Cat refusing meds...

[DontBeBitterGlitter2023]

My cat is 15 and was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid and congestive heart failure earlier this year. She was given liquid medication for both that I had to give her twice a day - total struggle as she would lash out and also spit/dribble the liquid out of the side of her mouth. I eventually cracked it by putting the thyroid meds into 'soup' type cat food and switching to tablets for her heart, which I put inside the 'Giver Cat' treats. She's been doing so much better, has put on weight, less scruffy fur, etc...

BUT

The past few weeks she has gradually started to refuse eating them. The tablets/Giver Cat she will sometimes eat if I follow her around and keep pointing it out to her, but the thyroid meds in the 'soup' she now just point blank refuses. I've had to go back to giving her the meds via the syringe but I absolutely hate having to wrestle with her and stressing her out so much with her heart already being under strain (plus it ends up going everywhere in the house)

Any advice at all to get back to hiding her meds? Thanks

We are in the same situation and give our old boy his meds using lickeliks ( top tip from another mumsnetter ) dead easy

Wrap them in a towel so only their head is showing, then use a syringe

Good luck!

Different medication so may not be possible, but my cat gets her meds topically via her ear now. We have it made at a specialty pet compounding pharmacy. (Not in the uk so I can’t recommend a pharmacy)

i did have a cat years ago who took her liquid medication after we added bubble gum flavor normally reserved for children’s medication. My current vet says it shouldn’t have worked because cats don’t have taste buds primed for sweet. our pet sitter is the one who had it done at a local pharmacy and it was like a miracle. My theory is that it masked the original taste enough that she didn’t care it was on her food anymore.

I think there is a gel that you rub in their ear.

I think for thyroid meds you can get one to rub on their ear. We have a similar aged cat with similar health issues. We were using the pill giver putty - he kind of got used to it, so we changed to pill pockets (I break them up & use them as putty). I sometimes have to squirt a bit of lickelix (sp?) on top.

No experience of thyroid meds but I have a cat who needs a daily pill that I break open and mix the 'dust' into a bit of fresh, human-grade tuna. And give it first thing in the morning, when he's good and hungry, so it gets lapped up!

This also works for both of my cats when they need Metacam (pain reliever and anti-inflammatory liquid medication). Again, first thing in the morning so they're hungry and it gets mixed into a small teaspoon's worth of fresh tuna.

Proper fresh human-grade tuna is only ever offered in these very small quantities, and only ever once a day, so they never feel like they get enough of it and have never left it uneaten. :-)