Yesterday's shenanigans: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/2-20-max-amps-274-4-178.210966/#post-2339762 Yucky pre-shot number. He was having his ultrasound and other various tests done at the hospital during shot time though so I skipped last night. We'll bring it back down though! Just gave Max his AM shot, a dose of Metronidazole and his Zobaline. I'll be giving some Buprenex before I leave--though it's so hard to get it under the tongue or in the cheek! I'm afraid I usually squirt most of it down his mouth. I hope it's still effective! Back to work today, ugh. I hate to leave him but I'm hoping to get out early. Fingers and paws crossed there's NO puking while I'm gone! He had 4mg of Cerenia last night but I have to quarter the tiny pills, so I worry about dosage there too. =[ Thanks for all the well wishes and encouragement!
When will you get the results of the U/S? Fingers and paws crossed and for no pukes today. The bup is absorbed through the mucus membranes so getting it on the tissue, cheek or under tongue is the most effective. I had the most luck with sliding the syringe into the cornor of the mouth and then aiming it upwards into the cheek pouch.
I hope the meds help Max feel better and there is no vomit today. It's tough having to go to work when you have a sick kitty.
I'm glad you know what's going on with Max, although it sucks too...hoping it's pancreatitis. Willow was horrible to get bupe in....I was trying for the cheek, but I'm sure most went straight down. What worked for me best was dribbling it on my finger and rubbing her gums....she didn't mind that at all, though I had to do it a few times to get full dose in. However, she was on a smaller dose because bupe knocked her out (totally zoned and out of it) at full prescribed dose. hth, nikki
I ended up giving her 0.05 mL, which is 1/3 of Max's dose, but I could do it in maybe 2 swipes of my finger, I think I did a drop or two on the tip of my finger (just enough that it didn't drip off). So you might get that in Max in 6-7 swipes? I know it sounds like a lot, but Willow *really* didn't mind it (which totally surprised me), so maybe it's worth a try just to see what he thinks/how he does?
I used to just dribble buoe on the gums and it worked just fine. I never even tried for under the tongue, lol.
Wouldn't it be nice if all their medicines were subq injections like the insulin? I think Max would highly prefer it that way!
Another option might be codeine. They gave me it in transdermal form for Menace when she had a dental done and it worked a charm. No fussing and fighting to get something into her sore mouth.
Injectible bupe is not supposed to be as effective given subq. Neko got bupe for a couple years, we got the routine down. I sat behind her, curled my hand to the front of her and aiming back towards me. Then put the tip of the syringe in the corner of her mouth and aimed at the inner cheek. A cat's natural reaction is to back away from things, hence parking myself behind her. Of course it did help when I got compounded chicken flavour bupe. It's OK if he swallows some of it. I hope Max is feeling better and the meds are starting to work by the time you get home.
Chicken flavor?! I always sit behind Max so he can't back away, but then he just starts smacking my hand away with his arms and clamps his mouth shut, lol. He hates anything given orally. I guess I can't really blame him though.
The vet gave me gabapentin to supplement the bupe. How should I stagger those? She said bupe should be every 12 hrs and gabapentin every 8? I gave bupe this morning at 9, can I give gabapentin this afternoon at 3-4, then bupe again at 9pm?
I had my left arm on Neko's chest just above the legs to prevent paw interference. After a while I didn't need to do that. If you put the syringe in right at the corner of the mouth and aim back to you, it doesn't matter if his teeth are clamped. You still have a good aim at the inner cheek. I did bupe every 12 hours, though you can give smaller doses every 8 hours if needed. Just offset the gabapentin a couple hours. The plan you have suggested looks good.
Thanks for sending me back to yesterday's thread, I did not get an alert even though I had commented there .....any way, I am caught up and I too so hope it's pancreatitis and will remedy ASAP . Sending lots and lots of healing vines your way.
You can try wrapping Max in a purrito. At work, for difficult cats and I'm alone on nights and need to pill or feed, I wrap the cat in a purrito, face them away from me and straddle them. Their head is just sticking out between my legs. I'm not crushing them but just not letting them back out or away and claws are tucked away in the blanket so I have two free hands. Now, I don't think you'll need to straddle Max but it might just be easier to have two hands so you can grab the top of his face with one hand, turn it slightly towards you, and squirt meds in the other.
I'm super proud of Max because despite all of this rubbish he's going through he's ALWAYS a good boy and drinks his water to stay hydrated.
Now you know what's going on and have a plan. I give Olive her bupre +2 and her gabapentin at +6 for both cycles. The bupre I just squirt in side of cheek. The gab I get from Wedgwood. They have it as a gourmed tablet. Chicken flavored. Olive loves it, eats it right out of my hand or off the floor. You shake the bottle and she comes running in to get it. It crumbles easily and can be mixed in food which I do for Tripper.
Cool! How much (approximately) do the gourmed tabs cost, please? And shipping? Thank you. I've been painstakingly divving up a capsule into 4 for Akie, but this gourmeds option sounds so much easier.
I get the 25 mg tabs. 100 in a bottle. Olive gets a half twice a day and Tripper gets a half twice a day. It costs $40 and change. Shipping i don't know because i get it with her cabergoline so shipping is free. Google wedgewood pharmacy and then gabapentin. It comes in different forms. I know they have gummies but was told they contain sugar. They will only give price to vet. That is the one thing i don't like. They have a lot of meds that come in gourmed tabs or other forms. Some come in quad tabs meaning they are scored to cut into 4 pieces.
@Olive & Paula: Yeah, I just called Wedgewood (I had a bunch of gabapentin capsules I've been divvying up into four wrapping in Tom's pill paste) and it is indeed a real pain that their procedure is so complicated -- they won't give prices (I wanted to know the price for the tiny tabs), they want you to contact the vet and THEN contact them once they send an automated message etc. Not impressed at this point. I might try valleyvet next time, not sure if they're any easier though . Still, I very much appreciate the recommendation.
@Angel's mommie Try Diamondback. You can request a quote. https://www.diamondbackdrugs.com/get-a-quote/ Another to try is Thrivingpets. They compound also but I didn't see the dosage Paula was referring to but they may compound it special. http://www.thrivingpets.com/index.php/gabapentin.html ^^I have purchased from both above. Another vet compounding pharmacy. I spoke with them on the phone but they didn't do what I was wanting (I haven't ordered anything from them. https://bcpvetpharm.com
Turns out that, like Wedgewood, Diamondback also requires a prescription before they give a quote. Sigh. That is so annoying, as it makes it impossible to compare prices across pharmacies. One can hardly ask the vet to send in the prescription to multiple places. I guess one could ask for a paper prescription and scan it in and then upload, assuming they'll accept this. I use Allivet when I can, but they sadly do not have 25 mg tabs or chews, just the 100 mg, which I'm using right now, by divvying up.
Correct they don't give prices. They will to vet, maybe office manager can find out for you. I like the gourmeds, Olive thinks it's a treat and just gobbles it down. That's a real plus for me. No fighting trying to get pill in her
I just had a really annoying experience with Wedgewood. I wanted to compare prices on their different Gabapentin products, so called to ask the prices -- I was thinking of buying both tiny tabs and chews as I could give Akie one or the other depending on how much time I had each morning/night. They said they could not give me prices without a prescription, and that I should call the vet and ask for two prescriptions, one for each product and then, once the vet did that and they contacted me, I could call back and get prices and put in my order. So I did that: called the vet, asked for two prescriptions, waited till WW contacted me, and then called to put in the order. But now they say the vet did not specify 'gourmand chews' but the prescription apparently said 'chews' which was their gabapentin chew treats (EVEN THOUGH BOTH CHEWS ARE GABAPENTIN 25 MG) and that I needed to call the vet and ask for a third prescription for "gourmand chews" and go through the whole process again. I am very annoyed with how complicated they make this and will not be using them anymore -- I had been intending to buy both their tiny tabs and gourmand chews. It is absolutely ridiculous to make legit customers run around like this and waste their time. Going to try a different pharmacy, or simply order capsules from Allivet and divvy them up in little balls of Tomlyn's paste as I have been doing all along.
Sorry you had such an experience. Your vets office could call for you to get prices. The vet must be very specific in what they ask for. A lot of meds come in different forms and strengths so it's a lot of info for customer service to relay and get correct, they are pharmacist. You could also ask to speak with pharmacist about making sure no added sugar is in the pills, then when you have him on the phone ask about different forms for that medication. You can also ask pharmacists to call vet for phone order. And to make sure they list number of refills. Once my scripts were in I have no problem with refills. I was very specific with my vet though in what I wanted.
Thanks, @Olive & Paula. They have this: "Signature Soft Chews Golden Gate Pharmacy’s signature soft chews are a great alternative for pets that have trouble taking normal tablets, capsules, or liquids. The active drug is measured precisely to the veterinarian’s order, and then mixed thoroughly with a flavor base and gelatin. They are a soft chew, so they can be administered directly by hand or they may be mixed in with wet or dry food. They can also be cut in half if dosing is needed twice a day, and also have the capability of combining multiple medications into one. There are two chewable sizes to accommodate a variety of strengths for all sizes of animals. Flavored samples which contain no medication are available upon request. Samples can be given to the pet to find the pet’s preferred flavor, once this is determined we can compound your pet’s medication into a tasty treat that even the pickiest of animals will enjoy." I'm in the queue with "chat" right now, but it looks like 100 50mg chews cost $75, which seems a little cheaper than Wedgewood (I'll be getting chicken flavor), don't know about shipping etc costs right now. Will update once I find out. I will cut in half and give Akie 1/2 morn and eve, since she is to get 25 mg morn/eve.
Sorry . Well, their shipping is pretty expensive (cheapest seems to be between $9-10) so maybe it all evens out?