1/9 Fred AMPS 295 Cerenia issues/questions

[Purrberry]

Fred has been off his food for some time, now. He had a suspected pancreatitis flare in late November, though his fPLI was normal. Still, that was the working diagnosis, and after a few days on Cerenia (once a shot at the vet), he improved. However, since that time, he has still been extremely picky about his wet food. I go through the toppings bar every meal time just to get him to finish, and in the last few days, he's become even worse. After I basically force him to eat (because..insulin), he hides under the bed, and I feel horrible. He's now even off his regular dry, which basically means Armageddon is coming.

I don't think he ever 100% recovered from the flare in November, but now...Cerenia has become an absolute no-go for him. He's become wise to ALL my tricks, from sticking it on his PureBites with a bit of cream cheese to hiding it in food with a ton of FortiFlora to disguise, to rolling it in American cheese and trying to pop it in his mouth. Yesterday I got so desperate I took a dab of Karo (to disguise what I know is a very bitter taste) with the pill and tried to get it in his mouth that way. Talk about stealing from Peter to pay Paul! I thought I may have succeeded, but ultimately, I don't think I did.

Thoughts on other options:

Injectable-works great, but apparently stings like the devil. And only available at the vet, which is incredibly stressful for him. I swear it makes him worse.

Does injectable Zofran sting as well? I've heard yes.

Transdermal compound? Has anyone used this? I know @Suzanne & Darcy mentioned it some time ago. It would be a godsend, but I've heard it really doesn't work that well?

Fred hates and refuses all commercial cat food and most human food. No Pill Pockets, Churu, baby food...nada. Pilling-forget it. I have tried and tried.

Getting a little desperate...

 

[SaraMV]

I'm sorry you're going through this. My guy is going through pancreatitis right now and is turning his nose up at food, so I feel your pain. Between forcing pills down his throat, pricking his ear, and now force feeding, I'm enemy number one. I had forgotten that you can hide pills in cheese. I might try that tonight.

Is it possible for you to get a feeding tube put into your kitty? Our kitty Binx had to have one because he had intestinal cancer, hyperthyroidism, and diabetes. It made feeding a lot more comfortable (and less stressful) for him.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Ondansetron is way better than Cerenia for nausea issues in kitties, I'd definitely give it a try. Plus not so bitter.

Have you ever tried using blank gel caps? Size 3, 4, or 5 are good for cat meds. Larger number = smaller gel cap. You could start with a 4 and see how that works. I stuffed different meds together in a gel cap for Neko, hence reducing the number of pilling sessions. The nice thing about a gel cap (maybe a little butter on it), is that they don't get that awful taste. The butter helps it slide down.

My vet told me she's give me Cerenia preloaded in syringes if I wanted. I never needed that option. I've heard ondansetron injectible stings a bit, but maybe not as much as Cerenia? No experience there. I managed to get gel caps in Neko once the pill pockets stopped working. And getting a good pill popper or pill gun makes a world of difference. This one worked really well for me.

 

[Purrberry]

My guy is going through pancreatitis right now and is turning his nose up at food, so I feel your pain. Between forcing pills down his throat, pricking his ear, and now force feeding, I'm enemy number one.

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this as well! It's so hard watching them suffer, and then in trying to help them, you feel like you're making them suffer more. I keep telling Fred that I'm sorry...I'm only trying to make him feel better! He did come up and lie on me in the middle of the night last night, which he has not done in a while. I hope I'm at least a little forgiven...until later when I try the pill again.

I had forgotten that you can hide pills in cheese. I might try that tonight.

Fred's civvie Sadie is a mad one for anything dairy. When she was on pred for nasal lymphoma, I'd make her a little "cheeseball" each time. I had had the pred compounded into chicken liver flavor, smushed the American cheese over it, and she couldn't wait for it every evening.

Is it possible for you to get a feeding tube put into your kitty

Fortunately, we are not there yet. Fred eats, but very reluctantly and not as much. Fingers crossed we don't have to go that route!
I do hope your baby feels better soon!

Ondansetron is way better than Cerenia for nausea issues in kitties, I'd definitely give it a try. Plus not so bitter.

I've heard so many people talk about this, but my vet has never offered it. They seem to be firmly in the Cerenia camp. But I am going to ask about it tomorrow. I called on Saturday, but no one called me back.
I think I will order the gel caps as well. I have a pill gun but am hopeless with it. He starts twisting his head...ugh. I swear that even if he can't taste it, he can smell it a mile away! Did you always shoot it? Did Neko ever fall for it being in his food?

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Did you always shoot it? Did Neko ever fall for it being in his food?

Neko, being acro, ate almost everything for the majority of her life. Pill Pockets were life savers for years, until they weren't. Then nothing else would work either. I put Neko in front of me, so I was behind her back, and tilted her head up a bit. That seemed to stop the wriggling. Being quick about it is also key.

You can also buy gel caps that are meat flavoured! I just got the plain ones, but was seriously thinking about it.

 

[Purrberry]

I just ordered the #5 size from Amazon. They'll arrive Tuesday. (thank you, Prime!) Until then, I'm going to enlist DH tonight to try and help me. I'll make one of my cheeseballs. Let's hope one of us has good aim!

Update: We did it! We got it in. That will be the last time Fred lets both of us "say hello" at once! ;-)

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

I’m in the gelcap camp. I’m also in the Zofran camp! It’s small and not so bad tasting as Cerenia. It comes in orally dissolving tablets. All you need is an Rx from your vet and take it to the human pharmacy. I have lots of it here. If you need me to send you a few to try to see if it will work on Fred, let me know. It can be constipating though so you may need to do a preemptive strike on that. Some of my cats with chronically soft stools have been fine on it though.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

It is bad if he’s not eating the YA dry food! This worries me!