Cat and Meds -- A Vent

[Rackonteur]

My cat has been taking Cosequin and Miralax for a few weeks now, mixed in with lickable treats (Inaba Churu or Temptations Purreeee).
Until now. Yesterday she missed both her morning and evening dose, and today she tried to miss her morning dose again.
Which meant she had to have her other laxative, the prescription one, shot into her mouth, which she has always hated.

HELP! Please.
I saw some “how to dose a cat” videos on YouTube (not really helpful because the cats were not difficult), including the cats licking lickable treats from oral syringes. I’ve thought about giving my cat her Cosequin and Miralax this way but I’m terrified of her choking if I do it wrong.

She NEEDS these meds.

Please help.

[Rackonteur]

P.S. because it takes too long for edits to OPs to load:

I’ve tried giving her the 2 powdered meds in tuna juice.
Didn’t work.
I’ve also tried Tiki Cat licky treats.
She doesn’t like those.

[BatCoach]

ugh cats can be so tricky. I have one who is incredibly food motivated, but turns tail at the slightest whiff of medicine. No amount of disguising it helps - he KNOWS it is there and would rather starve than eat meds.

So, the only method I have had any success with is to squirt approximately 1/2 of those creamy treat tubes in a small bowl, and mix in his meds, then take a small spoon and spoon it into a needle-less, plastic 10 ml syringe - your vet can give you one.

Then I squirt the medicated goo it in the back of his mouth towards the side - across his tongue. Sometimes he still turns his head and I get some on his check, but by and large I have found this to be effective.

[Simkie]

What does she like? Does she eat any wet food at all? Mine get cosequin with every meal on their wet food and don’t notice it at all.

Dosing liquids or gooey stuff with a syringe isn’t too tough, basically you’re just putting it in their mouth and waiting for them to swallow, repeat, until done. But they can get pretty cranky about that over time, so I feel you wanting to get her to eat it.

[beowulf]

I second the wet food. It’s the only way I can get some powdered meds into my picky cat.

BTW, Cosequin comes in a treat format - even my suspicious kitty gobbles them up.

[Rackonteur]

Thank you very much for this. I have some of those syringes, I use them for liquid meds. I have been wondering if I could use one for the lickable treats with the meds – if I myself could actually do it without choking the cat.
I’m used to getting liquid meds all over her and me (lol not!) and I usually wrap her in a towel.
I’m really interested that you shoot the mixture across your cat’s tongue and towards the back of his mouth. I am really, really glad you went into all the detail because I can picture that and hopefully I can do the same.
Wish me luck!
Good health to your kitty and you.

[Rackonteur]

I did not know that about Cosequin.
Please tell me more about the treat form!

[Rackonteur]

Thank you. I have thought about putting it on her wet food. Usually she picks at it so I never know which bit of it to put the powder on. I think I will try serving just a tiny portion of it with the meds added and hope she will finish that bit.

[beowulf]

NUTRAMAX Cosequin Soft Chews Joint Supplement for Cats, 60 count - Chewy.com

Not sure what dosage you need of it, but this is what I use for my old lady.

[Rackonteur]

Thank you! I will certainly try it.

[Simkie]

If she’s not a good eater, I LOVE treating those cats with famotidine, and if that’s not enough, mirtazipine. I fully believe that cats often get ulcery bellies, and suffer from anxiety, faaaaaaar more than is diagnosed. So many vets take pickiness in cats as “well, it’s a cat” instead of a symptom of them not feeling well

Famotidine is dead cheap, I like the generic 10 mg pills from Walgreens. They’re teeny teeny, so getting 1/4 into a cat is usually cake. If they aren’t eating enough to disappear into a meal, it’s easy to sneak into a little piece of cheese or pill pocket or I’ve even got one now that eats her meds in a little dried liver treat…I just make a little hole in it with the tip of a sharp knife, and seal it up with wet food.

Mirtazipine is equally tiny, or available in a transdermal cream.

If you’re stressing over her eating at all, you don’t have to be! Getting meds into them is soooooo much easier if they’re EATING.

[tikihorse]

I had a very, very picky cat, a tortoiseshell. She had to take Miralax, too. I always mixed it into her wet food. If she didn’t want her wet food for some reason, I put it on top of a tiny amount of yogurt or plain vanilla ice cream. Yeah, I know cats shouldn’t have dairy, but I’m talking about 1/2 teaspoon, and she needed that Miralax, so I figured the good outweighed the bad.

[Rackonteur]

@Simkie

I fully believe that cats often get ulcery bellies, and suffer from anxiety, faaaaaaar more than is diagnosed. So many vets take pickiness in cats as “well, it’s a cat” instead of a symptom of them not feeling well

Thank heaven I have not known any of those vets! Ours have always been great.
I do think that, like me, she suffers from anxiety. She was after all born outdoors during a hurricane!

Or, like me, she may be somewhere on the Autism Spectrum.

[Rackonteur]

I bet you won’t be surprised to learn this one’s a tortoiseshell too!.

I love the idea of trying yogurt and/or ice cream! Thank you for the tip. Hmm, maybe a soft egg yolk?

[Simkie]

@Rackonteur

I do think that, like me, she suffers from anxiety.

Mirtazipine is just fab for the anxious ones. And it makes them hungry, so there’s no more stress for you about eating meds. Highly recommend!

[tikihorse]

@Rackonteur

I bet you won’t be surprised to learn this one’s a tortoiseshell too!.

I love the idea of trying yogurt and/or ice cream! Thank you for the tip. Hmm, maybe a soft egg yolk?

Not at all surprised she’s a tortie! They’re beautiful, wonderful kitties, but they’re opinionated as heck! Try the yogurt or ice cream. Just make sure it has no artificial sweetener. They’re poisonous for cats. Egg yolk might work too. My cats all like eggs.

[Rackonteur]

Thank you! I will ask our vet.

[Rackonteur]

Thank you for mentioning the artificial sweeteners. My neighbor is going to give me one of her cups of vanilla ice cream. She is not an artificial-sweetener person so hopefully the ice cream is OK. I will check the label when I pick it up tomorrow.
No yogurt on hand right now; I’ve just remembered my older cat would not touch it though. This one has enjoyed little bits of ice cream.

[red_mares]

When I had cats on miralax, I put it in their wet food. It really doesn’t have much taste at all. They also got chicken flavored depo, which they actually liked. I had to order it from a specialty pharmacy.

There have been times when I’ve taken advantage of the cats contrariness and smeared stuff I wanted them to eat on their fur. I have one who gets too busy to eat, especially if we’re on the road. Once she gets started, the light goes off that she’s hungry, but you have get the first couple bites in her. I put some wet food on her fur, she cleans it off, the starts eating of of her bowl.

[Rackonteur]

Mine was doing that with her powdered meds in her licky treats. I’d start off getting her to lick it from my finger and then she would eat it on her own from the plate.
'Til yesterday, that is.

I have also had to scoop it up on my fingertip and wipe it off onto her fur and let her lick it from there. All over her muzzle this morning.

Sigh.

And yet …
Just now I was in the kitchen washing dishes and she called and called from the living room. I dried my hands and came in and picked her up and she immediately quieted down. She is now asleep in my lap.
The dishes can wait.