Cat food whiff and pills

[tiggerblue10]

I bought some Royal Canin Renal food for Blue due to her liver problems and it absolutely stinks. I know cat food usually smells but this stuff is particularly pungent. The smell is so bad its even gone upstairs! I have got Royal Canin Hepatic dry food but its just one type and she is fussy.

I'm now considering taking the remaining pouches back to the vet to get a refund and pills instead. The vet told me that I couldn't crush the tablets up or place it in her food. It has to be placed at the back of her throat. Is there a knack to doing this? I've seen the vet do this but an assistant had to hold Blue while she prized her mouth open. I don't know if I can do this on my own and the vet only gave me thse 2 options.

[boxtops]

Tigger, I don't know what you mean - Rover is on the Royal Canin renal food and it smells no differently to normal strong cat food. I wonder whether you have got a defective batch? What flavour do you have? - we're on Chicken at the moment!

The stuff which is vile is the Hill KD food - whatever you do, don't let the vet give you that. It's sloppy and foul, Rover wouldn't touch it.

What tablets would Blue need to take? I ask because Rover was on Fortekor, and he would take them from my hand as they were flavoured - no need to make a difficulty out of dosing him.

[tonyav]

Use a pea shooter.

[friedgreentomato]

You can get a pill popper which is like a syringe - you pop the pill on the end and fire it down the cats throat.

Try leaving a dish of bicarb of soda near the cat food - it acts as a smell sucker up!

[boxtops]

PS you can get a pill-giver too, a sort of syringe affair, the pill goes in the top. The knack (if you are right handed) is to hold the cat firmly under your right armpit so you can open the mouth with your right hand, then boing the tablet in with your other hand. It's traumatic for the cat though - palatable tablets are much better.

[tiggerblue10]

I usually give them Felix AGAIL, Gourmet pate and Gourmet pouches and although these smell a bit they don't smell as bad as the Roayl Canin Renal food. I've got a mixture of chicken, tuna and beef and all of them seem to smell very strong.

I don't know what the tablets are Box but the vet said they need to be taken whole and not chewed.

[tiggerblue10]

Didn't see the other answers before I posted.

The pill popper sounds like a plan. I'll ask the vet about that. I think I've got some bicard somewhere, will try that in the meantime. Thank you all.

[boxtops]

I'd feed those foods but for Rover (who is a renal not liver patient) if I don't feed the renal stuff I have to buy good quality Senior food, because of the extra ingredients for the older cat.

Interesting that you have to feed renal food for a liver problem, I'm curious as to the logic behind that. I guess there is a biological reason to do with the cat's innards.

I wonder if there is an injection you could give, instead of the tablet?

BTW my cats like strong smelling food, I guess it's because the sense of smell diminishes a bit as they get older.

[tiggerblue10]

Well Box, the vet ordered the Hepatic dry food and I asked her if I could carry on giving Blue the usual wet food and she said that doing this would counteract the Hepatic food. She said that the only other food I could give her was the Renal stuff which would not counteract with it.

I've tried giving both of them the Senior food but they stick their noses up at it.

[tiggerblue10]

Just spoken to the vet assistant and he said that I the pill had to be given whole as it will break up the composition if chewed and needs to be digested whilst whole.

[lankeela]

http://www.nanceestar.com/CatPill.html

[gipsygal]

One of our cats has Royal Canin renal food and it just smells like, well, cat food! I agree it was probably a dodgy batch.
On the subject of pills, google "how to give cat a pill" - the result is hysterical!