Getting My Sweet, Dumb, Weird Baby To Eat Her Pills

It's a tale as old as time.  Or as old as Veterinary Medicine. 

You know how it is, guys.  You have a pet, and you have to get them to do a thing, and they do not want to do that thing.   Let me unpack that.

Story Time.

So my dearest, sweet little freakjob, Kitten, has been with me for a long time now.  About twelve years.

Now here's a little part that makes this weird.  When I got Kitten, I had just lost two pets in an apartment fire.  One of them was a fluffy, gray maine coon, and the other was a black tortoiseshell cat.

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So when I saw her in the shelter....she had to come home with me. She wasn't a replacement for Pawleen, but it made me feel a little better about losing her.

Over the years, she's been a pretty normal cat, in that she's an eccentric creature.

You know how it is, all pets have their own personalities.

So anyway, about a year ago, I noticed she was losing weight.  I wasn't super concerned at first, because I was trying to get our other cat to lose weight (she's still a chonker.  Love her, but she's a chubberton).   And it just kept progressing.  She was getting thinner and thinner, and soon I could feel her bones in spots.  I fed her and fed her and  that worked in that she was maintaining a weight, but was still too skinny.

However, for a long time I couldn't take her to the vet, because I was worried about how much it would cost.  I don't have a lot of money.  I know it's not expensive to a lot of people, but an extra unexpected hundred dollar cost is.... a lot to me. And this could have been hundreds, if not thousands for all I knew.  Eventually NJ stepped in and said if I needed to take her, he'd pay for the vet visit.  So the vet said what I thought was the case - she has a hyperthyroid issue.  It's a thing that's somewhat common in older cats.  Basically their thyroid goes into wack overdrive, and makes it so they can't keep weight on.

So, he gave us pills, and she's supposed to take two every day for the foreseeable future.  NJ and I went and bought her some feline pill pocket things (strange, the vet sold us ones for a dog? But she wouldn't touch those.  The lady said they 'don't make them' for cats, but I found some).

And here, my gentle reader, is where my troubles began.

At first, Kitten was super happy to be able to eat two treats twice a day.  That was maybe the first.... month.  She was down like a clown and ate them like nobody's business.  Things were going great! She was gaining weight and was back up to a Normal Cat Size*. Then, she started to turn her head when I offered them to her.

So we switched pill pocket flavors (there are three).  We tried one, she didn't like that.  We tried another, and she did like those... for a while.  Now, she's turning her head again when I offer her the treats.

What I Have Tried:

Sneaking them into her food (she eats around the pills)

Sneaking the treat into food (eats around it)

Alternating pocket flavors (is okay with salmon and chicken for a while, but hates the catnip flavor for some reason)

Coating the treat in gravy (just licks off the gravy)

Pretending to give the treat to another cat (that did work, maybe twice)

Holding the scruff of her neck and forcing the pill down (traumatic, 0/10 do not recommend).

I can't leave her alone with the treats, because another cat might eat them.  It's just a thing with my house - it would take a long time to explain it.  Basically there isn't a practical way to separate her from the others for more than about a half an hour before they jailbreak her out.   So she can and does get out, and the other two help her.  She will leave her pill treats behind and go scarf normal kibble.

So I can't feed the other two in the kitchen with her in the bedroom, because she'll get out.  I do pull the food bowls up off the floor when they're done with breakfast.   I try to give her the pills right before an expected mealtime, so she's actually hungry when it's time to eat the treats.

I have not tried crushing up the pill because I don't think the vet recommends that, and I haven't tried putting the pill in other food, because...she doesn't have much interest in human food.

So, pet owners, what should I try next?  Is there something you do to trick your little furbaby into eating the dang pills?  Is there something else I could try?

Medicinally yours,

Behka

*Normal Cat Size is just.. you  know, more normal.  I'm sure every cat is different.  But she was a little under three pounds when we started the meds.  Now she's up to about seven pounds.  Which I feel is more healthy.  She's good now, and I want to keep her that way, you know?