About a week ago we got the bad news that my kitty, Fred has kidney failure which is incurable in cats. .

We rushed the poor thing to the vet on his last legs. Within a week he had lost so much weight and gotten so weak I thought we were gonna have to put him down. My son and I cried because we just couldn't do it.

Well, after an overnight stay at the vet and medications he's feeling better. Although it's just a matter of time till the inevitable,(he's going on 17), we brought him home so he could have a bit more time with us. He didn't seem ready to give up so we're doing our best to keep him comfortable.

We've been giving him his meds plus IV fluids every day. The problem is that now he's feeling stronger and won't take his meds anymore. We have tried hiding them in his food and poking them down his throat. Even those little treats that hold the pill aren't working anymore.

He's supposed to take 3 pills a day and antibiotic drops, but he's on to all of our tricks...do you guys have any ideas???

Is it as easy to force meds to cats as it is to do so with dogs? Coax the jaw open, pop in the pill, and massage the throat gently until he/she swallows?

I had the very same thing happen to one of my cats.....
We mangaged to do the drugs, like ThreadBare said, which
gave him six more weeks, but then he suddenly stopped
allowing us to give him more drugs... he was adament about
it to the point that we couldn't for the life of us open his mouth anymore.

It was like he was telling us "Enough is enough. It's my
time to die"....and we eventually accepted that.

But do what you can...in the same token, accept the fact that his time may
just be up, as hard as it may be for you. Don't allow him to suffer in
the process.

I'm so sorry to hear this.

Wrap him up in a towel tightly so he can't wrestle his way out of your arms. As far as getting the pill down, I always put the pill in the side of my cat's mouth. She would try so hard to get the pill out but actually her tongue would push the pill down her throat. And once it gets to that point, it's like ThreadBare says, massage the throat to keep the pill going.

Good luck. I had to give my cat the IV and it was one of the most horrible things I had to do.

ThreadBare said:

It was easy when he was weaker but now he's fighting like a cat!
I didn't know about massaging the throat, thanks for mentioning it.

Flowerz said:

That worked for a few days. My son, who I can't get to do anything around here, had been faithfully nursing him like a champ, crushing pills and everything else.

thanks

obsessed said:

I'm thinking maybe that's the case because last night he was especially resistant to the point where his heart was racing and he just dropped his head. We had to leave him alone for a while so he could calm down.

I'm determined not to let him suffer so I will let him go when the time comes...even though it'll be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I'm still hoping he can go quietly in his sleep.

Lammastide said:

Thank you,

JuliePurplehead said:

The IV has actually been easier to do...thanks for the suggestions.

ThreadBare said:

That's how my dad had to give a pill to our family cat. He made it look so easy. My mom and I could never give the cat his pill. I can't even give my cats pills when they need it. Luckily, so far, they have been healthy.

Babynoz, sorry to hear about your kitty's illness. I lost a cat due to kidney failure a few years back, and it's never easy. Kidney failure is so common in elderly cats, it's ashame there is no cure for it.

babynoz said:

It is hard...I had to put my cat to sleep...in the end, Toby was almost
begging me with his eyes to "do something"...he could just barely walk
anymore.

Whatever takes place for you, I wish you strength and love...

psychodelicide said:

Thanks, it ain't easy, that's for sure.

obsessed said:

babynoz said:

I know exactly what you mean.

psychodelicide said:

Don't worry everythings gonna be okay I took care of this kitty (it was so young could barely walk) it died I blamed myself and couldn't stop crying that night it's hard to lose a companion (even if I only had him for a week)

babynoz said:

yes, i hope he gets wells ...i love cats