Cat refuses liquid meds

[PHILJAN]

My 10 year old Oliver refuses to get into a carrier and to take his meds. His whole personality has changed, spending his time under the bed or couch. We put his liquid Flagyl (for loose stools) into his wet food. Now he will only eat dry food. His whole personality has transformed to paranoid fesr. Help!

[papa cat]

Rub the medicine on to his upper front leg or on his cheeks or shoulders, but NOT on the back of the neck, that's one place cats can barely reach with their washing...(thats why spot on treatments are put there) he'll have to ingest it then when he washes himself.
(Perhaps rub in a little bit more than the recommended dose to allow for any that gets rubbed off )
I did that with my cat who hated a medicine I had to give him.

[fjm]

Flagyl (metronidazole) is very bitter, so it is understandable that he avoids it, and any food he has learned might contain it. Is he also impossible to pill, even when the pill is coated in something irresistible?

[Mollycat]

Is this treatment short term for an infection or long term for a lifelong condition? Different brand name but my boy was on steroids for bowel problems which we didn't identify, could have been IBD, lymphoma or something else but in our case invasive testing was not appropriate when the treatment would have been the same anyway. Despite being a "docile" Ragdoll he rebelled against the tablets so we started on a 6-weekly injection instead. Would the injectable form be an option for Oliver? Have you reached his minimum effective dose yet? Missing doses of steroids can be very serious so if it's becoming a daily battle maybe your vet could offer some alternatives.

Not sure what you mean about getting him in his carrier, is that a general problem for vet visits or are you using it to give him meds? A new carrier can help a lot to break the bad association of one that he sees as a punishment. If you can get his meds sorted out with the vet and change to a completely different carrier, it should get gradually easier and he should learn to trust you again. I don't mean to scare you but my Boo-cat only had about a few weeks on his tablets then his first injection as we were unable to cut down at all from the maximum dose, before the illness won. Not suggesting you might be on limited time, but whatever time we have with our lovely furballs, it should be a good time, not full of our anxiety and their terror fighting over medication. Your vet should understand that, if his steroids are long term, and help you find a better way.

[fjm]

Not a steroid, Mollycat, so fortunately not as dangerous to stop/start. Metronidazole is an antibiotic, commonly prescribed for diarrhoea - it acts to reduce unwanted bacteria but also has a soothing effect on the upper gut. I know it well as Poppy, my toy poodle, is on a tiny regular dose to control SEBO, along with a probiotic.

[Mollycat]

Ah thank you I'm not sure what I got it confused with then!