Pet owners, vets, and animal behaviorists of tumblr, I need your help.
My cat Lucy was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and hyperthyroidism. She’s been given 3 different meds (platlet thinner, hyperthyroid medicine, diuretic) two of which need to be taken twice a day. Luckily they are all very small - less than half a grain of dry rice - but still challenging.
Lucy is VERY BAD at taking pills. And after 2 weeks of trying different things, I need ideas. These meds are important for her survival and I need a method that consistently works without excess tough handling which could trigger one of the attacks that first alerted me to her condition.
Here is what I’ve tried.
pill pockets — she used these in the past, bit into one and tasted a bitter pill and now literally gags when I offer them to her
Soft treats with pills shoved inside — not pill pocket brand but the same idea. Even soft treats tend to crumble, and the pill falls out easily.
Hollowed out crunchy treats — same as soft treats, they tend to crumble and the pill falls out either in her mouth or on the floor.
Wet food with loose pills — not sure how but she manages to eat around the incredibly tiny pills around 50% of the time
Wet food with pills inside a gel tab — works about 75% of the time, but problems I have are the gel tab dissolving and leaving a sticky, bitter pool in the wet food, or simply being licked clean of wet food and left behind
Scruffing, swaddling, and forcing gel tab filled with pills down her throat — works around 95% of the time BUT is very stressful to her, and if she hides the pill in her cheek, it leads to foaming and excessive drooling of the mouth as well as high panic and increased anxiety for the rest of the day or night
PLEASE help. I’m racking my brain to come up with consistent ideas but it’s only been 2 weeks and I’ve already tried each of the above methods.
