster to TED for a checkup today, and I mentioned to the vet
that Buster sometimes coughs. At least, I think I've heard him cough
- when he does it, it sounds much wheezier and cough-ier than hacking
up a hairball. It sounds like Fritz the Brave in that Aerokat video
Julie posted about a few years ago, except not nearly that bad - with
Buster, it's more like he wants to clear his throat, rather than being
in respiratory distress.

The vet said that Buster's lungs sound fine, not like an asthmatic
cat's. They took some x-rays, and said the results might be showing
some slightly thick bronchioles, but that was about it. They sent out
a blood sample to check for heartworm, and gave me some Theophylline
pills, in case it's asthma.

Buster was very meek at the vet's, and they say, very cute and well
behaved. He buried his head in my armpit while I held him, and when
in his carrier, he huddled quietly in the furthest corner.

When I got him home and tried to pill him, we had a wrestling match in
the middle of the living room. Buster emerged victorious. And
unpilled.

So next I tried sneaking bits of the pill in some wet food. This is
hit or miss because Buster is a finicky nibbler, while Dot inhales wet
food at least 3 times as fast as he does. I had to give Dot a huge
plate of food relative to Buster's to keep her from stealing his
doctored food.

The pill must taste pretty bad, because every now and then when he'd
come across a pill piece, he'd retch and spit it out. I kept putting
the bits of pill back though, and I managed to at least get him to eat
half of them.

This certainly seems like it'll be challenging. How do the rest of
you get your cats to take their medication? Buster's the first cat
I've had that's mostly indifferent to treats, so I'm expecting that
this won't go as easily as it's gone in the past with Betty or Dot.
  #2  
Old July 10th 09, 11:02 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Winnie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,168
Default Pilling Buster

On Jul 10, 5:42*pm, Takayuki wrote:
I took Buster to TED for a checkup today, and I mentioned to the vet
that Buster sometimes coughs. *At least, I think I've heard him cough
- when he does it, it sounds much wheezier and cough-ier than hacking
up a hairball. *It sounds like Fritz the Brave in that Aerokat video
Julie posted about a few years ago, except not nearly that bad - with
Buster, it's more like he wants to clear his throat, rather than being
in respiratory distress.

The vet said that Buster's lungs sound fine, not like an asthmatic
cat's. *They took some x-rays, and said the results might be showing
some slightly thick bronchioles, but that was about it. *They sent out
a blood sample to check for heartworm, and gave me some Theophylline
pills, in case it's asthma.

Buster was very meek at the vet's, and they say, very cute and well
behaved. *He buried his head in my armpit while I held him, and when
in his carrier, he huddled quietly in the furthest corner.

When I got him home and tried to pill him, we had a wrestling match in
the middle of the living room. *Buster emerged victorious. *And
unpilled.

So next I tried sneaking bits of the pill in some wet food. *This is
hit or miss because Buster is a finicky nibbler, while Dot inhales wet
food at least 3 times as fast as he does. *I had to give Dot a huge
plate of food relative to Buster's to keep her from stealing his
doctored food.

The pill must taste pretty bad, because every now and then when he'd
come across a pill piece, he'd retch and spit it out. *I kept putting
the bits of pill back though, and I managed to at least get him to eat
half of them.

This certainly seems like it'll be challenging. *How do the rest of
you get your cats to take their medication? *Buster's the first cat
I've had that's mostly indifferent to treats, so I'm expecting that
this won't go as easily as it's gone in the past with Betty or Dot.


I sympathize. Over the years, I tried practically everything to pill
Rusty who needed.
medication fairly often. I requested liquid medication when available
and that went
down easily. Pill pocket are good. But after 14 years of cat
slavehood, I finally
manage to pill him by forcing the pill down his throat. I wear the cat
tooth brush thimble to protect my finger. Now I have to pill him at
least once every day.
The only struggle is to get hold of him. Rusty seems to know when it
is pill time and
lead me through a merry chase.

Winnie

  #3  
Old July 10th 09, 11:07 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Cheryl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,355
Default Pilling Buster


"Takayuki" wrote in message
news
I took Buster to TED for a checkup today, and I mentioned to the vet
that Buster sometimes coughs. At least, I think I've heard him cough
- when he does it, it sounds much wheezier and cough-ier than hacking
up a hairball. It sounds like Fritz the Brave in that Aerokat video
Julie posted about a few years ago, except not nearly that bad - with
Buster, it's more like he wants to clear his throat, rather than being
in respiratory distress.

The vet said that Buster's lungs sound fine, not like an asthmatic
cat's. They took some x-rays, and said the results might be showing
some slightly thick bronchioles, but that was about it. They sent out
a blood sample to check for heartworm, and gave me some Theophylline
pills, in case it's asthma.

Buster was very meek at the vet's, and they say, very cute and well
behaved. He buried his head in my armpit while I held him, and when
in his carrier, he huddled quietly in the furthest corner.

When I got him home and tried to pill him, we had a wrestling match in
the middle of the living room. Buster emerged victorious. And
unpilled.

So next I tried sneaking bits of the pill in some wet food. This is
hit or miss because Buster is a finicky nibbler, while Dot inhales wet
food at least 3 times as fast as he does. I had to give Dot a huge
plate of food relative to Buster's to keep her from stealing his
doctored food.

The pill must taste pretty bad, because every now and then when he'd
come across a pill piece, he'd retch and spit it out. I kept putting
the bits of pill back though, and I managed to at least get him to eat
half of them.

This certainly seems like it'll be challenging. How do the rest of
you get your cats to take their medication? Buster's the first cat
I've had that's mostly indifferent to treats, so I'm expecting that
this won't go as easily as it's gone in the past with Betty or Dot.


Bonnie also is one of those wheezy cats, but hers is seasonal so far and the
vet said her lungs sound fine. But I know how scary it can sound.

Try a pill popper gun thingie. It's worked for Patches the evil tortie when
she had to be wormed.

Read this, too, and I'll find a link for the pill shooter gun thingie:
http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanageme...ht/pillcat.htm
and this:
http://www.felinecrf.org/medicating_your_cat.htm

Pill gun link. Hard to tell from this pic, but you put the pill in the end
of it, then when it's in the back of kitty's throat, push the plunger very
fast.
http://www.amazon.com/Mikki-Pill-Gun/dp/B00076HUB4



  #4  
Old July 11th 09, 12:11 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 9,349
Default Pilling Buster

Takayuki wrote:

The vet said that Buster's lungs sound fine, not like an asthmatic
cat's. They took some x-rays, and said the results might be showing
some slightly thick bronchioles, but that was about it. They sent out
a blood sample to check for heartworm, and gave me some Theophylline
pills, in case it's asthma.


I hope it's nothing serious! Fingers crossed and purrs sent.

This certainly seems like it'll be challenging. How do the rest of
you get your cats to take their medication? Buster's the first cat
I've had that's mostly indifferent to treats, so I'm expecting that
this won't go as easily as it's gone in the past with Betty or Dot.


I give Roxy Lysine for her herpes. I crush and dissolve a pill into
water until the solid grains of the pill are pretty small, and mix
that into some food. Then I add some smelly dried salmon treats to the
mix. I think the smell and taste of the treats does a decent job of
hiding the lysine. Roxy's a delicate eater - she'll usually eat half
of her food and then leave the rest for later. This doesn't work so
well in a multi-cat household, but at least she gets some of it. (The
salmon treats have no additives, BTW, it's just dried salmon bits.)

With Smudge, I do pretty much the same thing with her aspirin, but
I put the dissolved pill into a spoonful of Fancy Feast in a bowl and
mix it all up. She devours it all because it's not much food and she
loves Fancy Feast. It's not the healthiest food, but she only gets
this once every 3 days.

When one of my cats is getting medication in food, I feed that cat
in a room by him/herself. I don't want anyone else getting Smudge's
aspirin. And while Lysine isn't harmful to any of the other cats,
I want Roxy to get as much of it as possible.

If you're free-feeding your cats on dry food, you might want to take
that up for the duration of Buster's treatment. A hungry cat is more
likely to eat his medicine-laced food than one who's been noshing on
kibble all day.

Good luck!

--
Joyce ^..^

To email me, remove the XXX from my user name.
  #5  
Old July 11th 09, 02:08 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Takayuki
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,818
Default Pilling Buster

Winnie wrote:
I sympathize. Over the years, I tried practically everything to pill
Rusty who needed.
medication fairly often. I requested liquid medication when available
and that went
down easily. Pill pocket are good. But after 14 years of cat
slavehood, I finally
manage to pill him by forcing the pill down his throat. I wear the cat
tooth brush thimble to protect my finger. Now I have to pill him at
least once every day.
The only struggle is to get hold of him. Rusty seems to know when it
is pill time and
lead me through a merry chase.


If I can get to the point where I can force a pill down him every day,
that would be a good learning experience. Ever since my first
experience medicating Betty, which was relatively easy, I've been
afraid that someday I would have a situation where I would have to
force a cat to swallow a pill. I just have a hard time with the idea
that I'd have to restrain a cat and force it to do something. When
it's possible, I'd so much rather try to pursuade, or at least trick
a cat into doing something.
  #6  
Old July 11th 09, 02:13 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
jmcquown[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8,008
Default Pilling Buster

"Takayuki" wrote in message
news
I took Buster to TED for a checkup today, and I mentioned to the vet
that Buster sometimes coughs. At least, I think I've heard him cough
- when he does it, it sounds much wheezier and cough-ier than hacking
up a hairball. It sounds like Fritz the Brave in that Aerokat video
Julie posted about a few years ago, except not nearly that bad - with
Buster, it's more like he wants to clear his throat, rather than being
in respiratory distress.

The vet said that Buster's lungs sound fine, not like an asthmatic
cat's. They took some x-rays, and said the results might be showing
some slightly thick bronchioles, but that was about it. They sent out
a blood sample to check for heartworm, and gave me some Theophylline
pills, in case it's asthma.

Buster was very meek at the vet's, and they say, very cute and well
behaved. He buried his head in my armpit while I held him, and when
in his carrier, he huddled quietly in the furthest corner.

When I got him home and tried to pill him, we had a wrestling match in
the middle of the living room. Buster emerged victorious. And
unpilled.

So next I tried sneaking bits of the pill in some wet food. This is
hit or miss because Buster is a finicky nibbler, while Dot inhales wet
food at least 3 times as fast as he does. I had to give Dot a huge
plate of food relative to Buster's to keep her from stealing his
doctored food.

The pill must taste pretty bad, because every now and then when he'd
come across a pill piece, he'd retch and spit it out. I kept putting
the bits of pill back though, and I managed to at least get him to eat
half of them.

This certainly seems like it'll be challenging. How do the rest of
you get your cats to take their medication? Buster's the first cat
I've had that's mostly indifferent to treats, so I'm expecting that
this won't go as easily as it's gone in the past with Betty or Dot.




First thing: You've got to win the wrestling match! I've only had to pill
Persia once and she fought me every step of the way. I had to tuck her
under my arm (making sure all legs were trapped) then pry open her mouth
with my left hand and pop the pill on the back of her tongue with my right
hand. Then I clamped her jaw shut with my right hand and blew gently on her
nose. This caused her to swallow reflexively... and down went the pill.

I have an aunt who used to put her cats in a laundry bag (that must have
been a chore in and of itself) until nothing but their head was sticking out
before pilling them. She said it saved her lots of scratch marks.

Good luck, Tak!

Jill

  #8  
Old July 11th 09, 02:16 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Takayuki
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,818
Default Pilling Buster

"Cheryl" wrote:
Bonnie also is one of those wheezy cats, but hers is seasonal so far and the
vet said her lungs sound fine. But I know how scary it can sound.

Try a pill popper gun thingie. It's worked for Patches the evil tortie when
she had to be wormed.

Read this, too, and I'll find a link for the pill shooter gun thingie:
http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanageme...ht/pillcat.htm
and this:
http://www.felinecrf.org/medicating_your_cat.htm

Pill gun link. Hard to tell from this pic, but you put the pill in the end
of it, then when it's in the back of kitty's throat, push the plunger very
fast.
http://www.amazon.com/Mikki-Pill-Gun/dp/B00076HUB4


Thanks! I looked at a couple of these links. A pill gun sounds like
a good idea. Buster is strong young boycat, so I'd have to be careful
not to injure his mouth as he struggles. I'll have to get one and see
if that works out better for him.
  #9  
Old July 11th 09, 02:22 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Takayuki
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,818
Default Pilling Buster

"jmcquown" wrote:
First thing: You've got to win the wrestling match! I've only had to pill
Persia once and she fought me every step of the way. I had to tuck her
under my arm (making sure all legs were trapped) then pry open her mouth
with my left hand and pop the pill on the back of her tongue with my right
hand. Then I clamped her jaw shut with my right hand and blew gently on her
nose. This caused her to swallow reflexively... and down went the pill.

I have an aunt who used to put her cats in a laundry bag (that must have
been a chore in and of itself) until nothing but their head was sticking out
before pilling them. She said it saved her lots of scratch marks.

Good luck, Tak!


I actually had Buster rolled up in a towel, and he managed to fight
his way out of it! I wrapped him up again, tighter this time, and the
remainder of the match was tongue wrestling. Buster's tongue turned
out to be robust and formidable defense against any intrusion! Each
time he spit out the pill, I would break out in a fit of giggles,
because he had such a disgusted look each time he expelled the soggy
pill, and he could do it so effortlessly.
  #10  
Old July 11th 09, 03:21 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Marina
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 7,152
Default Pilling Buster

Takayuki wrote:

The vet said that Buster's lungs sound fine, not like an asthmatic
cat's. They took some x-rays, and said the results might be showing
some slightly thick bronchioles, but that was about it. They sent out
a blood sample to check for heartworm, and gave me some Theophylline
pills, in case it's asthma.


I don't want to alarm you, but Theophylline is the drug that I'd just
started giving Nikki when she had her seizure and eventually had to be
put to sleep. I can't be sure there was any connection, and it seems
that vets routinely ordinate it to asthmatic cats, so there can't be a
very obvious connection with uncontrollable seizures.

As to pilling cats daily, if he won't eat them in a treat, I find the
best way is to crush the pill, mix it with a little water, and syringe
it into the cat's mouth. I've done this with Frank, Nikki and Miranda.
It doesn't work well with Caliban, but he's easy to fool with a treat.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban.
In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.
 




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