Tiger's Home! 'The butter incident!'

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Originally Posted by jenn_librarian

How did it go at the vet? Are his sniffles any better?? Healing thoughts on the way!

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Hi! Well, we went to the vet and I basically promised him it was our last visit because I can't think of what else any vet could do for him at this point, other than this last antibiotic injection. They gave it to him and we were out of there in 15 minutes so that was great.
He has his good days and his not so good days and some are a bit of both! Yesterday morning he was so lethargic but when I got home from work and walked into our bedroom he ran to see me and then promptly started to attack the cat scratching post with all kinds of energy. That made me so happy. His breathing is sometimes so noisy that I'm afraid he can't get enough air and at other times, like this morning, I can barely hear anything.

The Transfer Factor is so hard to hide. He is mr. fussy pants and thinks I've snuck into everything so he carefully scrutinizes everything I offer him to see if I've 'tainted' it with anything before he eats it. The only way I can get it into him is mixed into salmon cream cheese or sardine juice. My husband is not thrilled with overpowering odor of the sardines so I've only done that a few times. I seem to only be able to get a capsule and a half into him a day but at least it's better than nothing. I'm hoping it will help.

Jimmy other the other hand is doing awesome on the TF!!! I sneak a half capsule into his food every couple of days and the change in him is remarkable. He is putting on weight and his coat is so beautiful now. He was looking so gaunt before and his coat was terrible. It builds the immune system and I guess it is helping him with his IBD. And his breathing is a bit better too which was an unexpected surprise. So, I'm very thankful for this! :)
p.s. Tiger, Paddy and Jim are all out in their outdoor enclosure enjoying the sunshine and doing a bit of grazing! They love their grass.

How big are the capsules?

Could you just pop several down his throat every day? Pill pockets with some powder in them - or the capsule itself? Maybe email that other lady - she offered to help - and ask her for ideas.

I wish TF was in injectable form...I wonder if even that Regress stuff would help a bit at this point....

PT Prayers for Tiger!

Great to hear that Jimmy is doing so well. He should have a talk with his buddy about TF! ;)

Well, it's more good news than bad, so we'll accept that for now. Hugs to Tiger and I'm so glad that Jimmy is doing well. They keep us hoppin', don't they?

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Originally Posted by Catty1

How big are the capsules?

Could you just pop several down his throat every day? Pill pockets with some powder in them - or the capsule itself? Maybe email that other lady - she offered to help - and ask her for ideas.

I wish TF was in injectable form...I wonder if even that Regress stuff would help a bit at this point....

PT Prayers for Tiger!

Great to hear that Jimmy is doing so well. He should have a talk with his buddy about TF! ;)

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The caps are kind of a medium to large size. Unfortunately Tiger doesn't like the Pill Pockets. I have tried both the cat and the dog versions and he won't eat them, even with nothing inside them. :(

When I first emailed Bethany about TF and her cat she told me that she mixed the contents of the caps with butter and smeared it on her cat's paw and that her cat, like any cat, hated to be 'dirty' and licked it all off.
I haven't tried this yet but I probably will. I just don't like the thought of him eating all that butter. But maybe it's not so bad for him? I'm just worried it's going to be too rich and make him throw up.

I'm choosing not to pill him because of the incision inside his mouth. The caps are a pretty good size and even before he had surgery on the inside of his mouth, he was so difficult to pill. We ended up really struggling with each other and by the end of it he hated me and I was bleeding and the pill was not down his throat. It's hard because I don't know how long we have with him and if it's not long, I don't want our time together to be like that, with him running in the other direction when he sees me. Of course, it's a catch 22 because if I did get the caps down him, he might have alot more time with me. :confused:

I'll give the butter thing a go and see if it works. Maybe I can find a few different things with the same consistancy that I can smear on his paws throughout the day (butter, creamcheese, hairball remedy etc..).

Cats generally like salty stuff...I'd say go for the fat and worry about the cholesterol later! :D

I use safflower butter, after my health food store expert scolded me for margarine. "It's two molecules away from plastic!" she told me.

1 lb butter, 1 cup Safflower Oil. Blend well and store. Will just be less salty, that's all. (or 1/2 lb butter, 1/2 c Safflower oil [olive is ok too])

Come on, Tiger, take your meds!

Well, the butter was disaster! :eek: :eek: :eek:
I mixed the contents of the capsule in with some butter and then smeared it on Tiger's paw. He went nuts! He ran around like I had just tarred and feathered him! Bits of butter hit the ceiling, the fridge, then onto the living room as he shook his paw wildly, onto the furniture! He did stop to lick his paw once he'd shaken most of it off though. LOL And then of course, he wouldn't let me near him and looked at me as if he thought I'd lost my marbles. He's actually STILL grooming himself and the butter incident was at least half an hour ago!!
So, we're back on cream cheese. :)
I did buy some anchovy paste today but it does not 'appeal' to the king. Yikes! One tough customer.

LOL! I'm sorry I'm laughing at your expense here, but I can totally envision that hissy fit!

I tried the same kind of thing with my mom and dad's cat Lucey and hairball remedy years ago. "Oh, just put it on her paw and she'll lick it off." the woman at the store said. Yeah. Right. :rolleyes: That stuff was everywhere, and everywhere it landed it left a greasy streak. Mom was not happy. It was entertaining to watch though!

Furbee is a pain to pill, but I do use cream cheese and butter to dip the small pills in. Honeybun refuses to take any pills, and wails like a banshee whenever I try to hold him and pill him. It's like he thinks I'm going to absolutely torture him. After that, he hides for a day or so, and then skulks around the house while I'm here. None of my guys go for the pill pockets.

I have smeared stuff on cat's paws in the past....but it is a smear, kind of flat. I recall if there was ANYTHING resembling a 'glob' they'd shake it right off. :)

I seem to see in my mind's eye that a cat shakes the paw (or whatever) first, and if the stuff doesn't move, then they resort to licking.

Silly Tiger! Stop being so fussy on your food. Anchovies yet! :D

Oh I feel your pain about having to pill a cat. I've been fortunate with Eve and able to get her meds in liquid form - a lot easier with our girl ;) who turns into a little she-devil if she sees pills :rolleyes:

I hope everything works out for dear little tiger - he sure does live up to his name :)