GarciaLover on Chemo & Pill Giving Help-SOS

[GarciaLover]

Another Chapter begins and now I am introduced to chemo,  (leukeran, a pill form).  Garcia and I went to the oncologist on Wed and we have a plan to fight his squamous cell carcinoma (cancer tumor in his face). His doctor was fabulous and it is comforting trying to fight this thing instead of just waiting. He is also taking Metcam, a liquid that smells like ferret, that has been know to eat away at the squamous cells.
Main problem I'm having is getting him to eat his pain medicine.  I try to get it down his throat and then he works it back up and then the pill has dissolved and then he foams at the mouth and drools, it is truly horrible.  ANY TIPS ON GETTING YOU CAT TO TAKE  A PILL? Tried this  morning to mix it in with food, even grounded up his treats and tried to put it in there.  It is very hard to trick a cat.
Yesterday after trying to get him to take his pill he started spiting up blood so we rushed to the Animal Hospital, which is his vet, and I was shaking, thought this was is. Turns out he cut the roof of his mouth from the pill. Phew!  Needless to say I am reluctant to give him a pill that was again. SCARY.

[zodiacqueen]

That's awesome!!!!!!!!!!!  They're pretty close to you???  That is great!!  I hope that Mr. Garcia appreciates his new fish flavored meds!!!!  Please let all of us know how it works out for you!!!

Best wishes!!  I think you're a very special mom, and please know that you've got a fan club rooting for you here on the forum!!!  =D

Hugs to you and Garcia!!

[GarciaLover]

I found out that I have a Compound Rx right around the corner and have an order in for fish flavored liquid for his pain meds.  Yesterday was a good day and he took all his meds w/o a hitch.  Hoping for more good days to follow

[opus88]

yes I too have used that method many times with good success depending on the temperment of each kitty..I always worry abt a finger nail scraping the roof of the mouth thats why I tended to like the pill popper better. My Vet had told me the pill popper is the safest way..I don't understand why some Vets think its not?

[FurballsMom]

I had a Siamese that had Colitis for a really long time.  I got really good at giving her Prednisone, which she needed.  She never became a diabetic cat, by the way.  I wasn't even aware of this concern about cats on Prednisone.  I think it kept my kitty alive a lot longer than she would've lived otherwise.  I used to pick up my kitty and pin her between the arm of the couch and myself, pry her jaw open and poke the pill into the back of her throat and close her jaw and rub her throat.  Kitty obviously got used to this.  I didn't like it any more than she did, but I wanted to keep my kitty around as long as possible.  I always brushed her after I forced the pill down her throat in an effort to make pill taking less stressful to her.  The vet said that this was safer for kitty than the pill thing people have been talking about.  I didn't have anyone else living with me who could help me give kitty the pills she needed, but my method worked and kitty forgave me and was a sweet and affectionate kitty to the end.

[LynneAV]

I give medicine easily now, after 16 years experience with two different-mooded cats, but it is something that is much easier to do than explain. Too many words required for actions that take about two and a half seconds. Can you have a vet tech demo it with you? I didn't like pill-poppers -- that long tube thing. I only tried it when giving a chemo pill that I was not supposed to touch with my hands, but I found it awkward and scary to the patient and I worried about hurting her throat or choking  her. Personal preference. The main thing is to always follow pills with a syringe of clean water, that ensures that the pill goes down and does not get stuck in the throat to cause other problems.

[opus88]

good 4u4 trying this!!
I have given pills to cats for many years, after problems years back my vet sold me a pill injector(don't really know proper name)..its a long tube abt 5" with a soft rubber tip where u insert the pill it has a plunger on the other end, u put the tube down easily to abt the distance of the back of the throat then push the plunger, this ejects the pill far enough down their throat that is goes down very easily and far enough that they cannot cough back up....works just great! Costs only $5-6 dollars.
I worked in an auxillary hospital and we even started using it there for people that can no longer swallow properly..there is no chocking and it just slips down, good luck on finding!
p.s. zodiac is also right, I too have used the the method she mentions for one cat with a biting problem, the one I had just comes in a syringe so u can easily eject a few mls onto a finger and slip it on the inner tip of their ear...also works great but more expensive.
good luck

[zodiacqueen]

Have you heard of a compounding pharmacy?  They can turn his pills into liquid form AND add a fish or chicken flavor syrup to it.  The pharmacy can also make that Metcam taste better by adding the same meat-type syrup to it as well.  Look into it, this might be worth a shot.

Best of luck to you.  My prayers are with you and Garcia!  =)