Need help with pilling Ripley please

[sirrahbed]

sorry to read this Lori

CCL Lisa has a couple kitties that are impossible to pill and what she has had to do with Peanut Butter is to give him liquid antibiotic - and the only way she can get it in to him at this point is to squirt it on his fur. He cleans himself up and get the medicine. I know it is not very accurate this way but at least it gets in to him. I did this last time Eliot needed antibiotic as he also freaks on me. I had to really sneak up on him and squirt quickly It works.

[auggie]

Oh no, poor Ripley.
Clavamox is some nasty stuff. It made Phoenix sick as well. Maybe that is the reason why he is fighting you so much. They only thing I can think off is wrap him very tight in a towel and have your husband hold him down on the kitchen counter. This is easier because it’s eye level. Squeeze his cheeks open with one hand while puling up his face a bit and than use the pill shooter quickly with your other hand. I always give them their favorite treat afterwards. You have to be sneaky opening the pill bottle as well, so he can’t hear you.
I hope and pray that Ripley will get better soon

[jazzcat]

Thanks everybody!

I checked out the Pill Pockets and the nearest location to me is 61 miles away, gee!

Phred, thanks for the shooter instructions. I think my main problem now is Ripley's fear. He totally freaks out when we try now. The first time I used the shooter last night it worked like a charm but today he was bucking, scratching and screeching while hubby held him and I tried to get it in his mouth. He has an amazing memory so this shooter may be dead to us now.

Debbie, I remember reading about CCL just squirting the liquid on so I will call the vet first thing Monday and ask for the liquid. It's worth a shot.

I really appreciate all the help. This has been a stressful situation. I'm giving Ripley the rest of the weekend off before I try again. Thankfully he seems to have forgiven me for the moment but he does run and hide whenever I walk in the kitchen which is where I keep the pills. Poor guy.

[auggie]

Herbal and homeopathic UTI treatment:
http://www.nativeremedies.com/petali...cats-dogs.html

[Catty1]

Auggie - that link was really interesting...though I notice that it involves putting a few granules on the cat's tongue. Ripley doesn't like anyone trying to open his mouth right now! Do you happen to know if this can be mixed into wet food?

Catty1

[shais_mom]

poor both of you!
will keep sending good thoughts as I have no advice b/c Kylie is my terror to pill.

[Barbara]

With Tigris we do it the exact same way as Lorraine with some added protection: Siegmar gets Tigris between his knees and he has garden gloves Plus I put the pill in liver pate and give it between Tigris' sharp teeth with the end of a long icecream spoon
Our Tigris is not the most intelligent of kitties (sorry Jazz- but you better know that about your bf ) so he always could be lured in the kitchen with some treats. I have no idea how you could do it with Filou who is much cleverer and you ahve to know one trick more than him which is not easy.

I wish you all good luck with poor Ripley.

[nepeta]

Thanks everybody!

I checked out the Pill Pockets and the nearest location to me is 61 miles away, gee!

This doesn't help immediately, but you can also order from Healthy Pets and from Drs Foster & Smith

[jazzcat]

Auggie - thanks for the link. That may be a good alternative to try.

Nepeta - thank for the links for the pill pockets. I think I will order some chicken flavor for him.

Barbara - garden gloves, I love it! I never thought of that. We haven't tried the between the knees thing yet like you and Lorraine but I'm going to. With garden gloves, a towel and using Phred's pill shooter tips it might work.

There is also the liquid on the fur trick!

I knew my PT Pals could help me with this. You all are brilliant!!

[jenluckenbach]

Another think you could attempt (instaed of the peanut butter) is processed cheese like Velveeta. YES, you would still need to get it into the back of his throat (because if he licks at the cheese he will taste the pill), but it should make it slice down better and the initial taste should be that of the cheese.

Give it a try while you wait for the pill pockets to come.

[Lizzie]

Oh goodness! do I know the foaming at the mouth problem. It starts before you have even started to open the cat's mouth and is so excessive that it covers their entire jaw, their front and the carpet. Then it's next to impossible to get anything into the mouth because they are pushing it out with the saliva so getting it to the back of the throat is well nigh impossible. I have to do my pilling alone and I've ended up in tears of frustration and fear.

I've done two things to avoid pills. One is to get the medication put into a gel that can rubbed inside the ear - though that might not be possible with antibiotics, and the other is to switch to injections. I know that sounds awful, and it's certainly not stress free but it's much faster than fighting to get something into a cat's mouth. You just lift up the flap of skin at his neck, choosing a slightly different site each time, and basically it's the same as sub-q fluids. It can take seconds to give an injection so although there is a small amount of pain, there is far less stress and aprehension.

Barbara - you made me laugh so much with the garden gloves (I've used those too, the ones I use to prune roses) and the ice-cream spoon!