Pilling Cats...good info ;-)

http://www.catinfo.org/pillingcats.h...al_Medications
(Click on link for two more links regarding Tapazole)
Transdermal Medications

Transdermal preparations are medications that are formulated into a gel or ointment that can be applied to the inner ear of the cat. After application, the medicine is then absorbed through the skin. There is some controversy regarding the efficacy of this route so please discuss this issue with your vet and pharmacist for each individual medication considered. Some medications cannot be compounded into transdermal preparations.

One medication that is often used with this route of administration is methimazole (Tapazole) which is a commonly prescribed hyperthyroid medication. Studies here and here have shown that the use of transdermal methimazole is a very effective way to administer this drug and results in fewer gastrointestinal upsets.

Another medication that has been formulated into a transdermal preparation is amitriptyline but I do not know of any studies showing the efficacy of this route of administration for this particular drug.

Conclusion

The goal of this article is to prevent the silent suffering that our pets often go through when medications are administered without appropriate precautions. I have outlined several options above:

1) Administer the pill or capsule and follow up immediately with a chaser of a liquid

using a syringe.

2) Administer the pill or capsule and follow up with the feeding of canned food, tuna

juice or a meat broth.

3) Use compounded, flavored liquid medications.

4) Use transdermal preparations.

5) Or...be lucky enough to have your cat eat the medication in canned food.



Please pass this information on to anyone whose pets may benefit from the information. It is my hope that the information will help to save some of our non-speaking friends from a painful esophagitis and their caretakers from the stress of pilling some hard-to-pill cats.