9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 PMBG 101, Better pill night

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Amy&TrixieCat

Amy&TrixieCat

Member Since 2011
Yesterday

Nothing much to report, other than another horrible, horrible, horrible morning with the gelcap. Growling, hissing, cat fight noises, 3 gelcap refills...the whole nine yards. Last night, I got it down with pretty much no issue, but this morning was a total repeat of yesterday morning, except it only took me half an hour instead of a full hour before I got it down. Of course when she gets hissy and upset, she closes up her throat, and there is no way the pill is going down. When I finally did get it down, it went on the first try :roll: . I don't know what I did differently THAT time, but obviously it was something!

I've always felt more comfortable using my hands so I can "feel" what I'm doing, but I think it's time to try out a popper. I know a few folks have suggested which one to get; I was looking on Amazon this morning and I think I know which is everyone's favorite, but I can't remember for sure. So if you have a favorite popper, please let me know which it is...thanks!!

I also think I might get some smaller caps. Because her meds schedule changes from day to day, and morning to night, depending on the day, and the time of day, sometimes I need a "3", but sometimes a "3" is too big. Using a smaller capsule when I don't need a "3" might help a bit...maybe.

We've been doing this long enough...I don't know why this is happening all of a sudden. I'm afraid it's become a trend, now, and my nerves and confidence are totally shattered.

And I hope that "+3" is related to the extreme stress of the pilling event...I think it has to be.

After all that, she is now snuggling up a storm. At least she doesn't hold a grudge. It's crazy, though. She obviously hasn't loved taking pills and we've had a few difficult pops, but these last few mornings have been extreme and out of the blue. Aside from the pilling issues, she is her usual lovey-dovey social quirky gluttonous self - nothing jumps out at me as being "off" at all, so I don't think anything is bothering her or that she's hiding feeling unwell in any way.

We ended up cancelling my Dad's dinner because he wasn't feeling well. I was pretty bummed about that. I suspect he may have developed some chemo-induced lactose intolerance, so he's trying to cut down on dairy (I'd prefer he completely cut it out to TRULY test the theory, but baby steps!!!) and try Lactaid. Good thing he has a vegan daughter to make lots of healthy and delicious suggestions for dairy alternatives ;-) !!

I need a break from my life....but, instead, it's almost time to get ready for work. Have a great day, LL!

Amy
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 - Bad Pill Day, Popper Ide

I'm sorry you had such a time with the gel cap again this morning. I don't know on the pill popper, but am interested to see what others say. I'm glad she's feeling so well.

I'm sorry your dad isn't feeling very well and had to cancel his birthday dinner. I hope he starts feeling better soon. Sending more prayers. :YMHUG: :YMHUG:
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 - Bad Pill Day, Popper Ide

I prefer to use my fingers as I think the pill popper would be too rigid and maybe bruise the inside of the mouth. That's just my opinion. For most meds, I use just enough pill pocket to wrap the pills in.

I hope your day gets a lot better.
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 - Bad Pill Day, Popper Ide

That's always been my feeling, too, Dyana...I'm afraid of hurting her or gagging her with the popper. But I wonder if I should have one on hand as back up, just in case. During/after the pancreatitis, Trix developed an intense aversion to pill pockets, which she used to LOVE. I know some use a thin layer so the pill doesn't stick to their fingers, but I'm afraid adding those into the mix would make the pilling situation even worse. I do use a little butter to help make the pills slippery, but when she's hissy, no amount of butter helps!!
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 - Bad Pill Day, Popper Ide

I've used a pill popper from the vet before, however, I found it rather difficult to use, and have since hand popped them. All I do is scruff the neck which forces the mouth to open, pry the jaw open with the hand that has the pill (this is while I'm holding the pill between thumb and forefinger), and then push it down past the gag area of the throat. There have been a few instances where the kitty will spit it out if I don't get it down there far enough, though. After giving it, I simply rub throat until I feel a swallow, and wait a few moments before releasing the kitty to ensure that the pill did go down.

I hope you have better luck than I did with the pill popper. :YMHUG:
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 - Bad Pill Day, Popper Ide

what a rotten start to your morning, amy. i hope the rest of the day is better!

i haven't been able to figure out the pill popper, although the vet gave me one. perhaps there is a trick to it - i'll watch and see what others suggest for you.

i trained punkin & anya to the pill pockets by throwing little "blanks" of pill pocket balls on the floor. They'd gobble them up. Then i started putting the pills in them. punkin never blinked and would chow them down, although i'm sure some cats would be more wary of the loaded ones. i don't know if you could restart trixie on them successfully again or not. if not, maybe a small cube of swiss cheese, or cheddar cheese - one that would hold its shape so you could tuck a pill inside. I pushed them down punkin's throat for a long time with that tiny bit of pill pocket around the pill, then one day he struggled to get to it, and after that i just threw them on the floor.

Is your dad trying probiotics? Here are a couple of products that work better than Lactaid:
Digestive Advantage taken every morning will pretty much cover any lactose you consume that day.

Klaire Labs Ther-Biotic Complete is a high quality probiotic with a variety of bugs in it to help him re-colonize after being wiped out from the chemo.

I think the second one is better, but while you're waiting for it to arrive in the mail, the first one is available in pretty much any store. http://www.PureFormulas.com is a reliable place to order supplements. Top quality, mostly research lab brands.
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 - Bad Pill Day, Popper Ide

Yeah, I'm totally iffy on turning to a popper. Maybe I'll just ride out this rough patch....we've had a few rough patches before, but nothing quite as bad as all the horrible hissing and growling I got these last two morning!

I've re-tried pill pockets a couple times now...no-go. She used to LOVE them...and if I rolled them in FortiFlora, nothing would stop her! Now, if I'm lucky she'll sniff them, but 99% of the time she either turns her head away or walks away. She actually won't go near ANY treats now...the p-titis really did a number on her. She gets 3-4 pills in the morning and 2 pills at night...my fear is that I would get part way through the group of pills, then lose her attention and still have to pop the rest. At least with the gelcap, they are all going down at once, once they go, that is!

I tried cheese once, too....since DH and are vegan, we don't have it in the house, so she'd never had it before. And, she didn't know what to think of it when I tried it...but she knew she wasn't eating it!!

@Julie...thank you SOOOOO much for the probiotics links! I'll pick up some at the store today, order the others, and pass the links along!
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 - Bad Pill Day, Popper Ide

you're welcome! wish i had as easy of a solution for trixie and the pills! :-D

oh, and http://www.mrrebates.com can be used for pure formulas' site to get rebates. there are almost always coupons for pure formulas site too.
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 - Bad Pill Day, Popper Ide

Oh the joys of hard to pill cats...NOT! Dakota hates pills - being a Norwegian Forest cat, his mouth is very wide and shallow, he raises his tongue and ain't nuttin goin' down it! I use the same pill popper that Tiff linked to - I try a couple of times first and if no go, I then resort to fingers. I don't like using my fingers as I'm afraid I'll scratch them with my nails. Not that they're long, they're just very thick and hard. That piller works VERY well with everyone else.

Bummer on your dad's dinner but I'm glad he's got you watching over him!!

BIG HUGS!
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 - Bad Pill Day, Popper Ide

Hi Amy:

So sorry for the traumatic pilling sessions. I have similar problems with Harvey and Sasha. They have VERY strong jaws, and with all Sasha's issues, I'm terrified of hurting her. I've been using this pill gun for a couple of years with quite a bit of success. I put the pill, or gelcap into it, pry the mouth open, and shove it as far back in the mouth as I can, right in the middle. Minka is so used to it now she doesn't ever blink. I was scared of hurting them, too, but so far have had no problems at all (anti-jinx).

Sending healing vines for your DF. Too bad that the dinner didn't happen, after all the hassles!

I hope you have a good day at tbp and feel more positive when you get home.
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 PMBG 101, Better pill nigh

We have a nice PMBG thanks to DH giving her a +10-ish snicky snack; her pill went down on the second try without any hissing, growling, cat fight noises, or general feistiness (and what did I do differently this morning????????); and my Dad has abstained from dairy since yesterday and has not had a belly ache since. I almost feel like I can breath tonight!
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 PMBG 101, Better pill nigh

Hi Amy ~O) :-D

LOVE that pmps! Way to go trixie. I am glad that tonight was a better pill/gelcap night. Sometimes I think the difficult ones are when they are just being a cat. Who knows huh. I tried a pill popper with Mannie, it was a no go for us, he just didn't like me sticking that thing in his mouth, even when I knew it was in the right place, fought me every time, now the pills I could get down no problem for the most part. I hope the popper works for you.

Bummer on your dad birthday dinner. I am glad though that he is feeling better. maybe you guys can reschedule?

Hope your days has been a good one.
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 PMBG 101, Better pill nigh

Sorry to hear about the hisses and growls and fights over pills. :sad: Man, that just sucks. Don't they know we're just trying to help them. :YMSIGH: :sad: Glad tonight was much better and glad to hear that your dad is feeling better tonight. Sending more prayers his way, though...just in case...can never have enough prayers!!!! Hope you had a good day at work, Amy.
 
Re: 9/21 Trixie AMBG 123 "+3" 122 PMBG 101, Better pill nigh

Amy

I'm so sorry the pill taking has gotten so difficult at times. I wonder if you do it the same time every day and if so, maybe if you varied the time a little bit each day, you'd catch her by surprise.

Sending many prayers for your dad.
 
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