As many pet owners know, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to give pills to cats. Unlike dogs, who will take a pill hidden in a treat or some food, the majority of cats will leave any ‘medication-spiked’ food behind, and will fight tooth and nail to avoid having a pill put into their mouth. This difficulty has sparked veterinary pharmacies to prepare certain medications in transdermal gels or patches that are applied to the skin of the cat. The Winn Feline Foundation has recently granted funding of approximately $15,000 to Dr. Dawn Boothe to enable her to conduct a study that looks at their effectiveness. The study will compare drug levels in the bloodstream of cats that are receiving drugs prepared as a transdermal gel versus cats that receive the same medication orally. Comparative blood samples will be taken from cats after several days to several weeks of treatment. In the initial study, the drugs that will be studied are prednisolone/prednisone, methimazole, and metronidazole. The first 2 drugs are often required for prolonged periods of time, while the 3rd drug, metronidazole has a bitter taste so can be almost impossible to give to cats.
