My vet started my cat on metronidazole liquid today. He absolutely hated it, with quite a bit of drooling, etc.
Is the pill form any better? Does it taste just as bad?
Vet’s office will be calling me tomorrow to see how he is doing and I could ask to change it to pill form.
I did the pills and either coated them in butter or put them in an empty gel cap. They were pretty bitter too, but easier to disguise.
What is it being used to treat?
The liquid is FOUL, the pills are much, much better. I coat them in a small piece of pill pocket to get them down easier.
Wedgewood sells metronidazole compounded in small doses as tiny tabs. No idea why anyone sends home the liquid.
For me, the choice whether to give metronidazole in pill or liquid form depends on the cat. They both taste nasty, but I think the pill is less offensive if you can get the cat to swallow it. If the cat is impossible to pill you may find the liquid is easier to administer. I’ve had cats that are easy to pill, just pop open the mouth and drop it in; cats that will take a pill wrapped in a pill pocket or coated with butter; and cats that will not swallow any pill even if it tastes good no matter what you do. OP, your vet probably gave you the liquid because for most clients it’s easier to give a cat liquid than a pill. Yes, cats hate the taste and they drool a lot, but they get over it. I hope your kitty is better soon.
agree with everyone Metro is very bad tasting and I cannot imagine the liquid being chosen over the tablet. I have never tasted liquid but the tablets always were a challenge for clients.
If you are not an adept piller, it is possible to get empty gel caps and cut and stuff the tablets. I remember the Metro we use to use was fairly stout, thick tablet. If it can be found in a less upright / thick tablet, it might fit a gel cap better when cut in 1/2 or 1/4. Empty gel caps can often be found at health food / vitamin centers. You might also ask you local pharmacy if they stock them. Short of that , a little coating of butter or food oil might help buffer the way
It is a shame because Metro is a very effective therapeutic
an aside… when I was in clinical the vet decided that liquid Prednisolone was much easier for clients. I thought this was ridiculous since Pred tablets were among some of the smallest and certainly flavorless. Easy to crush into can food if needed. She insisted on liquid. I tasted it and wound up in the bathroom , spitting. Clients complained and as front line, they complained to me. The vet didnt want to hear it. So I told her, " You taste it" . She did, then took the bottle and threw it in the garbage.
Kitty has pancreatitis and inflammation of part of the intestine, diarrhea.
Vet’'s office just called to see how he is going and I asked if I could get a pill form. It sounds like it is going to be challenge to get it into him.
Very much appreciate everyone’s suggestions.
OP, here are a couple of tips for giving pills or liquid that have worked for me.
If I’m giving a liquid, I squirt it in the side of the cat’s mouth. That is, I insert the syringe at the back corner of his lip. I find it often helps if I scruff the cat and hold him up so that the front legs are in the air. The trick is to be quick–pick him up and dose him before he realizes what just happened.
For pills, I like to use a pill dispenser. I open the cat’s mouth (get your vet to show you how if you’re not sure) and place the pill as far back in the mouth as I can. Then I hold the mouth shut and blow lightly on his nose and rub his throat until I see him swallow. Then I chase the pill with about a cc (1 mL) of water just to make sure it goes down.
For metronidazole, I give pills if I can get them down. I also have some liquid on hand so that if the cat spits the pill out and it dissolves, I can still give the liquid and he doesn’t miss any doses.
You can find some good videos on giving cats pills and liquids on YouTube. For both pills and liquids, the faster you work, the better. I hope your cat is a good sport; otherwise you’re going to have a stressful few days.
My kitty can be difficult to pill so when I had to give him metronitrazole I asked for the liquid. It was pretty gross, frothy drooling etc. I ended up calling the vet next day to get the pills 😄
How timely – my cat just got prescribed metro. Yes, it is truly nasty stuff, as my horse was on it for a while for a nasty infection, vet school had to train him & we had a whole system using peppermint chasers. I just discovered I can’t find my old cat pill popper, much to my dismay, so I guess I’ll have to go back to shoving my fingers down his throat, poor guy… I can’t imagine how disgusting a metro liquid would be, yuck.
Interestingly, the metronidazole tablets I was given are chewables.
I have some small empty gel caps coming tomorrow so I will try putting a portion in the gel cap and see how that goes down.
Metronidazole tastes horrible but my ca seem to tolerate it very well. She is diagnosed with IBD and she is taking metronidazole daily for a few weeks now. The still is a lot better, but we still have a week to go. Fortunately, my cat is very cooperative, so no problem with swallowing the pill.
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