Mary Allen
Administering medication to a cat is a challenge. Tasty medicines are helpful – but unfortunately rather rare.
What a spectacle: no sooner have you put the pill on the cat’s tongue with surprise and speed than the animal is gone – and a little later you can hear it choking under the sofa. Although the behavior described is tedious for humans, cats have good reasons for doing so – after all, their system is designed for the meaty, hearty umami taste. Bitter and sour are avoided, and sweet is not recognized at all. Only really good taste helps so that it slips. Unfortunately, there are rarely any tasty medicines that are tailored to the feline taste.
Veterinarians such as Sabina Lutz are a professional group that has to make drugs palatable to cats. She is a product manager at Graeub AG. The Swiss company has been producing veterinary medicines for almost a century. According to Lutz, there are numerous reasons why there are relatively few tasty medicines for cats. “Despite different breeds, cats are very similar in size and weight. For the numerous dog breeds, on the other hand, different drug strengths and forms are sometimes necessary. » In fact, almost twice as many medications are registered for dogs as for cats, and cats do not tolerate every active ingredient. Lutz sees research as a key factor. Not only is it difficult to win cat owners for studies. “Research on cat diseases is generally more difficult because cats are significantly less cooperative than dogs.” Ultimately, going to the vet is very stressful for many cat owners. Diseases are often not recognized until late because cats try to hide the pain for as long as possible. All of this makes cats difficult clients for drug development.
Nevertheless, there are also tasty medicines for our velvet paws. “Most of the products are flavored with liver or chicken flavor, for example, in order to mask the natural taste of the active ingredient,” says Lutz. However, this is a major challenge because not everything is possible with every active ingredient.
Better with Food Than Not At All
According to Lutz, the first step in such a development process is the decision as to whether the drug should be a tablet or a liquid product. The latter is an advantage for cats. At the same time, the production of liquid medicines poses difficulties. “The active ingredient and its content must remain stable for two years, which doesn’t work with every active ingredient. In addition, a liquid product must retain its consistency and no components may fall out.» Dosing and administration take a lot of time. “You often struggle with very trivial problems, such as an attachment on the bottle that doesn’t close tightly, or a dosing syringe that doesn’t fit on the attachment.”
Also often a challenge: accommodating enough active ingredients in the smallest possible amount, such as one milliliter. If everything fits, the entire product is subjected to a final check. “If one component fails the test, the whole process starts over,” says Lutz. It’s the same with tablets. The focus here is on topics such as the smallest possible pill size, good divisibility, and exact dosing. With some tablets, every single granule of active ingredient is even coated with a flavoring. “This requires sophisticated technology, but allows the tablet to be divided without any loss of taste.”
If the cat nevertheless rejects the taste of the drug, Lutz advises its favorite food. Impairments in the effect of the food are possible. Some active ingredients, in turn, should be given on an empty stomach. “But every theory is invalid if you don’t get the drug in the cat.” For Lutz, the following therefore applies: “Better with some food or treats than not at all.” Ultimately, it is important to be able to check whether and how much of the medication the cat has eaten.