Tigris, again!!!

[Cinder & Smoke]

Originally posted by Barbara

He has definitely no stones.

His urethra is chronically inflammed, swollen,
and there is scar tissue.

Of course it is essential that the bladder is flushed.
Having no stones, neither struvite nor oxalate,
Tigris may have his veggie juice

2) surgery
Of course I asked about the perineal urethrostomy.
To my vet's opinion this would be the last resort.

Now my question: Randi, Phred, Tracey:

Can you tell me what your vet said about the risks of the surgery.

I agree with my vet that we will first try to control it the way I described but I'd like to know more about the plumbing surgery.

I haven't been *ignorin* Tigris' Tail -
His Mom and I have been trading PM's.

Seems like Tigris' Vet has a GOOD handle on HIS problem -
which IS different than the problems Boots, Fister, et all were
disgnosed with! The OTHER PT Kittys were confirmed to be
producing SOLIDS in their urine (stones, crystals, or sand-like "stuff")
that formed physical BLOCKAGES and prevented the normal flow
of urine - and the reduced flows promoted the UTIs.

There ARE dietary and medicinal treatments that SOMETIMES prevent
the the formation of the solids - but most Vets agree that
determining just WHAT combination of diet & meds works for each cat
may be a Lengthy Process of trial & error...
MEANWHILE the Cat Keeps "pluggin up" and requires frequent Catherizations
to prevent a sudden and life-threatening urinary blockage.

When a cat *IS* producing solids in the urine and has serious
blockages, the Current Thinking of many Vets is that it's
Kinder to the Cat to solve the BLOCKAGE problem with Sir Jury.

Whatever risks there are of infections coming "in through the back door"
are offset by the elimination of almost quaranteed future blockages
from the solids.

Since Tigris is NOT producing those "pesky" solids in his urine...
it makes good sense to try and solve his Inflamed Urethra problem
withOUT resorting to surgery.

GOOD LUCK to Tigris and his White Coat!!

Now, About "Pillin da Kat" ...
Y'all know I swear by the Pill Shotter, Popper, or Gun!
Here's a REprint of my Kat Pillin Reference Materials >>>

Firstly ~
NO Self-Respektin KAT will "knowlingly" Consume Medications -
when "hidden" in treats or food -
no matter HOW *tastey* the treat or food may be!

Here's Dad's Oft-Repeated "How to Pill da Kat" article >>

Here's a good article on How to PILL da Kat ~
with minimal loss of blood...

How to PILL the Kat article

And we'll repeat *our* method ~
Get youselves a Pill Shooter!

They are *cheap* - less than $5.00 US;
should be availabe in any Pet Store - US and elsewhere ~
cause little *stress* to either Kitty OR the Human;
almost Guarantee a successful *pilling* on the first *shot*

Here's a poor picture of ours - all soft plastic and made by
"Four Paws".

Pix - "Four Paws Pill Dispenser"

Dad *loves* it; Boots tolerates it;
and there hasn't been a lost or spit-out pill in years!

Y'all really Otta Get One!!

WHERE to get a Pill Shooter?
Almost ALL Pet Shops sell them...
Usually less than $5.00 gets you a reasonably good Plastic one.

Your VET may have a loaner; but you might as well buy your own.
And you do NOT need a fancy Chrome-Plated "Vet model" your Vet
may offer to SELL you!
The Pet Shop plastic "cheepie" works just as well!

To get meds on-board over the weekend - if the
"Using your Fingers" method in the article above doesn't work ~

Get a STRAW - plain ole Drinking Straw - semi-large diameter
(thick milk-shake size)...

Insert pill in one end...
Take deep breath and secure Kat...
Insert Opposite end in your mouth...

Open Kat's mouth with methods from above articles...
Insert KAT End of straw over Kat tongue at back of throat...

*BLOW* through YOUR end of straw -
NOTE! Important! **BLOW** (Do NOT * *suck*!!)

"Verify" Pill came OUT (in KAT) -
before re-inserting straw in your milk-shake!

/s/ Phred
.

[Catsnclay]

Sorry for the delay in this!


Tigris! Hope you are feeling MUCH better! Don't scare your mommy & daddy like that!

Hope things are going better for you & Siegmar, Barbara!!

[Vio&Juni]

We keep our fingers and paws crossed here. Any news? Is Tigris home yet?

[NoahsMommy]

Barbara,
I hope sweet Tigris is home soon and that the pred works well. Poor things, it sounds so uncomfortable and I'm sure you're worried.

Good luck with the new meds and only wet food. Kisses, sweet boy!

Luv, Kelly (& Micah)

[Kona & Oreo's mom]

I am so glad to hear that Tigris is home with his parents and his brother. I hope that your vet and you can work out a good solution for your sweet boy.

Tigris, keep drinking your veggie juice and eating all of your wet food. I hope you feel better soon!

Andrea

[Barbara]

Tigris was very un-quiet when he came home yesterday morning. It is as if he had to check again all of the places before he was sure everything was ok.

THen he calmed down and was sooooo cuddly- had to catch up with all the snuggles he missed.

Now this morning it was pilling time

The snuggly boy from the night showed us that he is a wild cat with no confidence in mankind

Didn't eat his pills in wet food (make a slot in a piece of wet food and put the pill in- worked well with Filou who is also not easy). Didn't eat his pill in Gimpet. Didn't eat his pill in liver pate.

Finally his dad grabbed him, nailed him down and forced pill plus liver pate down

When I left for work, Tigris was sitting under the bed saying he knew he could never trust humans

Curious to see how this goes.

On a lighter note: Tigris made two standard size pee biscuits.

Phred: I will print the pill shooter story (for Siegmar whose job it is as there is physical force involved- my job is to comfort him )and we will try to get one. Every trick is worth a try. The vet was sceptical. She knows our Tigris for quite some time and says he seems to have lots of wild cat instinct.

[sasvermont]

Oh Barb and Siegmar. My thoughts are with you. Trying to pill a cat can sometimes takes some major adjustments for everyone.

Hint 1 from Sas: Put the pill in your pocket and act as though nothing is up, life is usual. Then sit down and do your regular thing.....reading...writing....etc. and when Tigis comes near, nab him, and force the pill down his throat.

Hint 2: Did I give you some pillpockets when you visited? My cats hate them, so they didn't and won't work for me and my cats!

Hint 3: Mash the pill up and try to hide it in the food?! This never works for me either. My cats can smell it.

I found that by putting the pill in my pocket, I would be ready for action at any time. Miley (the usual pill/kitty) also could tell the noise from the pill envelope/bottle and would take off running. I could fool here while sitting and kitting or eating etc. ...... She never mistrusted me when MY behavior was usual, just when I was stalking her to pill her!

It sounds as though you have your work cut out for you.

Another alternative would be to confine him in a small room where he cannot hide. It sounds awful to confine a kitty - but then he could be caught to administer the medicine.

Keep us posted!

Love and warm fuzzy headbumpies to Tigris! and Barb and Siegmar and Filou too!

Sas, Miley girl, Juni Get Down, Chloe, Lucy, Cinnamon and Denver

[Randi]

Having met Tigris, I can imagine it could be quite a task to pill him. I remember how nervous I was the first time I had to give Fister pills. I tried the above methods, but none worked. They're smart enough to smell the pills inside of a treat. I once crushed a pill and divided it up inside of 5-6 shrimps - he took the first one ....

What did work, was to "catch" him by surprize when he was sitting very relaxed looking out of the window. I simply went up to him as if to cuddle (has to be from behind, so you can put your arms around him!), opened his mouth from one side and stroking his chest with my other hand - down the throat it went. You could also try while he's sleeping. The important part is not to appear nervous, they will immediately sense it!

Once the pill is inside the mouth, stroke his chest to make him swallow!!

With cats, I've learned a few things, force won't work, and patience is essential!

Best of luck!!

Give him headbumpies and kisses from us.

[Vio&Juni]

As Pichu's getting more and more like Tigris in size, I understand how hard it is to pill Tigris. Next time, probably, I will mash his pills, he found a way to spit them out when I try to put it in his throat.

Headbumpies from Pichu to Tigris and eyekisses from Juni.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Sounds like you had quite a morning, Barbara. All the methods mentioned above by SAS that didn't work for her, also didn't work for me. The only one that has worked consistently is the open up and shove it in method. Doesn't sound that pleasant, but it's short and sweet and over before they know it, and when followed immediately by treats, the anticipation of the treat soon overcomes the dread of the pilling. Hopefully you can find a pill shooter thingy and it works well, and more importantly, hopefully Tigris realizes that his humans aren't out to hurt him, but on the contrary are doing everything they can to make him feel better.

Good luck and keep us updated with progress reports.

[ChrisH]

Poor Tigris, and poor you with the pill business. Hope it gets easier, and that Tigris gets better, very soon.
hugs
chris

[krazyaboutkatz]

Barbara, I'm so sorry that Tigris is such a bad patient. Now Tigris please be a good boy and take all of your pills for meowmie. Good luck. I think it gets a little easier with practice.

[Barbara]

... but I'm not sure we are

His pee biscuits have normal size, he eats and purrs.

Thank you for everyone who gave us information of how they pill a cat. Theoretically we know everything now.

After Siegmar's heroic act yesterday he read Phred's info again and got second thoughts. Went searching and found one of the pills in the hall. Was so upset that he just went over to Tigris, caught him, pilled him and made sure he swallowed. Tigris started purring after a minute

So it's "Zen in the art of Cat Pilling"

S. felt rather proud of himself but today it was more difficult again. Tigris drooled all his chin wet while trying to close his mouth without pill in it.

We think it is less of a shock for him than getting him in the port-a-prison and bringing him to the butcher inside the BCV (Big Cat-eating Vacuum Cleaner aka car)

We hope we get into practice in time.

Someone who is not happy with all that fuss is Filou. He still hates how Tigris smells and he is not sure whether we will do something similar to him. So he hisses at Tigris and tries to hide. I try to give him attention but he is not sure he wants it

But Tigris feeling better is already a great reward and we sure will make sure he gets all of his meds inside his cute fuzzy belly!

[jenluckenbach]

Pilling a cat DOES get easier with time and practice.

But as long as Tigris is starting to feel better, that is all that matters.

{{{{{hugs}}}}}} to all.

[catnapper]

Oh my... the task of pilling him! I can only imagine how hard its gotta be - last cat I pilled was Abby when she was wee little and she almost won! I can't imagine someone with that much fight at Tigris's size!

Good luck with the pilling, I hope it works for him.