Dangers of Pilling

Please feel free to cross post this information. I would like to get this
info to as many people as possible. Many of you may already be aware of
these issues but for those who are not, I hope that the following helps.

The following is a summary of a very interesting article that appeared in
one of the vet journals entitled “Evaluation of the Passage of Tablets and
Capsules through the Esophagus of the Cat”. It is from a paper presented at
the 2001 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum.

I have always been concerned about the issue of pilling cats with a dry
pill with no water or not in liquid form. Have You ever tried to swallow a
pill dry without any water? Just think how terrrible this must feel to a
cat whose esophagus is so small.

Study: 30 cats were used. Fluoroscopy was used to evaluate the pill/capsule
passage at 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 300 seconds. Cats given dry pills by
standard pilling methods as opposed to those given the same medication in
liquid form.

The study was evaluating how long it took for the pill to get through the
esophagus into the stomach of the cat.

Study results: For the dry pill swallows: (can you imagine having to
swallow tablets or capsules with no water, hurts just thinking about it) at
5 minutes ONLY 36% of the pills were in the stomach.

For the liquid medication all medication was in the stomach by 90 seconds.

"The main concern with this information is that if tablets and capsules sit
in the esophagus for a prolonged period of time, this can cause damage to
the tissues in this area. This damage can lead to esophagitis, which can
lead to nausea, vomiting and megaesophagus. At times, the esophagus can
also respond by developing an ulcer or stricture. The latter is a very
serious complication requiring aggressive therapy, preferably with balloon
dilatation.

My cat will be on methimazole for the rest of her life. She literally runs
to the refrigerator for her tuna flavored liquid medicine making for a much
more enjoyable relationship with her. The “bond” between pet and pet owner
is very important and a traumatizing experience like pilling everyday can
cause a permanent break of this trust or “bond”.

Many of you may not be aware of the option of having tablets or capsules
made into tasty liquid forms to facilitate administration. The list of
flavors depending where they are made up is long and includes Tuna,
Sardine, Salmon, Beef, Bacon. etc. Keep the quantity small 1ml or less for
ease of administration and make sure that you use a reputable pharmacy that
has done all of the proper testing (stability, compatibility). You can ask
to see stability data before using a pharmacy so that you can have peace of
mind of knowing that what you are giving your pet is medication that is of
proper quality and accurate strength and that the flavorings being used are
not diluting or ruining the efficacy of the medication being given.

There are human pharmacies out there that will do this but vet meds are not
their specialty and they don't have access to vet meds. There are many
sources out there to get this done at. Call FLAVORx Inc 1-800-884-5771 ext
252 they can tell you who offers this service.

Hopefully this information will be useful and help to save some of our
animal companions from painful esophagitis and humans from the hassle of
pilling and traumatizing beloved pets.

My vet posts this information at the bottom of her receipts and addresses it
with clients. She reccomends having a syringe of water nearby and following
the pilling with the syringe of water, or when I had to pill Grant for about
a year straight before he got his teeth out, I always had a little dish of
Swanson's chicken w/broth and he would lap up the broth and then eat the
chicken. It is really good to know. I also coat pills with a thin coating of
butter to help it be more slippery.

"Chris Ciewelich via CatKB.com" wrote:

I have always been concerned about the issue of pilling cats
with a dry pill with no water or not in liquid form.

What about spit? It's easy and seems to work well.

Have You ever tried to swallow a pill dry without any water?

Yeah, an ordinary uncoated aspirin once just for fun. Same method.

Take care.





Just think how terrrible this must
feel to a cat whose esophagus is so small.

Study: 30 cats were used. Fluoroscopy was used to evaluate the
pill/capsule passage at 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 300 seconds. Cats
given dry pills by standard pilling methods as opposed to those
given the same medication in liquid form.

The study was evaluating how long it took for the pill to get
through the esophagus into the stomach of the cat.

Study results: For the dry pill swallows: (can you imagine
having to swallow tablets or capsules with no water, hurts just
thinking about it) at 5 minutes ONLY 36% of the pills were in
the stomach.

For the liquid medication all medication was in the stomach by
90 seconds.

"The main concern with this information is that if tablets and
capsules sit in the esophagus for a prolonged period of time,
this can cause damage to the tissues in this area. This damage
can lead to esophagitis, which can lead to nausea, vomiting and
megaesophagus. At times, the esophagus can also respond by
developing an ulcer or stricture. The latter is a very serious
complication requiring aggressive therapy, preferably with
balloon dilatation.

My cat will be on methimazole for the rest of her life. She
literally runs to the refrigerator for her tuna flavored liquid
medicine making for a much more enjoyable relationship with her.
The “bond” between pet and pet owner is very important and a
traumatizing experience like pilling everyday can cause a
permanent break of this trust or “bond”.

Many of you may not be aware of the option of having tablets or
capsules made into tasty liquid forms to facilitate
administration. The list of flavors depending where they are
made up is long and includes Tuna, Sardine, Salmon, Beef, Bacon.
etc. Keep the quantity small 1ml or less for ease of
administration and make sure that you use a reputable pharmacy
that has done all of the proper testing (stability,
compatibility). You can ask to see stability data before using a
pharmacy so that you can have peace of mind of knowing that what
you are giving your pet is medication that is of proper quality
and accurate strength and that the flavorings being used are not
diluting or ruining the efficacy of the medication being given.

There are human pharmacies out there that will do this but vet
meds are not their specialty and they don't have access to vet
meds. There are many sources out there to get this done at. Call
FLAVORx Inc 1-800-884-5771 ext 252 they can tell you who offers
this service.

Hopefully this information will be useful and help to save some
of our animal companions from painful esophagitis and humans
from the hassle of pilling and traumatizing beloved pets.

In article ,
enlightened us with...
I also coat pills with a thin coating of
butter to help it be more slippery.

Ooh, I have to remember that one.
It's hard enough to pill Rowan when she has an outbreak, must less use a
syringe with water after the pill. That cat is more flexible than a ferret, I
swear.

--
--
~kaeli~
The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and
three hundred sixty-two admonishments to heterosexuals.
That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's
just that they need more supervision.
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