need advice on giving Stomorgyl to my cat

I took my 9 year old cat Kotyo to the vet today because over the weekend
he started pawing at his mouth while eating. The vet said that there
were lesions in his mouth. At least that's what I understood - my
Spanish is not perfect and the vet doesn't speak English. She showed me
a couple of what looked like little wounds at the back of his mouth,
behind the last molars. Also, he has gingivitis - his gums were red and
looked infected.

So, he was given Metacam and Stomorgyl 10 kg. I'm supposed to give him
1/2 pill of Stomorgyl once a day for 10 days. He weighs a bit over 6 kg.
I have been looking up Stomorgyl online and in lots of places it says
you are not supposed to break or crush the pills. But when I asked the
vet if I could try crushing them and mixing them into his food, she said
that was ok. And since I am supposed to give him 1/2 a pill only, I have
to break them. I have read the leaflet that was in the box with the
pills and it doesn't say you shouldn't crush them. I am confused...

I am wondering what to do. I'm supposed to give him the first dose
tonight, and it's too late to call the vet - it's past 9pm here. If
anyone has any experience with giving Stomorgyl, please share it. At
this time I am thinking that I won't give him any of it tonight and will
talk to the vet tomorrow, but I would like as much information about
this medicine as I can find in the meantime.

thanks,
Nadia and Kotyo

--
Little Monster pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/nnakova/Kotyo
Sweety pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/nnakova/Sweety
Kotyo and Sweety together:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nnakova/KotyoAndSweety

In article
4OudnX1sgIwtwQjWnZ2dnUVZ8t6dnZ2d@gigane
ws.com,
"Nadia N."
wrote:

I took my 9 year old cat Kotyo to the vet today because over the weekend
he started pawing at his mouth while eating. The vet said that there
were lesions in his mouth. At least that's what I understood - my
Spanish is not perfect and the vet doesn't speak English. She showed me
a couple of what looked like little wounds at the back of his mouth,
behind the last molars. Also, he has gingivitis - his gums were red and
looked infected.

So, he was given Metacam and Stomorgyl 10 kg. I'm supposed to give him
1/2 pill of Stomorgyl once a day for 10 days. He weighs a bit over 6 kg.
I have been looking up Stomorgyl online and in lots of places it says
you are not supposed to break or crush the pills. But when I asked the
vet if I could try crushing them and mixing them into his food, she said
that was ok. And since I am supposed to give him 1/2 a pill only, I have
to break them. I have read the leaflet that was in the box with the
pills and it doesn't say you shouldn't crush them. I am confused...

I am wondering what to do. I'm supposed to give him the first dose
tonight, and it's too late to call the vet - it's past 9pm here. If
anyone has any experience with giving Stomorgyl, please share it. At
this time I am thinking that I won't give him any of it tonight and will
talk to the vet tomorrow, but I would like as much information about
this medicine as I can find in the meantime.

thanks,
Nadia and Kotyo

Usually there is toll free contact
information on how to reach the pharma
that makes the drug...call and ask them

On Mar 8, 3:23*pm, "Nadia N." wrote:
I took my 9 year old cat Kotyo to the vet today because over the weekend
he started pawing at his mouth while eating. The vet said that there
were lesions in his mouth. At least that's what I understood - my
Spanish is not perfect and the vet doesn't speak English. She showed me
a couple of what looked like little wounds at the back of his mouth,
behind the last molars. Also, he has gingivitis - his gums were red and
looked infected.

So, he was given Metacam and Stomorgyl 10 kg. I'm supposed to give him
1/2 pill of Stomorgyl once a day for 10 days. He weighs a bit over 6 kg.
I have been looking up Stomorgyl online and in lots of places it says
you are not supposed to break or crush the pills. But when I asked the
vet if I could try crushing them and mixing them into his food, she said
that was ok. And since I am supposed to give him 1/2 a pill only, I have
to break them. I have read the leaflet that was in the box with the
pills and it doesn't say you shouldn't crush them. I am confused...

I am wondering what to do. I'm supposed to give him the first dose
tonight, and it's too late to call the vet - it's past 9pm here. If
anyone has any experience with giving Stomorgyl, please share it. At
this time I am thinking that I won't give him any of it tonight and will
talk to the vet tomorrow, but I would like as much information about
this medicine as I can find in the meantime.

thanks,
Nadia and Kotyo

--
Little Monster pictures:http://picasaweb.google.com/nnakova/Kotyo
Sweety pictures:http://picasaweb.google.com/nnakova/Sweety
Kotyo and Sweety together:http://picasaweb.google.com/nnakova/KotyoAndSweety

The photographs of the black and white cat are lovely. It sure is
confusing about the stomorgyl. The instructions say that you shouldnt
break the pill and yet the vet told you to give Kotyo one half of the
pill each day. It sounds like powerful medicine. You need to
thoroughly wash your hands after administering it...and how are you
going to get a cat to swallow a pill anyway especially one this
powerful. Maybe another vet might be more helpful.

"Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" wrote in message
...
In article
4OudnX1sgIwtwQjWnZ2dnUVZ8t6dnZ2d@gigane
ws.com,
"Nadia N."
wrote:

I took my 9 year old cat Kotyo to the vet today because over the weekend
he started pawing at his mouth while eating. The vet said that there
were lesions in his mouth. At least that's what I understood - my
Spanish is not perfect and the vet doesn't speak English. She showed me
a couple of what looked like little wounds at the back of his mouth,
behind the last molars. Also, he has gingivitis - his gums were red and
looked infected.

So, he was given Metacam and Stomorgyl 10 kg. I'm supposed to give him
1/2 pill of Stomorgyl once a day for 10 days. He weighs a bit over 6 kg.
I have been looking up Stomorgyl online and in lots of places it says
you are not supposed to break or crush the pills.


You should not cut the pills because Stomorgyl contains 2 antibiotics of
different quantities- IOW, the antibiotics may not be distributed evenly
throughout the pill. Even though you'll be giving your cat the other half of
the pill the next day, neither half will be as effective as the whole pill.

Ask your vet for a prescription for Stomorgyl 2 and just give your cat 3
pills. The 30, 2 mg pills will probably cost less from a pharmacy than 5,
10 mg pills from your vet. You might be able to fit all 3 pills in a #3
gelcap. If you have to cut the pills to get them all in the gelcap- that's
ok because you'll be administering the entire contents of the pills at the
same time.

I'd get a second opinion on the Metacam if I were you. Metacam was designed
as a single, one-time Sub-Q injection in cats- any other use is a
crap-shoot.



But when I asked the
vet if I could try crushing them and mixing them into his food, she said
that was ok.


My advise is find a different vet.


Best of luck,

Phil




And since I am supposed to give him 1/2 a pill only, I have
to break them. I have read the leaflet that was in the box with the
pills and it doesn't say you shouldn't crush them. I am confused...

I am wondering what to do. I'm supposed to give him the first dose
tonight, and it's too late to call the vet - it's past 9pm here. If
anyone has any experience with giving Stomorgyl, please share it. At
this time I am thinking that I won't give him any of it tonight and will
talk to the vet tomorrow, but I would like as much information about
this medicine as I can find in the meantime.

thanks,
Nadia and Kotyo

Usually there is toll free contact
information on how to reach the pharma
that makes the drug...call and ask them

Phil P. wrote:
"Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" wrote in message
...
In article
4OudnX1sgIwtwQjWnZ2dnUVZ8t6dnZ2d@gigane
ws.com,
"Nadia N."
wrote:

I took my 9 year old cat Kotyo to the vet today because over the weekend
he started pawing at his mouth while eating. The vet said that there
were lesions in his mouth. At least that's what I understood - my
Spanish is not perfect and the vet doesn't speak English. She showed me
a couple of what looked like little wounds at the back of his mouth,
behind the last molars. Also, he has gingivitis - his gums were red and
looked infected.

So, he was given Metacam and Stomorgyl 10 kg. I'm supposed to give him
1/2 pill of Stomorgyl once a day for 10 days. He weighs a bit over 6 kg.
I have been looking up Stomorgyl online and in lots of places it says
you are not supposed to break or crush the pills.


You should not cut the pills because Stomorgyl contains 2 antibiotics of
different quantities- IOW, the antibiotics may not be distributed evenly
throughout the pill. Even though you'll be giving your cat the other half of
the pill the next day, neither half will be as effective as the whole pill.

Ask your vet for a prescription for Stomorgyl 2 and just give your cat 3
pills. The 30, 2 mg pills will probably cost less from a pharmacy than 5,
10 mg pills from your vet. You might be able to fit all 3 pills in a #3
gelcap. If you have to cut the pills to get them all in the gelcap- that's
ok because you'll be administering the entire contents of the pills at the
same time.

I'd get a second opinion on the Metacam if I were you. Metacam was designed
as a single, one-time Sub-Q injection in cats- any other use is a
crap-shoot.



But when I asked the
vet if I could try crushing them and mixing them into his food, she said
that was ok.


My advise is find a different vet.


Best of luck,

Phil



Thank you Phil. I'll get the Stomorgyl 2 tomorrow.

As for the Metacam, after your post I googled "metacam and cats" and was
horrified by all the stories of it causing renal failure. Kotyo was
given an injection of it today. The one-time injection is safe and won't
damage his kidneys, right? What I was given is an oral suspension, but
when I looked at it closely after I read your post, on the box it says
it is for dogs, and the leaflet inside specifically says not to give it
to cats. I haven't given it to Kotyo yet - the vet said to start
tomorrow - and I am not going to give it to him now that I have read up
on it. I would like to think that I would have read through the leaflet
and googled it before giving him any, but I might not have, so THANK YOU
very much for warning me about it.

I would like to change vets, but unfortunately I don't think it will do
much good. Spanish vets, at least in the city I am living in, seem to be
experts in dogs and not cats. People don't have that many pet cats, so
the vets don't get a lot of experience with them, and probably don't
follow the latest cat-related research. I guess the best I can do right
now is double-check any medication my cats are prescribed. And maybe
make plans to move back to Canada and to my old cats-only vet...

Thanks again.

Nadia and Kotyo

--
Little Monster pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/nnakova/Kotyo
Sweety pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/nnakova/Sweety
Kotyo and Sweety together:
http://picasaweb.google.com/nnakova/KotyoAndSweety