Can I get my cat to take a capsule orally?

acequion

My cat has to take a daily capsule of a med called Viacutan for alopecia. The capsule, like all capsules, contains an oil. I've been trying to hide it in her food but it goes on all day as there's too much to get it over with in one meal so have been trying small amounts over two to three meals. But she can smell it, absolutely hates it and it's now got to the point that she won't touch her food if its in it. I've tried doctoring it with all sorts of tasty treats, even butter. No good.

There are only 8 capsules left and the treatment is working so I'm now wondering could she take it orally? As in just pop it back? But is a capsule too much? Would it make her sick? I've popped back pills to her no problem and she's a gentle little thing and doesn't object to it,though the trick is to do it really fast.

What do people think? I'm at my wits end at this stage!

Alun

What sort of quantity are you talking about here? You could try getting a small syringe and syringing it into her mouth directly.

I'm not sure about giving capsules orally. Pills are ok if your cat is amenable to being pilled, but capsules get very sticky when wet and would probably stick in their mouths.

VonVix

How did your vet recommend they be given?

acequion

VonVix wrote: »

How did your vet recommend they be given?

Sprinkled on her food. Which would be fine if she would eat her food. But that's the whole problem.

acequion

Alun wrote: »

What sort of quantity are you talking about here? You could try getting a small syringe and syringing it into her mouth directly.

I'm not sure about giving capsules orally. Pills are ok if your cat is amenable to being pilled, but capsules get very sticky when wet and would probably stick in their mouths.

That's what I was thinking too. I'd hate to traumatise her or cause her to be sick.

iora_rua

I used to mix the pills in a small amount of plain goat yogurt on a dessert spoon, then using another clean spoon, carefully pile another dollop of goat yog on top without mixing in. The cats loved the goat yog so much that they just kept going! Best let them get use to the taste of goat yog on its own first. Don’t use cow milk yog as it can give them upset tums. I have also had some success with the syringe method by putting a small amount of butter on the end of the pill/capsule which helps it slip down the throat. Hope you find a solution soon!

Graces7

try not to make a big thing of it|? She will sense that. When two of mine had enteritis I and were on liquid meds I used to walk past the most stroppy one and quickly grab her, open her mouth and in with the meds. before she could blink .

If I tried approaching her openly she would take off

Had even more dramatic ways with a Siamese once.

acequion

Thanks guys for the replies, appreciate it. There are good day and bad days. Yesterday was good,today remains to be seen. But there are only 7 more capsules to go. However, that med is working wonders on her coat so I'd be hoping to be able to give it to her occasionally in the future. You can buy it in pump form on Amazon which might be handy to give a tiny quantity. I like the idea of the goat's cheese and might give that a try.

Alun

I was recently in a position where I had to syringe some foul tasting antibiotics into our cat twice a day for a week, while I was on my own. In the past, my wife and I used to try and do this together, usually on the couch, with her holding the cat and me syringing, and it rarely ended well!

Anyway, I Googled like crazy for advice, finding all kinds of so-called solutions most of which seemed to involve cats that were so chilled and laid back they'd probably swallow anything ... the exact opposite to our bity, scratchy monster! Anyway I finally came upon this YouTube video which turned out to be the solution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bAzdZur4-k

Part of what made this so successful, for me at least, was the level at which I was doing it, i.e. at waist height which made things easier rather than cowering over the cat on the floor or on a chair which made her nervous, and secondly doing it on a slippery surface, i.e. a table top, which meant she had nothing to grab hold of if she did decide to dig her claws in.

I think also having her facing away from me helped in some way, so she couldn't really see what was coming.

kjbsrah1

I have recently had this issue with a cat of mine. There is a product called Easypill. There is one for cats and one for dogs. It is like a small bit of putty - it comes wrapped in silver foil in small quantities. I get 6 slices out of one small putty sausage (shape it comes in). I cut up the tablet and my fussy cat wolfs it down. Tried crushing it in food, over food, syringing it into her - all to no avail. I just try to make sure she is not fed before I give it to her. The brown putty smells a bit like bisto gravy granules. I get it from my vet, but its also available from the Equipet chain of pet stores. Might be worth a shot!

Alun

I've seen something similar in MaxiZoo as well. If you have a cat that will eat treats it works great, except ours doesn't, however tasty it might smell / taste!

acequion

Thanks guys. That Easypill sounds interesting. I'll have a look for it. Today I was in Supervalu but they had no goat's yogurt, will try Dunnes tomorrow.

I'm managing to get the capsule contents into her through little treats, butter, even cream and little gourmet packs of cat mousse and terrine. I like the idea of the goat's yogurt because I don't think dairies are the best for her tummy. And the treats don't always work as she's not a big treat cat.

Only 6 more to go

Graces7

All done now? How went it?

sillysmiles

Wrapping the cat in a towel - google cat burrito - is the easiest way imo to get a cat to take something nasty, and then loads of tasty treats!

acequion

Graces7 wrote: »

All done now? How went it?

Thanks Graces

Yes all done now and overall it didn't go too badly. I never did give her the capsule orally as I was too afraid I'd make her sick. I tried out the goat's yogurt as suggested by a poster here, but her face when she sniffed it said it all :rolleyes: So cue me eating the goat's yogurt so as not to waste it. I had to try and rotate different treats. Sheeba fine recipes worked best and some days, cream. That always worked. But as she has a sensitive gut I don't like giving her cream. But we got through it and her fur is growing back nicely and is in much better condition. That's also due to Royal Canine dry food specially for hair and skin.

In fact I've ordered the Viacutan oil in pump format through amazon. At least that way I can try to give a tiny amount maybe three days a week and I'm going to try to get a hold of easy pill or cat burrito as the last poster suggested.

Thanks to all who took the time to make suggestions. I really appreciate it.

kjbsrah1

Any vet and most pet stores have the Easipill. Price between €1.75 and €2.50 per piece. Just slice it and wrap the pill in it. If it’s a large pill you might want to cut it up and wrap each piece in the easipill ‘stuff’. Good luck with it. Great to see someone willing to go to such lengths to make sure their cat gets the best treatment.

acequion

I actually thought cat burrito was a tasty treat until I googled it. :pac::D

Actually Easypill is not that easy to get hold of. Well maybe at vets,but I tried several pet stores today and none had it. So I ended up ordering that as well on amazon. BUT it doesn't ship to Ireland! Luckily I use Parcel Wizard as I buy a fair few things online. So that's how I was able to get it in the end.

So hopefully a tiny bit of Viacutan oil in the easypill a few times a week should help to keep her fur growing back nicely and keep the itchiness she suffers from at bay.

.......

Alun wrote: »

Anyway I finally came upon this YouTube video which turned out to be the solution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bAzdZur4-k

The cat in this video looks JUST like my cat except my cat would be struggling, fighting, biting and generally refusing to even be touched if I tried this!

I cant ever manage to pill mine alone, its a 2 man job, one to hold her down, the other to pop the pill in. Its extremely traumatic - for me!!

Alun

I would have said the same until I tried it. Note that this is for giving them liquid medication, pilling would be difficult in that position I agree. Our cat needs two people to pill her too, but we also had a cat that would take his tablets twice a day no bother with just me giving them.

.......

Alun wrote: »

I would have said the same until I tried it. Note that this is for giving them liquid medication, pilling would be difficult in that position I agree. Our cat needs two people to pill her too, but we also had a cat that would take his tablets twice a day no bother with just me giving them.

True.

Mine is more of a problem because she is just so slippery. She escapes any hold!!

acequion

Mine is no bother to pill. Every second day she has to take one. I generally go for it when she's at her most relaxed on the bed and almost before she's aware of anything I open her mouth and pop it back. She is a gentle little thing though, not in any way aggressive and not once ever have I seen her hiss.

But liquid is more challenging, hence the Easypill.

Alun

Yes, they're all different, that's why we love them so much