I have always been concerned about the issue of pilling cats with a dry
pill with no water or not in liquid form. Have You ever tried to swallow a
pill dry without any water? Just think how terrrible this must feel to a
cat whose esophagus is so small.

The following is a summary of a very interesting article that appeared in
one of the vet journals entitled “Evaluation of the Passage of Tablets and
Capsules through the Esophagus of the Cat”. It is from a paper presented at
the 2001 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum.

Study: 30 cats were used. Fluoroscopy was used to evaluate the pill/capsule
passage at 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 300 seconds. Cats given dry pills by
standard pilling methods as opposed to those given the same medication in
liquid form.

The study was evaluating how long it took for the pill to get through the
esophagus into the stomach of the cat.

Study results: For the dry pill swallows: (can you imagine having to
swallow tablets or capsules with no water, hurts just thinking about it) at
5 minutes ONLY 36% of the pills were in the stomach.

For the liquid medication all medication was in the stomach by 90 seconds.

"The main concern with this information is that if tablets and capsules sit
in the esophagus for a prolonged period of time, this can cause damage to
the tissues in this area. This damage can lead to esophagitis, which can
lead to nausea, vomiting and megaesophagus. At times, the esophagus can
also respond by developing an ulcer or stricture. The latter is a very
serious complication requiring aggressive therapy, preferably with balloon
dilatation.

My cat will be on methimazole for the rest of her life. She literally runs
to the refrigerator for her tuna flavored liquid medicine making for a much
more enjoyable relationship with her. The “bond” between pet and pet owner
is very important and a traumatizing experience like pilling everyday can
cause a permanent break of this trust or “bond”.

Many of you may not be aware of the option of having tablets or capsules
made into tasty liquid forms to facilitate administration. The list of
flavors depending where they are made up is long and includes Tuna,
Sardine, Salmon, Beef, Bacon. etc. Keep the quantity small 1ml or less for
ease of administration and make sure that you use a reputable pharmacy that
has done all of the proper testing (stability, compatibility). You can ask
to see stability data before using a pharmacy so that you can have peace of
mind of knowing that what you are giving your pet is medication that is of
proper quality and accurate strength and that the flavorings being used are
not diluting or ruining the efficacy of the medication being given.

There are human pharmacies out there that will do this but vet meds are not
their specialty and they don't have access to vet meds. There are many
sources out there to get this done at.
Hopefully this information will be useful and help to save some of our
animal companions from painful esophagitis and humans from the hassle of
pilling and traumatizing beloved pets.